There are no rules in English that teach us whether we can or can’t start sentences with particular words. Take “before” as an example. We can start a sentence with it for a few reasons, and this article will explore how to do it effectively.
You can start a sentence with “before” when using it as a conjunction to connect two clauses, as a preposition to talk about something that happened in front of you, or as an adverb. It’s common to use all three of these forms in writing.
To help you understand more about what each form means, you can refer to the following:
- Conjunction: Before seeing my father again, I had to get him a gift.
- Preposition: Before my eyes, there appeared a man with no name.
- Adverb: Before, I found it difficult to believe in any of this nonsense!
All of these forms are correct when starting a sentence with “before.”
What Does “Before” Mean At The Beginning Of A Sentence?
It might help to go over a little bit more with each meaning. That way, you’ll have a better understanding of what “before” means.
“Before” means that something happens before another thing when used as a conjunction. As a preposition, it means that something happened in front of someone. As an adverb, it refers to something that wasn’t the case once but is the case now.
We can use “before” with these three common definitions. Each variation comes with slightly different grammatical rules that we need to understand and follow.
Examples Of How To Use “Before” At The Beginning Of A Sentence
To help you understand the rules we can use, we’ll split this part into sections. Since each form uses different rules, you might want to pay attention to how the grammar works in each case.
Conjunction
- Before I could go to bed, I had to check my closet for monsters.
- Before naming me godfather, they had a long conversation with me about my life goals.
- Before there were people, there were dinosaurs.
“Before” as a conjunction works to introduce something that happened prior to another event.
When using “before” in this way, we set up a dependent clause. When starting a sentence with a dependent clause, we need to make sure to include the comma at the end of the clause.
It’s also possible to switch the positions of the clauses:
- Before I could tell her, I had to ask permission.
- I had to ask permission before I could tell her.
Preposition
- Before me, there was a man who nobody knew.
- Before my eyes, he started to do something I never thought I’d see!
- Before I stood my superior.
“Before” as a preposition usually means that something happened in front of someone.
Usually, we include a comma after the prepositional phrase has ended to indicate the start of a new clause. However, we don’t use commas when the following word is a verb (like in example 3).
Adverb
- Before, I wasn’t too happy with the treatment of my people.
- Before, there was much to do.
- Before, I never knew how much I cared for school.
“Before” as an adverb works to introduce an argument or idea that didn’t exist at one point in the past. Usually, someone has come up with this idea recently.
With the adverb form, we always place a comma directly after “before.” There are no exceptions to this rule when starting a sentence with “before.”
Where Should I Place The Comma When Using “Before” At The Beginning Of A Sentence?
The previous section covered a lot of the punctuation rules you need to worry about when starting a sentence with “before.” However, to reiterate and help you understand how to punctuate it, we’ll go over it once more.
You should place a comma after the dependent clause when using “before” as a conjunction. You should place a comma after the prepositional phrase when using “before” as a preposition. You should place a comma directly after “before” when used as an adverb.
The rules vary based on the style we use, but if you look at the following, you might have more of an understanding.
- Correct: Before he could leave, I made him sign the contract.
- Incorrect: Before he could leave I made him sign the contract.
- Correct: Before my eyes, there appeared a man with no face!
- Incorrect: Before my eyes there appeared a man with no face!
- Correct: Before, I didn’t know how to care for her.
- Incorrect: Before I didn’t know how to care for her.
Alternatives To Starting A Sentence With “Before”
Some synonyms might help you to understand “before” a little better. Take your pick from these, as they all start sentences in similar ways.
- Prior to
- Previously
- In front of
- Ahead of
Can You End A Sentence With “Before”?
When using “before” as an adverb, we don’t just have to place it at the beginning of a sentence.
You can end a sentence with “before” as an adverb. We do this by taking the adverb and placing it at the end of the sentence to show that something was once believed but is no longer the case now.
It works the same as starting a sentence with “before” as an adverb; we simply place it at the end instead:
- Before, I didn’t know how to handle myself.
- I didn’t know how to handle myself before.
How Do You Use “Before” In The Middle Of A Sentence?
You can also place “before” in the middle of a sentence in most cases.
“Before” works in the middle of a sentence when talking about something that happened “before” another thing. It almost always refers to the chronological order of two or more events.
- The solar eclipse happened long before any of us knew what it was.
- She got here before you.
- I am standing before you and pleading for my life!
The comma rules are left out when placing “before” in the middle of a sentence. We do not need commas on either side of the word, and there are no dependent clauses set up with it that we need to worry about either.
Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
Best Answer
Copy
I wasn’t bored BEFORE I came onto this website.
Wiki User
∙ 12y ago
This answer is:
Study guides
Add your answer:
Earn +
20
pts
Q: How do you use before in a sentence?
Write your answer…
Submit
Still have questions?
Related questions
People also asked
My sentence:
Before the latter half of the 20th century, connecting electronic components together through wires was very complicated and accompanied with a big chance of failure, that is, until PCBs were invented. The idea of packing wires and connections into a flat sheet of fiber glass made it easy to connect components together.
I am not quite sure about the usage of the word «before» in this sentence, also, should I use «the second half» instead of «the latter half»?
Also, I am not sure about the correctness of the sentence.
Eddie Kal
18.7k26 gold badges82 silver badges167 bronze badges
asked May 17, 2020 at 14:09
1
Other than the correctly pointed out fibreglass error, the whole paragraph looks fine, and the use of ‘before’ and ‘latter half’ is alright too.
answered May 17, 2020 at 15:09
2
You must log in to answer this question.
Not the answer you’re looking for? Browse other questions tagged
.
Not the answer you’re looking for? Browse other questions tagged
.
Before is a preposition, an adverb and a conjunction. Before means earlier than the time or event mentioned:
Can you call me back before 5 pm, please?
I met her just before she left.
Warning:
In writing, when we refer back to something that we have already written, we use above not before:
As the graph above shows, the rate of inflation has risen by 15%.
Before as a preposition
We use before most commonly with noun phrases to refer to timed events:
I like to go for a run before breakfast.
You can check in online but you have to do it at least four hours before your flight.
We use before to 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 just before Euston Station.
Just before the end of the poem, there is a line where the poet expresses his deepest fears.
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:
I need to have the letter before Friday. (Friday is too late. I need it in advance of Friday.)
If you have to do something by a certain point in time, then that time is the last moment at which the action can be completed:
Can we finish this meeting by 5 pm. I have to get to the station by 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 is done or happens till or until a 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 office until 17th May. I will reply to your email after that date. (I will be back on 17 May, but not before.)
Compare
|
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. |
Before as an adverb
Before often comes after nouns such as day, morning, night, week, month, year to refer to the previous day, morning, etc.:
Two people were ill at work yesterday and three people the day before!
A:
Did you graduate in 1989?
B:
No, actually, I finished college the year before.
Warning:
When we refer to a period of time that is completed and goes from a point in the past up to now, we use ago, not before:
A:
When was your birthday?
B:
It was three weeks ago.
Before as an adjunct
We use before to 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 America before. (up to the moment of speaking)
I introduced Tom to Olivia last night. They hadn’t met before. (up to that point in the past)
Before as 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:
Before she left, she gave everyone a present.
She gave everyone a present before she left.
Before with present tenses
When we use before in clauses in the present tense, the clause can refer to the future:
Before I go to work, I jog for at least an hour.
Not: Before I will go to work …
Before with past tenses
We sometimes use before clauses in a variety of tenses to say that the action or event in the before clause did not or may not happen:
Before I had a chance to thank him, he’d gone.
You’re interrupting her before she has even spoken.
Before he had finished his training, he was sacked.
We should stop shopping now before we spend all our money.
Before with —ing
A non-finite clause with before + ing-form is more formal:
Before bringing the milk to the boil, add the egg. (more formal than Before you bring …)
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:
We got home just before it rained.
The deadline for the essay was 5 pm. I got mine in shortly before five o’clock but Lily had hers in days before the deadline.
Beforehand
We can use beforehand as an alternative to before as an adverb, especially when the reference to time is less specific.
Spoken English:
Beforehand is more common in informal speaking than in writing:
I love singing but I always get so nervous beforehand.
In front of beforehand, we can put adverbs such as immediately, just and shortly, and other time expressions such as days, weeks, months, years:
Months beforehand, Dominic had bought five tickets for the concert.
Other uses of before
Before meaning ‘in front of’
We use before meaning ‘in front of’ in more formal contexts:
Brian was twenty years old. He had his whole life before him.
The Prime Minister went before the people to tell them that he was going to resign.
Before long meaning ‘after a short time’
Especially in writing, we use before long to mean ‘after a short time’:
They’ll marry before long, and then you’ll have more grandsons than you can count.
Before: typical errors
-
We use above not before when we refer back to something we have already written:
As stated above, 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 use ago, not before:
A:
When did you first meet?
B:
Ten years ago when we were in college.
Not: Ten years before when …
-
#1
From grammar books, we learn that if a sentence contains two different times and words like «after», «before», «when», «once», etc, we need to use different tenses to specify the time difference. Say, for examples:
1) «I had taken a rest before I studied.»
2) «I became a doctor after I had acquired the certificate.»
From the 1) example, we use PAST TENSE for «study» and PAST PERFECT for «take» because studying happened later than taking the rest. Likewise, in the 2) example, «becoming a doctor» happens after getting the cert, so we use past tense for «become» and PAST PERFECT for «acquire», which happened earlier.
This sort of chronological order also applies on other tenses, and the whole order is: (earliest) PAST PERFECT>PAST>PRESENT PERFECT> PRESENT> FUTURE (latest).
Just a simple question: is it really NECESSARY to use two tenses in a sentence when it contains two activities of two different times (which are separated by words like «before», «after», «once», «when», etc.) Cause sometimes i do see people simply use the same tense for both two activities.
-
#2
…
Just a simple question: is it really NECESSARY to use two tenses in a sentence when it contains two activities of two different times (which are separated by words like «before», «after», «once», «when», etc.)
…
No.
In fact, where the sequence of events is clear — as it usually is when you have used these time-sequence words — it is quite normal, and correct, to use the same tense for two activities.
So:
I took a rest before I studied.
I became a doctor after I acquired the certificate.
-
#3
Thanks so much.
Do you mean both usages (1 tense & 2 tenses) are correct for these kinds of sentence? Or under what specific conditions should we use 2 tenses?
-
#4
Thanks so much.
Do you mean both usages (1 tense & 2 tenses) are correct for these kinds of sentence? Or under what specific conditions should we use 2 tenses?
Yes, I think both versions of these particular sentences are correct. I think that native English speakers are less concerned about using tense to mark time sequence than natives of other languages.
That is not to say that the two sentences below are identical in meaning or usage.
1. I had taken a rest before I studied.
2. I took a rest before I studied.
(1) The different tense usage places the rest a little distant from the studying — as if the rest and the studying were quite independent.
(2) Using the same tense suggests that rest and studying were connected. Perhaps that you knew you were tired and deliberately rested before studying.
Also, the form in (2) can be used in relation to habitual action. When I was working for my finals I took a rest before I studied. (1) cannot be used in that way.
The second sentence
3. I became a doctor after I had acquired the certificate.
4. I became a doctor after I acquired the certificate.
Again, using different tenses in (3) separates becoming a doctor from acquiring the certificate.
In (4), it seems that acquiring the certificate was essential to becoming a doctor.
-
#5
i totally get your meaning!
thanks so much for your detailed answer
-
#6
1)The sun has already set before I get home everyday
2)The sun sets before I get home.
in first sentence present perfect is used with ‘Before’
in second sentence ‘present simple’ is used with ‘Before’ for present routine meaning
Are these sentences correct with ‘before’ with tenses ?
Present perfect or simple present are both ok with ‘before’ for present routines.