摘要：在以现在（说话时）为起点的“在……之后”这个含义是介词in应接时间段(a period of time)；介词 after 之后则应接时间点(a point of time)。例如:

1.在以现在（说话时）为起点的“在……之后”这个含义是介词in应接时间段(a period of time)；介词 after 之后则应接时间点(a point of time)。例如:

It's two o'clock. I’ll come in an hour( =at three o'clock).

现在是两点,我一小时后回来(即三点钟回来)。

I shall come round in a day or two.

我一两天之后回来。

He’ll come back after seven o'clock. 他将在七点钟之后回来。

2.但是,当以某个过去的时间为起点时,则 after之后既可接时间点,也可接时间段:

Just after seven the rain began to fall.

刚过七点,就开始下雨了。

After ten years I'm used to the strange British ways.

十年之后，我习惯了英国人的奇异习俗。

After three years with the band he decided to go solo.

跟那支乐队合作三年后，他决定单飞。

He separated from his wife after 20 years of marriage.

他和妻子在结婚20年后分居了。

After a year and half of war Russia was badly defeated.

战争过了一年半,俄国被打得惨败。

After years of war, the people long for a lasting peace.

历经多年战乱之后，人民渴望永久和平。

After seven days of this I went to a party.

这样过了七天之后,我去参加一个聚会。

After 19 May, strikes were occurring on a daily basis...

5月19日之后，每天都会发生罢工。

试比较：

He came back after three days. 3 天后他回来了。

I’ll come back in three days. 我 3 天后回来。

He will come back after three.他三点后会回来。

He came back after three.他三点后回来的。

3.after 可以与某些表示活动（或事件）的名词连用，表示“在……之后”(注：in 不能这样用)。如：

after school 放学后 after the meeting 散会后

after liberation 解放后 after one’s graduation 毕业后

We'll leave after lunch.

我们将在午饭后动身。

Shall we go for a drink after work?

我们下班后去喝一杯好吗？

I'm going to the library straight after the class.

我一下课就马上去图书馆。

After winning the prize she became famous overnight.

她获奖后一夜之间成名了。

He was on a real high after winning the competition.

他赢了那场比赛后高兴极了。

The first 24 hours after the operation are the most critical.

病人手术后头24小时是最危险的。

You'll feel better after a good night's sleep.

你晚上睡个好觉就会觉得舒服些。

After his death, nothing seemed to matter any more.

他死了以后，好像一切都无所谓了。

The traffic took a long time to clear after the accident.

事故过去后很长时间交通才恢复畅通。

I need time to get my wind back after that run.

我跑过之后需要时间喘口气。

The company recovered well after going through several lean years.

经历了几年的萧条后，这家公司的业务才完全恢复了正常。

I think we could all use a drink after that!

我想我们在事情办完之后都得痛快地喝一杯。

来源：翅膀英语一点号