following可以换成after吗（两者有何区别）

问题描述

Earlier Ted Cruz, a Texas senator and the only plausible rival to Donald Trump for the nomination, suspended his campaign following his loss in the Indiana primary.

请问：句中的 following 可以换成 after 吗？

老师答疑

童老师：

following 用作介词，表示“在……之后”，与 after 同义，常可互换。又如：

Following [=After] dinner he went home. 宴会之后他就回家了。

Following [=After] the speech, there will be a few minutes for questions. 演讲之后有几分钟提问的时间。