Earlyis an adverb or an adjective.
Earlymeans ‘near the beginning of a period of time or event’. The comparative and superlative forms areearlierandearliest. We most commonly useearlyas an adverb:
We’ll have to get upearlyto catch the flight.(early in the morning)
The meeting’s now taking place in March, two monthsearlier.
Earlycan also be used as an adjective:
[talking about a famous composer]
Hisearlymusic was written mainly for children.
Hisearliestmemories were of life in Brazil.
Earlyas an adverb can also mean ‘before the time that was expected’:
You’reearly. We haven’t had breakfast yet.
Typical error
We don’t useearlyto mean ‘a short time after now’ or ‘a short time after then’. We usesoon:
Let’s meetsoon.
Not:Let’s meet early.
They had only been in Greece for a week but theysoonlearned to speak a few words of the local language.
Not: …but they early learned to speak a few words…