1.later是副词,意思是“较晚地”“后来”,常用于书面语中。
2.later常与一个表示具体时间的名词连用,指从过去或将来某一时间算起的“…后”“…之后”“过了…”。如果单独使用,即其前不加“若干时间”,则可以用来表示“从现在算起以后”。
3.later无比较级和最高级形式。

for later
供以后用 for afterwards
I'm saving the sweets you gave me for later.我要把你送给我的糖果留到以后吃。

later on
〈口〉以后 afterwards
At first, things went well, but later on we ran into trouble.一开始情况不错,可后来我们遇到了麻烦。
I'll be seeing you later on.我以后还要和你再见面。

sooner or later
迟早 in the end
John will come back sooner or later.约翰终归要回来的。

用作状语
We later learnt that this wasn't true at all.我们后来了解到根本不是这么回事。
I'll call again later.我以后再打电话来。
He fell ill on Monday and died three days later.他星期一得病,星期三就死了。
Tom and Mary got married in 1985.Two years later, they were divorced.汤姆和玛丽1985年结婚,两年后他们离婚了。

later, afterwards
参见afterwards条。

1.片刻〔相当一段时间〕以后
［误］  a just〔soon,shortly〕 later
［正］  a little〔much〕 later
［析］  later不可用just, soon, shortly, immediately等词修饰,但可用little或much等来修饰。
2.我将在一周之后再给你打电话。
［误］  I'll call again a week later.
［正］  I'll call again in a week.
一年之后,他作为一个英雄回来了。
［误］  He came back as a hero in a year.
［正］  He came back as a hero a year later.
［析］  later不可用于说明“从说话时算起若干时间之后”,应该用in a year, in a week等,只有在指“从过去或将来某一时刻算起若干时间以后”时才可用later。
3.她一定是个55岁以上的女人。
［误］  She must be a woman in her later fifties.
［正］  She must be a woman in her late fifties.
［析］  表示“55岁以上接近60岁”用in one's late fifties,而不用later。

［同义词］   after, afterwards, next, subsequently, thereafter
［反义词］   earlier