What"s the Difference Between the Words "Afterward" and "Afterword"?
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Definitions
The adverb afterward (or afterwards*) means at a later time.
The noun afterword is another word for epilogue--the concluding section of a text.
* Afterward (like backward, downward, upward, inward, outward, and toward) may be used with or without a final -s.
Examples
- We enjoyed a large dinner and afterward had coffee and a gooey dessert.
- It's not the election itself but what happens afterwards that concerns me.
- In a thoughtful afterword, King suggests that he intends the novel as a warning against "the consequences of political extremism."
Practice
(a) "Churchill summoned a Royal Air Force band and instructed them to play as loud as possible all through dinner and  _____."
(David McCullough, Truman, 1992)
(b) The revised edition of Nelson's book contains a new _____ on hurricane Katrina's devastation of the city.
(c) In a short time she was promoted to manager, and soon _____ she was made president of the company.
Answers to Practice Exercises