Pärast

Pärast is an Estonian postposition meaning "after." It expresses a temporal sequence and indicates that one event or action occurs following another. In Estonian, postpositions like pärast typically govern the genitive case of the following noun.

Usage and examples: The noun that follows pärast is usually in genitive. For example, "pärast kooli" means "after school," and "pärast sündmust" means "after the event." The phrase "pärast seda" means "after that" and can introduce a subsequent clause or provide a transitional sense in discourse. Pärast can also appear with pronouns, taking the genitive forms, as in "pärast mind" (after me) or "pärast teda" (after him/her).

Grammar notes: Pärast is used to talk about events located in time after a reference point. It functions in clauses as a prepositional-like postposition, and is compatible with various tenses of the main clause. It can appear in both everyday speech and formal writing, including narrative sequencing and planning.

Relation to other temporal markers: Pärast is part of a core set of Estonian temporal postpositions, alongside enne (before) and kuni (until). It contrasts with spatial terms by focusing on temporal order rather than location, though some contexts can blur boundaries in a broader discourse about events and sequences.