before
preposition,adverb,conjunction
uk/bɪˈfɔːr/us/bɪˈfɔːr/A1
at or during atimeearlierthan (the thingmentioned):
在…之前；以前You should alwayswashyourhandsbeforemeals.饭前应该洗手。
Before leavinghe saidgoodbyeto each of them.走前他和每个人都告了别。
She's always up beforedawn.她总是黎明前就起床了。
Before he couldreachthedoor, shequicklyclosedit.他还没走到门前她就迅速关上了门。
Before we make adecision, does anyonewantto say anythingelse?趁我们还未作决定，还有人想说什么吗？
She had to give thedoormanatipbefore he wouldhelpher with hersuitcases(= he would not do it until she had given him atip).她得给看门人小费，好让他帮她提箱子。
before something
- beforeTry to arrive before the start of the meeting.
- prior toAll utensils should be washed prior to use.
- in advance ofCall in advance of your visit to see if you'll need a parking reservation.
- ahead ofMy sister is arriving ahead of me to do the shopping for the dinner.
- byMake sure you're back by midnight.
B1
until (theeventmentioned):
直到…发生It was anhourbefore thepolicearrived.警察一小时后才赶到。
A2
in the past:
以前；从前He said he had neverseenher before.他说他以前从没见过她。
Ifeelas though I've been here before.我感觉好像以前来过这儿。
at an earlier time
- beforeI was sure I’d seen her face before.
- beforehandHe knew beforehand that his speech would anger many people.
- previouslyShe has previously denied the accusations.
- in advanceYou should prepare your ingredients in advance.
- ahead of timeUSTry to arrive at the airport ahead of time to minimize the possibility of delays.
- You should alwayscheckyouroil,waterandtyresbefore takingyourcaron alongtrip.
- Makesureyourhandsarecleanbefore you haveyourdinner.
- Twoweeksbefore myexamsIshutmyself away in myroomwith mybooksand I didn'tspeakto anyone.
- Iwantyou toclearall thesetoysaway beforebedtime.
- She did well tofindthe way,consideringshe'd only been thereoncebefore.
Before, after and already
- advance
- afore
- afterwards
- already
- ante
- as it isidiom
- beforehand
- gone
- in advanceidiom
- in advance ofsomething/someoneidiom
- in the wake ofsomethingidiom
- next
- prologue
- quondam
- second-wave
- secondarily
- secondary
- shortly
- the next but oneidiom
- wake
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Until a particular moment
In the past
Grammar
Before
Before is a preposition, an adverb and a conjunction. Before means earlier than the time or event mentioned:…Beforeas a preposition
We use before most commonly with noun phrases to refer to timed events:…Before,by,till,until
If you have to do something before a certain point in time, then when that point arrives, the action must already be completed:…Beforeas an adverb
Before often comes after nouns such as day, morning, night, week, month, year to refer to the previous day, morning, etc.:…Beforeas an adjunct
We use before to connect earlier events to the moment of speaking or to a point of time in the past:…Beforeas a conjunction
We use before as a subordinating conjunction. We commonly use before with the past simple tense. It suggests that the second event happened soon after the first one. The before clause, which indicates the second action, can be at the end or at the beginning of the sentence:…Beforewith -ing
A non-finite clause with before + ing-form is more formal:…Just before,immediately before
We can use adverbs such as just, immediately, shortly and long, and expressions involving words such as days, weeks, months, years in front of before:…Beforehand
We can use beforehand as an alternative to before as an adverb, especially when the reference to time is less specific.…Other uses ofbefore
We use before meaning ‘in front of’ in more formal contexts:…Before:typical errors
We use above not before when we refer back to something we have already written:…before
preposition
uk/bɪˈfɔːr/us/bɪˈfɔːr/B1
infrontof:
在…前面，在…之前TheletterK comes before L in theEnglishalphabet.在英语字母表中，K排在L前面。
Manymothersputtheirchildren'sneedsbeforetheirown.许多母亲都把孩子的需要置于自己的需要之前。
We have thewholeweekendbefore us - what do youwantto do?我们有整个周末的时间——做些什么呢？
Hestoodup before awholeroomfulofpeople, andaskedher tomarryhim.他在满屋子人面前站起来向她求婚。
A2
If aplaceis before anotherplace, you willarriveat it first when you aretravellingtowards the secondplace:
（场所）在…之前Thebusstopis just before theschool.公共汽车站就在学校前面一点。
If something is before someone or before agroupofpeople, it will beformallyconsideredorexaminedby thatpersonorgroup:
由…考虑；由…审查Theproposalbefore thecommitteeis that wetryandreduceourspendingby tenpercent.委员会正在考虑我们打算降低10%开支的建议。
The menappearedbefore thejudgeyesterday.这些人昨天出庭了。
- Heboweddown before thekingandbeggedformercy.
- I couldhardlybelievethechaoticscenebefore me.
- There were still severalpeoplebefore me in thequeue.
- He took out hisgoldwatchandlaidit on thetablebefore hm.
- He got down on hiskneesbefore thealtar.
Ahead, in front and beyond
- ahead
- ahead of
- ante
- be (right) underyournoseidiom
- beyond
- downriver
- follow
- followyournoseidiom
- fore
- front
- front end
- head
- lead
- nose
- para
- past
- up
- yonder
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Analysing and evaluating
Law courts
Grammar
Before
Before is a preposition, an adverb and a conjunction. Before means earlier than the time or event mentioned:…Beforeas a preposition
We use before most commonly with noun phrases to refer to timed events:…Before,by,till,until
If you have to do something before a certain point in time, then when that point arrives, the action must already be completed:…Beforeas an adverb
Before often comes after nouns such as day, morning, night, week, month, year to refer to the previous day, morning, etc.:…Beforeas an adjunct
We use before to connect earlier events to the moment of speaking or to a point of time in the past:…Beforeas a conjunction
We use before as a subordinating conjunction. We commonly use before with the past simple tense. It suggests that the second event happened soon after the first one. The before clause, which indicates the second action, can be at the end or at the beginning of the sentence:…Beforewith -ing
A non-finite clause with before + ing-form is more formal:…Just before,immediately before
We can use adverbs such as just, immediately, shortly and long, and expressions involving words such as days, weeks, months, years in front of before:…Beforehand
We can use beforehand as an alternative to before as an adverb, especially when the reference to time is less specific.…Other uses ofbefore
We use before meaning ‘in front of’ in more formal contexts:…Before:typical errors
We use above not before when we refer back to something we have already written:…