before, by, after, from… (onwards), later, earlier, next, previous, prior, subsequent 英語各種「相對時間用語」的特殊含意及例句

before, after 是不包含某時間點的。若要包含某時間點，就使用 by = no later than 以及 from… onwards = no earlier than。例如 From 11th century onwards, … 是包含 11 世紀的。然而，若是 after 11th century，那 11 世紀是不算的。

Time + Before, After + Sentence

the night before sth

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two nights before （省略時間點

the morning after sth

years after （省略時間點

Next, Previous

the next time

the previous time

Prior, Subsequent

prior to 在…之前

prior 形容詞用法（在先的）

subsequent to 在…之後（veterinary = vet

subsequent 形容詞用法（隨後的）

Later, Earlier

a few minutes later 幾分鐘後（以原本在談的事件發生時間起算

a few days earlier 幾天前（ 這裡的 on Christmas eve 只是一個補充，不是時間基準點

much later than thought

weeks earlier than expected

earlier in 在…的早期

later in 在…的晚期

Practice