8.15 events in sequence

You can also use 'when', 'after', or 'once' to talk about one event happening immediately after another.

• When old Thrussel died, his widow came to me and said that he wished to be buried in the churchyard.
• Stop me when you've had enough.
• The turtle returns to the sea after it has laid its eggs.
• Once environmental damage is done, it takes many years for the system to recover.

If you want to say how long one event happened after another, you put a noun group such as 'two days' or 'three years' in front of 'after'.

• Exactly six weeks after she had arrived, she sent a cable to her husband and caught the plane back to New York.

'As soon as', 'directly', 'immediately', 'the moment', 'the minute', and 'the instant' are all used to talk about one event happening a very short time after another.

• They heard voices as soon as they pushed open the door.
• The moment Stagg had finished, he and the other two scientists were subjected to a barrage of questions.
• Immediately the meal was over, it was time for prayer.

8.16

When you want to say that something happened, happens, or will happen at an earlier time than something else, you use 'before'.

• It was necessary for them to find a roof to live under before the cold weather set in.
• They had not even bothered to bury their comrades before they fled.
• Before man exterminated the rabbits they were the staple food both of the foxes and the wildcats.

If you want to say how long one event happened before another, you put a noun group such as 'three weeks' or 'a short time' in front of 'before'.

• He had a review with the second organiser, about a month before the report was written.
• Long before you return she will have forgotten you.

8.17

When you are telling a story, you sometimes want to say what was happening when a particular event occurred. You first say what was happening, then add a clause beginning with 'when' in which you mention the event.

• I had just started back for the house to change my clothes when I heard voices.
• He was having his Christmas dinner when the telephone rang.

If you want to say that one event happened a very short time after another, you use a clause in the past perfect tense, followed by a time clause in the simple past tense. After 'had' in the first clause, you put 'no sooner' or 'hardly'.

When you use 'no sooner', the time clause begins with 'than'.

• I had no sooner checked into the hotel than he arrived with the appropriate documents.

When you use 'hardly', the time clause begins with 'when' or 'before'.

• He had hardly got his eyes open before she told him that they were leaving.

'No sooner' or 'hardly' is often put at the beginning of the first clause, followed by 'had' and the subject.

• No sooner had he asked the question than the answer came to him.
• Hardly had the din faded behind them when they came upon another shouting crowd.
• Hardly had Lamin wolfed down his meal before he flopped back onto the soft moss.

8.18

When something is the case because of a new situation, you can say what is the case and then add a subordinate clause saying what the new situation is. The subordinate clause begins with 'now' or 'now that'.

• I feel better now I've talked to you.
• He soon discovered how much faster he could travel now that he was alone.