before
adv. timeadv. at an earlier time or in the past. You use this to talk about things that happened before the moment you are speaking.
adv. at a time preceding the present or a specified point in the past. Often used at the end of a clause to indicate prior experience or occurrence.
I have seen this movie before.
The manager mentioned that she had worked in the retail industry many years before.
Although the technology seems revolutionary, similar concepts were explored in academic papers decades before, though they lacked the hardware to succeed.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁epider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bider. Proto-Germanic *bi- Proto-West Germanic *bi- Old English be- Old English foran Old English beforan Middle English bifore English before Inherited from Middle English before /bifore, from Old English beforan, from be- + foran (“before”), from fore, from Proto-Germanic furai, from Proto-Indo-European per- (“front”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian befoar (“before”), German Low German bevör (“before”), German bevor (“before”).
Typically placed at the end of a clause when used as an adverb.
I have met him before two years.I met him two years ago.Use 'ago' to measure back from the present; use 'before' for an unspecified time in the past or when measuring back from a past point.