particle ato "after" in japanese

Ato

If you ever want to say after, you will probably need to use this word. Ato is very similar to the English word after. Ato, like bakari, is used with the -ta form. You can add it to just about any "past tense" sentence.

Example 1:

Akunin o koroshita
Scoundrel (who) killed.
Killed the scoundrel

Next, we'll enhance the sentence:

Akunin o koroshita ato, hayaku nigeta.
Scoundrel (who) killed after, quickly escaped.
After (he) killed the scoundrel, he quickly escaped.

Example 2:

hikaru o taoshita
Hikaru (who) defeated.
Hikaru was defeated.

hikaru o taoshita ato, waratte ita.
Hikaru (who) defeated after, was laughing
He was laughing after (he) defeated Hikaru.



This article was used with permission from:
Japanese is Possible

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