The word “before” can function as a preposition, a subordinating conjunction, and a time adverb. Let’s look at each of these in turn:
- Before as a Preposition: When “before” is used as a preposition, it connects a noun or pronoun to another word in the sentence to show time, place, or logic. It indicates that something happens earlier than the time or event mentioned.Examples:
- “The treaty was signed before the war.” (time)
- “She always does her homework before getting home.” (time)
- “He always brushes his teeth before dinner.” (time)
- “We had been friends for years before our meeting in person.” (time)
- “It’s dangerous to go out in the wilderness before dark.” (time)
- Before as a Subordinating Conjunction: When “before” is used as a subordinating conjunction, it connects two clauses in a sentence, showing a relationship between them. The clause beginning with “before” is the subordinate clause, which provides necessary context to the main clause.Examples:
- “Make sure you pack your bags before you leave for the trip.” (time)
- “I had already finished my homework before she came home.” (time)
- “You should probably eat something before it gets too late.” (time)
- “They had been dating for five years before they got married.” (time)
- “We need to do a final review before we begin the project.” (time)
- Before as a Time Adverb: When “before” is used as an adverb, it modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb to indicate when something happens. It’s often used at the end of a sentence.Examples:
- “We should be proud of Dad, now more than ever before.”
- “I had seen that movie once before.”
- “She had visited that place before.”
In all these uses, “before” indicates an earlier time. However, its grammatical function changes depending on whether it’s used as a preposition, conjunction, or adverb.
In the iWeb corpus, ‘before’ is tagged in 3 ways.
1 BEFORE (II) 3240842
Collocates of ‘before’ as a preposition in the MOVIE corpus:
1 LONG 1450
2 EYES 633
your whole life flashes before your eyes
‘before your eyes’ = you see your life in front of you.
You eat with your eyes before your mouth.
‘before your mouth’ is more of an adverbial phrase of time. Meaning: first we eat by looking at it, then, we eat with our mouths.
3 DAYS 614
we‘ll have the tree to put up and decorate
and there are only two days left before Christmas.
4 WAR 516
5 GETS 510
6 MINUTES 491
7 COMES 463
8 CHRISTMAS 456
9 DINNER 416
10 HOURS 398
11 MET 369
12 DAWN 364
13 WEDDING 357
14 DARK 353
15 WEEK 351
16 WEEKS 336
17 DIED 324
18 DEATH 314
19 HOUR 280
20 COURT 263
We had AI write examples with the collocates above:
- The treaty was signed before the war.
- She always does her homework before getting home.
- Please finish the report 30 minutes before the meeting.
- He always brushes his teeth before dinner.
- The city is beautifully decorated before every Christmas.
- We usually have a walk before our dinner.
- I finished the project 10 hours before the deadline.
- We had been friends for years before our meeting in person.
- The birds start chirping before the dawn.
- She was very nervous before her wedding day.
- It’s dangerous to go out in the wilderness before dark.
- I need to finish this task a week before the deadline.
- He completed his assignment two weeks before the submission date.
- She visited her grandmother before her grandmother’s death.
- He confessed his crimes before his death.
- I’ll finish this book an hour before bedtime.
- He prepared his statement thoroughly before his court appearance.
2 BEFORE (CS) 2449322
Collocates as a subordinating conjunction in the MOVIE corpus show that the past simple is very common and this is B2 in the EGP. Otherwise ‘before’ as a conjunction is listed at B1.
1 LONG 1667
long before = C2 a long period of time before something
He had the chance to read it all
How long were you into the process
2 LEAVE 1575
3 LEFT 1564
4 DIED 1461
5 CAME 1443
6 GETS 1419
7 START 1167
8 WENT 1150
9 LATE 1014
10 DIE 1009
11 KNEW 968
12 MET 930
13 BORN 787
14 STARTED 787
15 MARRIED 687
16 CATCH 330
17 BEGIN 317
18 YESTERDAY 290
19 FINISH 268
20 BECAME 256
- Make sure you pack your bags before you leave for the trip.
- She had already locked the doors before she left the house.
- He managed to say his last words before he died.
- I had already finished my homework before she came home.
- You should probably eat something before it gets too late.
- We need to do a sound check before we start the concert.
- She had already put on her shoes before she went out.
- Make sure to finish your work before it’s too late.
- He wanted to say goodbye to everyone before he died.
- I had already known about the surprise party before I knew about the guests.
- We had been friends online for years before we met in person.
- The legend of the hero was well-known before he was born.
- They had already set up the stage before they started the concert.
- They had been dating for five years before they got married.
- You should probably leave early before you catch the rush hour traffic.
- We need to do a final review before we begin the project.
- I had already finished my work before you began yours.
- Make sure to proofread your essay before you finish your submission.
- He was just a normal guy before he became a famous actor.
3 BEFORE (RT) 1195294 A2
As a time adverb, it is usually followed by punctuation such as a full stop to end the sentence.
1 EVER BEFORE. 46488
We should be proud of Dad, now more than ever before.
2 THAN BEFORE. 26632
3 SAID BEFORE, 22888
4 SEEN BEFORE. 21207
5 AS BEFORE, 19026
6 AS BEFORE. 17695
7 MENTIONED BEFORE, 17535
8 IT BEFORE. 16164
9 EVER BEFORE, 16051
10 IT BEFORE, 14964
11 THIS BEFORE, 13558
12 NIGHT BEFORE. 13240
13 NEVER BEFORE. 12573
14 THIS BEFORE. 12411
15 DONE BEFORE. 10762
16 DAY BEFORE. 10326
17 NIGHT BEFORE, 10288
18 YEAR BEFORE. 10177
19 THAN BEFORE, 9195
20 HAD BEFORE. 8513
21 SEEN BEFORE, 8195
22 DAY BEFORE, 8106
Here are sentences using ‘before’ as a time adverb with the provided collocates:
- The garden looks more beautiful than before.
- As I said before, we need to be careful with our budget.
- This is a species of bird I’ve never seen before.
- The procedure will be the same as before.
- She performed the task just as before.
- This issue has been mentioned before in our meetings.
- I’ve never thought about it before.
- The company is growing faster than ever before.
- I’ve never seen it before in my life.
- Have you encountered this before in your studies?
- He was very tired the night before.
- I’ve never before seen such a beautiful sunset.
- I’ve never experienced anything like this before.
- This task has been done before by our team.
- She was very nervous the day before her interview.
- He couldn’t sleep the night before the big game.
- The city was very different a year before.
- The room looks cleaner than before.
- She had more responsibilities than she had before.
- This is a painting technique I’ve never seen before.
- He arrived a day before to prepare for the meeting.
23 THAT BEFORE. 7962
24 YEARS BEFORE. 7250
25 TIMES BEFORE, 7155
26 WAS BEFORE. 6903
27 DID BEFORE. 6438
28 NEVER BEFORE SEEN 6318
29 YEAR BEFORE, 6203
30 . BEFORE, 6126
31 TIMES BEFORE. 6066
32 YEARS BEFORE, 5896
33 DONE BEFORE, 5895
34 IT BEFORE AND 5743
35 THE BEFORE AND 4989
36 . BEFORE THAT 4927
37 THIS BEFORE AND 4887
38 THEM BEFORE. 4600
39 THERE BEFORE. 4473
40 BEEN BEFORE. 4255
41 THIS BEFORE ? 4160
42 HEARD BEFORE. 4045
43 THAT BEFORE, 4004
44 STATED BEFORE, 3978
45 OF BEFORE. 3912
46 ONE BEFORE. 3803
47 HAPPENED BEFORE. 3550
48 EXPERIENCED BEFORE. 3447
49 NEVER BEFORE BEEN 3437
50 HAVE BEFORE. 3410
51 HERE BEFORE, 3390
52 WERE BEFORE. 3384
53 NEVER BEFORE, 3378
54 NEVER BEFORE HAS 3339
55 THEM BEFORE, 3294
56 HAD BEFORE, 3229
57 ONCE BEFORE, 3072
58 GONE BEFORE. 3013
59 SEEN BEFORE IN 2886
60 USED BEFORE. 2877
61 HERE BEFORE. 2862
62 WEEK BEFORE. 2842
63 DID BEFORE, 2789
64 LIKE BEFORE. 2760
65 AND BEFORE THAT 2717
66 DAYS BEFORE. 2701
67 DAYS BEFORE, 2677
68 ” BEFORE, 2634
69 WAS BEFORE, 2626
70 NEVER BEFORE HAVE 2623
71 LIKE BEFORE, 2599
72 THIS BEFORE BUT 2575
73 TO BEFORE. 2572
74 ONE BEFORE, 2550
75 NOT BEFORE. 2526
76 IT BEFORE BUT 2475
77 EVER BEFORE TO 2470
78 THERE BEFORE, 2455
79 WEEK BEFORE, 2348
80 MENTIONED BEFORE. 2308
81 NOT BEFORE THE 2293
82 ME BEFORE. 2267
83 A BEFORE AND 2164
84 BEFORE : 2132
85 EVER BEFORE ! 2128
86 TRIED BEFORE. 2097
87 YOU BEFORE, 2077
88 HAPPENED BEFORE, 2044
89 ABOUT BEFORE. 2007
90 BEEN BEFORE, 2003
91 NEVER BEFORE HAD 1977
92 EVER BEFORE IN 1913
93 HEARD BEFORE, 1902
94 ONCE BEFORE. 1893
95 AS BEFORE AND 1862
96 CAME BEFORE. 1841
97 NEVER BEFORE IN 1837
98 USED BEFORE, 1816
99 , BEFORE, 1809
100 HIM BEFORE. 1794