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Later or then

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ROBINDESBOIS
January 12, 2013, 03:50 AM
At nine I get up then I get dressed.
Can we used later instead of then?
If not when do we use then?

Perikles
January 12, 2013, 03:59 AM
At nine I get up then I get dressed.
Can we used later instead of then?
If not when do we use then?At nine I get up then I get dressed. This suggests that you get dressed immediately after getting up.

At nine I get up, later I get dressed. This suggests that you spend some time in the morning wandering about naked (or dressing gown) before getting dressed.

wrholt
January 12, 2013, 10:08 AM
At nine I get up then I get dressed.
Can we used later instead of then?
If not when do we use then?

At nine I get up then I get dressed. This suggests that you get dressed immediately after getting up.

At nine I get up, later I get dressed. This suggests that you spend some time in the morning wandering about naked (or dressing gown) before getting dressed.

Perikles' comments are also true for US English: "do X, and then do Y" suggests one event following another immediately, while "do X, and later do Y" suggests one event following another, but probably not immediately.

ROBINDESBOIS
January 12, 2013, 01:09 PM
Can I use next instead of then ?

Rusty
January 12, 2013, 01:15 PM
Yes.

At nine, I get up. Then, I get dressed.
" Next, I get dressed.
" Later, I get dressed.

The first two are synonymous, the second action directly following the first.
Using 'later' doesn't suggest an immediate sequence of events.

applehead1987
January 13, 2013, 10:46 AM
I think using next would make you sound a bit foreign though.. (in British English anyway)