nachdem

Nachdem is a subordinating conjunction in German used to indicate that one event occurred after another event that is in the past relative to the main clause. It introduces a dependent clause describing an action that had already been completed when the action of the main clause took place. The meaning is akin to “after” in English, emphasizing anteriority to the reference point of the main clause.

Syntactically, sentences with nachdem place the entire subordinate clause before or after the main clause. When the subordinate clause comes first, a comma typically separates it from the main clause. In the subordinate clause, the verb tends to appear at the end, following the rule for subordinate clauses in German. The main clause’s tense interacts with the tense in the nachdem clause to express the sequence of events.

Tense usage for nachdem typically reflects past reference. A common, clear construction is the plusquamperfekt in the nachdem clause and the Präteritum or Perfekt in the main clause: Nachdem er gegessen hatte, ging er ins Bett. Another frequent pattern is Nachdem er angekommen war, begann das Meeting. In everyday speech, forms with a Perfekt in both clauses can occur, but the plusquamperfekt in the subordinating clause is often preferred to stress anteriority.

Examples:

- Nachdem er gegessen hatte, ging er ins Bett.

- Nachdem ich die Nachricht gehört hatte, rief ich dich an.

- Bevor ich ging, musste ich das Licht ausmachen.

See also: Bevor, Seitdem, temporale Konjunktionen.