CEFR A2
What you will learn
- Reconstruct event order independently of the order of clauses.
- Keep the subject of the infinitive aligned with the stated actor.
- Distinguish an established temporal order from missing evidence.
Before you start
- Know the regular present, basic questions and noun agreement. Use the linked lessons for the forms needed here.
- Use familiar present forms; any past question in this page can use the already studied preterite or perfect.
The idea
In “Pago antes de salir”, payment precedes leaving. In “Salgo después de pagar”, the same order is expressed from the other action. Reading the leftmost verb as the earliest action can reverse the message; the connector carries the relationship. For the basic pattern studied here, antes de and después de take an infinitive and the person doing that action is the subject of the main clause. “Marta llama después de comer” describes Marta eating, then Marta calling. It does not by itself report that another person ate.
When two named people perform the actions, keep their subjects explicit in two coordinated statements, such as “Marta come y luego Luis llama”. This is a safe A2 repair. Subordinate clauses with antes de que and different subjects require later grammar and are not demanded here.
A connector cannot supply evidence that is absent from a record. Two actions having the same displayed minute does not establish which happened first. Ask about the order, or say that the record does not establish it, rather than selecting antes or después automatically.
Reference: form and meaning
| Sentence pattern | Order of events | Actor in this basic pattern |
|---|---|---|
| A antes de B (infinitive) | A happens before B | same person does A and B |
| A después de B (infinitive) | B happens before A | same person does B and A |
| Named person A; luego named person B | first statement precedes second | each action keeps its named person |
The shared-subject scope is the basic pattern on this page. Other infinitive constructions exist; these tasks do not ask for them.
How it sounds
- Vera cena antes de limpiar la mesa.Después de places the infinitive event before the main-clause event, despite its position at the start of the sentence. Vera is the actor of cenar and limpiar in this basic pattern. Starting with the earlier action requires antes de to preserve the same order. Vera eats dinner first and then cleans the table.
Transfer 1A different case
P1. Ana’s log: 9:00 opens the folder; 9:05 reads the note; 9:10 signs the form; 9:15 closes the folder. P2. Three summaries: (a) «Ana firma el formulario después de leer la nota». (b) «Ana cierra la carpeta antes de firmar el formulario». (c) «Después de abrir la carpeta, Ana lee la nota». P3. Say in English which summary contradicts the log. Then write two new Spanish sentences about pairs that no summary mentions: one with antes de that links reading the note and closing the folder, and one with después de that links opening the folder and signing the form.
P1. Tomás’s routine: he reads the address, writes the envelope, puts a stamp on it and sends the letter. P2. Summaries: (a) «Tomás envía la carta después de poner el sello». (b) «Antes de leer la dirección, Tomás escribe el sobre». (c) «Tomás pone el sello antes de enviar la carta». P3. Say in English which summary contradicts the routine. Then write two new Spanish sentences about pairs that no summary mentions: one with después de linking putting on the stamp and writing the envelope, and one with antes de linking reading the address and sending the letter.
Answer available without interaction
Answer: Your answer: Spanish wording and any requested English comment: (b) contradicts the log. Ana lee la nota antes de cerrar la carpeta. Ana firma el formulario después de abrir la carpeta.
Model answer: (b) contradicts the log. Ana lee la nota antes de cerrar la carpeta. Ana firma el formulario después de abrir la carpeta.
Criteria for reviewing your answer:
- Identifies (b) as the contradiction and does not reject (c) because of its word order.
- Places reading before closing with antes de and signing after opening with después de, keeping Ana as the actor of both verbs. «Ana cierra la carpeta después de leer la nota» is true, but it does not use the requested connector.
(b) puts closing before signing, but the log has closing last. (c) is correct although the earlier event is written first. In each new sentence the infinitive must be the event that the connector places on the other side.
Answer: Your answer: Spanish wording and any requested English comment: (b) contradicts the routine. Tomás pone el sello después de escribir el sobre. Tomás lee la dirección antes de enviar la carta.
Model answer: (b) contradicts the routine. Tomás pone el sello después de escribir el sobre. Tomás lee la dirección antes de enviar la carta.
Criteria for reviewing your answer:
- Identifies (b) and accepts (a) and (c) as matching the routine.
- Keeps the stamp after writing the envelope with después de and the reading before sending with antes de, with Tomás as actor of both verbs. «Tomás escribe el sobre antes de poner el sello» is true, but it does not use the requested connector.
(b) makes writing the envelope precede reading the address. In the new sentences the connector must keep the stamp after the envelope and the reading before sending.
Transfer 2A different case
P1. Mario makes coffee; only afterwards does Elena open the shop. P2. A draft says «Elena abre la tienda después de preparar el café». P3. In English, identify whose coffee-making the draft expresses in the basic pattern. Repair the message as two Spanish statements with both names and luego, preserving the recorded order.
P1. Eva closes the window; afterwards Pablo starts the meeting. P2. A draft says «Pablo empieza la reunión después de cerrar la ventana». P3. Name the implied window-closer in English and repair the sequence with two explicit Spanish subjects and luego.
Answer available without interaction
Answer: Your answer: Spanish wording and any requested English comment: The draft makes Elena the coffee-maker. Mario prepara el café y luego Elena abre la tienda.
Model answer: The draft makes Elena the coffee-maker. Mario prepara el café y luego Elena abre la tienda.
Criteria for reviewing your answer:
- Identifies Elena as the draft’s implied coffee-maker.
- Names Mario and Elena in the repair and keeps coffee-making before opening.
The infinitive inherits Elena as its subject in the basic pattern. Naming Mario separately repairs the actor without changing the order.
Answer: Your answer: Spanish wording and any requested English comment: The draft makes Pablo the window-closer. Eva cierra la ventana y luego Pablo empieza la reunión.
Model answer: The draft makes Pablo the window-closer. Eva cierra la ventana y luego Pablo empieza la reunión.
Criteria for reviewing your answer:
- Identifies Pablo as the implied subject of cerrar.
- Keeps Eva closing before Pablo starts.
The basic infinitive pattern attaches cerrar to Pablo. Explicit subjects retain the actual two actors.
Transfer 3A different case
P1. A record gives 10:15 for a payment and 10:15 for collecting a ticket. P2. It records only whole minutes and gives no within-minute sequence. P3. State in English whether it supports either order. Ask in Spanish whether payment happens before collection, using pagar, antes de and recoger; ask a question rather than assert the answer.
P1. A log gives 18:30 for taking a photograph and 18:30 for leaving the hall. P2. Seconds and event order are absent. P3. In English, assess the claimed order. Ask in Spanish whether the listener takes the photograph before leaving, using hacer una foto, antes de and salir.
Answer available without interaction
Answer: Your answer: Spanish wording and any requested English comment: Neither order is established. ¿Pagas antes de recoger el billete?
Model answer: Neither order is established. ¿Pagas antes de recoger el billete?
Criteria for reviewing your answer:
- Leaves the relative order undetermined.
- Asks a Spanish temporal question instead of supplying an asserted order.
Equal displayed minutes do not establish simultaneity or sequence. A question seeks the missing order without claiming it.
Answer: Your answer: Spanish wording and any requested English comment: The claimed order is not established. ¿Haces una foto antes de salir?
Model answer: The claimed order is not established. ¿Haces una foto antes de salir?
Criteria for reviewing your answer:
- Does not infer simultaneity or order from identical minutes.
- Produces a question about the relative order.
The displayed minute is shared, but the missing finer sequence prevents an assertion.
What your own language pushes you to say
Wrong Ana cena después de Luis salir.
Right Luis sale y luego Ana cena.
«Después de Luis salir» places a different subject before the infinitive; this order is heard in some Caribbean varieties but is not the general standard. Standard Spanish places that subject after the infinitive: «Ana cena después de salir Luis». On this page the safest repair is two named statements.
Transfer 4: combine the distinctions
P1. Morning log: 7:00 Rita checks the list; 7:10 Rita packs the bag; 7:20 Omar collects the bag. P2. A draft for the team chat says: «Omar recoge la bolsa después de prepararla. Omar desayuna antes de recoger la bolsa». P3. Rewrite the message in Spanish so that it states only what the log shows. If the draft claims something the log does not record, do not assert it: ask Omar about it in one Spanish question.
Answer available without interaction
- Gives the packing to Rita and the collecting to Omar, in that order.
- Does not use one infinitive for two different people.
- Turns the breakfast claim into a question about the order instead of asserting it.
Answer: Rita prepara la bolsa después de revisar la lista. Luego, Omar recoge la bolsa. Omar, ¿desayunas antes de recoger la bolsa?
In the basic pattern «después de prepararla» makes Omar the packer, so the actors need separate statements. The breakfast order is not in the log, so it becomes a question instead of a claim.
Curriculum alignment and sources
- PCIC §9.4.1 and §15.3.1, A2 column: antes de / después de + infinitive with shared subject. The split into A2.1 and the sequence of tasks are editorial. · Plan Curricular del Instituto Cervantes: Gramática, inventario A1-A2
Continue along this corridor
Practise this: “Voy a menudo”: where the adverb goesThe present tense: three endings to start speakingObject pronouns: track the thing and the recipient