Before Lunch, After Work, From Nine to Five

← Grammar Hub
A1On my own or with a tutor

Before Lunch, After Work, From Nine to Five

In this lesson, you can say when an activity happens with before or after.

Created by , British English teacher.

I’m studying:

Try the activities, then check your answers.

Choose a short recording.

Before you start

Name an activity you do after lunch.

See one possible response

I study after lunch.

You arrange a day at a community garden, with lunch, work and an afternoon class.

What you will practise
  • Say when an activity happens with before or after.
  • Give a start time and an end time.
  • Put time phrases at the start or end clearly.

Say your answer. Then check the model. Your answer can be different if it fits the task.

Before and after

Before lunch means earlier than lunch. After lunch means later than lunch. Put a noun or short noun phrase after before or after: before work, after the class. These phrases do not say exactly how many minutes earlier or later.

We meet before lunch.

I water the plants after work.

The two adults have a brief meeting before lunch, discussing a slim folder beside a closed lunch container and covered plate. Their attentive interaction precedes the meal. A small tea service set aside suggests the later tea after lunch without showing all events as simultaneous.
We meet before lunch. We have tea after lunch.Before and after order events without giving an exact gap.

From start to finish

Use from for the starting time and to for the finishing time: from nine to twelve. Give both points when you describe a period. From nine alone gives a start, not an end.

The garden is open from nine to five.

Our class is from two to three.

Place the phrase clearly

A time phrase can follow the activity: We have tea after the class. It can also come first: After the class, we have tea. Keep before or after next to the event it describes. Use simple nouns here, not a new sentence after the preposition.

Before the meeting, I check my notes.

We clean the tools after the class.

The same adults attend an isolated garden entrance with a small potted tree and two modest analogue clocks indicating nine and five as the opening interval endpoints. The woman points to the opening information represented by those objects and Denis listens. No full garden background or printed words.
The garden is open from nine to five.Both endpoints describe the opening period.

Guided practice

Say or write your answer first. Then compare the meaning and grammar with the model.

1. Lunch is at one. Your walk is at twelve. The walk is ___ lunch.

Compare a model and explanation

before

Twelve is earlier than one in this day plan.

Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.

2. The class starts at three and finishes at four. It runs to three from four.

Compare a model and explanation

It runs from three to four.

From marks the starting point.

Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.

3. work / after / call / I / you

Compare a model and explanation

I call you after work.

Keep after with its noun complement work.

Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.

4. When is the market open? It opens at eight and closes at two.

Compare a model and explanation

It is open from eight to two.

The answer gives a period, not only one point.

Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.

5. We practise after the lesson. Start with After.

Compare a model and explanation

After the lesson, we practise.

Moving the phrase does not reverse the order of events.

Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.

6. I read before dinner. I read after dinner. Is the order the same?

Compare a model and explanation

No. In the first sentence I read first; in the second I eat dinner first.

Before and after place reading on different sides of dinner.

Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.

7. ___ the concert, we check the tickets. The concert has not started.

Compare a model and explanation

Before

The ticket check comes earlier.

Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.

8. Class: 10–11. Coffee: 11:15. Say the class times and when you have coffee.

Compare a model and explanation

The class is from ten to eleven. We have coffee after the class.

Combine a time period with a later activity.

Accept a grammatical alternative that satisfies the stated prompt and this item’s explanation; the model is not an exhaustive exact-string key.

A short conversation

Listen to the exchange, then take one role. The speaker labels identify roles; do not narrate them.

Open the conversation transcript

Organiser: The garden class is from two to three.

Visitor: Can we have lunch before the class?

Organiser: Yes. The café is open from twelve to four.

Visitor: Great. After the class, we can visit the shop.

Listening checks

Listen to each extract, then choose the best answer. These three questions have their own score.

1. What happens first?
Read the listening transcript

I work from eight to twelve. I have lunch after work.

2. When does the talk finish?
Read the listening transcript

The talk is from six to seven. We meet before the talk.

3. When does the speaker buy coffee?
Read the listening transcript

After breakfast, I walk to the station. Before work, I buy a coffee.

Answer key with explanations

  1. What happens first?

    Work.: Lunch comes after work.

    Compare all choices
    • Lunch.: After work places lunch later.
    • Work.: Lunch comes after work.
    • The message does not give an order.: After explicitly gives the order.

  2. When does the talk finish?

    At seven.: To seven gives the finishing time.

    Compare all choices
    • Before six.: That may be the meeting time, not the talk’s finish.
    • At six.: Six is the starting time.
    • At seven.: To seven gives the finishing time.

  3. When does the speaker buy coffee?

    Before work.: The second sentence gives this time.

    Compare all choices
    • Before work.: The second sentence gives this time.
    • After work.: The speaker says before, not after.
    • During breakfast.: Coffee is placed before work, not during breakfast.

Mastery quiz

Choose the best answer for each situation. The score is out of eight.

1. The film starts at eight. You eat at seven. Choose the correct description.
2. Complete: The library is open ___ nine ___ five.
3. Which sentence places the call later than lunch?
4. Choose the same meaning as We meet before class.
5. The message says From ten. What information is missing?
6. Which phrase fits after We have tea?
7. Choose the plan for a lesson at 2–3 and a walk at 3:30.
8. What does before lunch tell you?
Answer key with explanations

  1. The film starts at eight. You eat at seven. Choose the correct description.

    I eat before the film.: Seven is earlier than the film’s start.

    Compare all choices
    • I eat before the film.: Seven is earlier than the film’s start.
    • I eat after the film.: This reverses the supplied order.
    • I eat from the film.: From does not express this earlier/later relationship.

  2. Complete: The library is open ___ nine ___ five.

    from; to: From gives the start and to the end.

    Compare all choices
    • before; after: These do not express the stated opening period.
    • from; to: From gives the start and to the end.
    • to; from: This reverses their normal roles.

  3. Which sentence places the call later than lunch?

    I call you after lunch.: After makes the call later.

    Compare all choices
    • I call you before lunch.: Before makes it earlier.
    • I call you from lunch to.: The phrase is unfinished and does not give the intended order.
    • I call you after lunch.: After makes the call later.

  4. Choose the same meaning as We meet before class.

    Before class, we meet.: Only the position of the phrase changes.

    Compare all choices
    • Before class, we meet.: Only the position of the phrase changes.
    • Class before we meet.: This is not a complete version of the target sentence.
    • After class, we meet.: After changes the order.

  5. The message says From ten. What information is missing?

    The finishing time.: From ten gives only the start.

    Compare all choices
    • The starting time.: Ten is the starting time.
    • The finishing time.: From ten gives only the start.
    • Both start and finish.: One point has already been given.

  6. Which phrase fits after We have tea?

    after the meeting: A noun phrase follows after.

    Compare all choices
    • after to meeting: This does not form the required noun phrase.
    • after the: The noun phrase is unfinished.
    • after the meeting: A noun phrase follows after.

  7. Choose the plan for a lesson at 2–3 and a walk at 3:30.

    The lesson is from two to three. We walk after the lesson.: Both the period and the order fit.

    Compare all choices
    • The lesson is from two to three. We walk after the lesson.: Both the period and the order fit.
    • The lesson is from three to two. We walk before it.: Both the time order and the walk’s position are reversed.
    • The lesson is after three. We walk before two.: Neither statement fits the given plan.

  8. What does before lunch tell you?

    The activity is earlier than lunch.: Before gives relative order.

    Compare all choices
    • The activity is later than lunch.: That would be after lunch.
    • The activity is earlier than lunch.: Before gives relative order.
    • The activity is exactly ten minutes earlier.: No exact gap is specified.

Use it in your own words

A normal day

Say two activities: one before work or class and one after it.

Reveal a possible response

Before class, I check my bag. I call my family after class.

  • Use before correctly
  • Use after correctly

Use work, study or another familiar event.

Opening times

Invent opening times for a café and a shop. Give the start and finish for each.

Reveal a possible response

The café is open from eight to four. The shop is open from ten to six.

  • Give two complete periods
  • Keep start before finish

The times can be fictional.

Put it all together

Plan a simple evening with a friend: a class or event with start and finish times, one activity before it and one after it.

Reveal a possible response

The music class is from six to seven. We can eat before the class. After the class, we can walk home.

  • Give a complete period
  • Place two activities clearly
  • Make a usable plan

Keep the language simple; many plans are possible.

Take it with you

Before and after place an activity around another point. From and to give the start and end. Keep both times clear.