Beforeis a preposition, an adverb and a conjunction.Beforemeans earlier than the time or event mentioned:
Can you call me backbefore5 pm, please?
I met her justbeforeshe left.
In writing, when we refer back to something that we have already written, we useabovenotbefore:
As the graphaboveshows, the rate of inflation has risen by 15%.
Beforeas a preposition
We usebeforemost commonly with noun phrases to refer to timed events:
I like to go for a runbeforebreakfast.
You can check in online but you have to do it at least four hoursbeforeyour flight.
We usebeforeto refer to place, especially when it is seen as part of a journey or as part of a sequence of events in time:
Get off the bus justbeforeEuston Station.
Justbeforethe end of the poem, there is a line where the poet expresses his deepest fears.
Before,by,till,until
If you have to do somethingbeforea certain point in time, then when that point arrives, the action must already be completed:
I need to have the letterbeforeFriday.(Friday is too late. I need it in advance of Friday.)
If you have to do somethingbya certain point in time, then that time is the lastmoment at which the action can be completed:
Can we finish this meetingby 5 pm. I have to get to the stationby 5.30 pm.(5 pm is the latest that I want the meeting to finish and 5.30 pm is the latest that I can arrive at the station.)
If something isdone or happenstilloruntila point in time, it happens over a duration of time, starting before that time and continuing up to that point:
[out-of-office auto-reply message on an email]
I’ll be out of the officeuntil 17thMay. I will reply to your email after that date.(I will be back on 17 May, but not before.)
| I’ll be there up to five o’clock, but not after. |
| I may call you before five o’clock but I will call you no later than five o’clock. |
| I’ll be there earlier than dinner time. |
Beforeas an adverb
Beforeoften comes after nouns such asday, morning, night, week, month, yeartorefer to the previous day, morning, etc.:
Two people were ill at work yesterday and three peoplethe day before!
A:Did you graduate in 1989?
B:No, actually, I finished collegethe year before.
When we refer to a period of time that is completed and goes from a point in the past up to now, we useago, notbefore:
A:When was your birthday?
B:It wasthree weeks ago.
See also:
Ago
Beforeas an adjunct
We usebeforeto connect earlier events to the moment of speaking or to a point of time in the past:
I’m so looking forward to the trip. I haven’t been to Latin Americabefore.(up to the moment of speaking)
I introduced Tom to Olivia last night. They hadn’t metbefore.(up to that point in the past)
Beforeas a conjunction
We usebeforeas a subordinating conjunction. We commonly usebeforewith the past simple tense. It suggests that the second event happened soon after the first one. Thebeforeclause, which indicates the second action, can be at the end or at the beginning of the sentence:
Beforeshe left, she gave everyone a present.
She gave everyone a presentbeforeshe left.
Beforewith present tenses
When we usebeforein clauses in the present tense, the clause can refer to the future:
BeforeI go to work, I jog for at least an hour.
Not:Before I will go to work…
Beforewith past tenses
We sometimes usebeforeclauses in a variety of tenses to say that the action or event in thebeforeclause did not or may not happen:
BeforeI had a chance to thank him, he’d gone.
You’re interrupting herbeforeshe has even spoken.
Beforehe had finished his training, he was sacked.
We should stop shopping nowbeforewe spend all our money.
Beforewith -ing
A non-finite clause withbefore+ing-form is more formal:
Before bringingthe milk to the boil, add the egg.(more formal thanBefore you bring…)
Just before,immediately before
We can use adverbs such asjust, immediately, shortlyandlong, and expressions involving words such asdays, weeks, months, yearsin front ofbefore:
We got homejust beforeit rained.
The deadline for the essay was 5 pm. I got mine inshortly beforefive o’clock but Lily had hers indays beforethe deadline.
Beforehand
We can usebeforehandas an alternative tobeforeas an adverb, especially when the reference to time is less specific.
Beforehandis more common in informal speaking than in writing:
I love singing but I always get so nervousbeforehand.
In front ofbeforehand, we can put adverbs such asimmediately, justandshortly, and other time expressions such asdays, weeks, months, years:
Months beforehand, Dominic had bought five tickets for the concert.
Other uses ofbefore
Beforemeaning ‘in front of’
We usebeforemeaning ‘in front of’ in more formal contexts:
Brian was twenty years old. He had his whole lifebeforehim.
The Prime Minister wentbeforethe people to tell them that he was going to resign.
Before longmeaning ‘after a short time’
Especially in writing, we usebefore longto mean ‘after a short time’:
They’ll marrybefore long, and then you’ll have more grandsons than you can count.
Before:typical errors
We useabovenotbeforewhen we refer back to something we have already written:
As statedabove, there are four key findings from the study.
Not:As stated before, there are…
When we refer to a period of time that is completed and which goes from a point in the past up to now, we useago, notbefore:
A:When did you first meet?
B:Ten yearsagowhen we were in college.
Not:Ten years before when…