Definition

Adverb: - Before: Indicates that one event or action occurs prior to another event or action in time. It connects a subordinate clause (describing the earlier action) to a main clause (describing the later action).

Usage

• Structure: . This phrase introduces a dependent clause. The main clause states what happens after.
• Function: It is a subordinating conjunction used to express the chronological order of two events. It always refers to time.

Usage Examples

• Adverb:
  • Tôi uống cà phê trước khi làm việc. (I drink coffee before I work.)
  • Hãy kiểm tra áo suốt trước khi bơi. (Check your life jacket before swimming.)
  • Trước khi trở thành giáo viên, cô ấy là một luật sư. (Before becoming a teacher, she was a lawyer.)

Advanced Usage

• "Ngay trước khi": Right before, immediately before.
  • Anh ấy đến ngay trước khi cuộc họp bắt đầu. (He arrived right before the meeting started.)
• Used with the past tense to indicate an action that was completed prior to another past action.
  • Cô ấy đã học bài trước khi đi ngủ. (She had studied before going to sleep.)

Variants and Related Words

• Trước (preposition/adverb): Before, in front of. Can stand alone as a preposition of time or place.
  • Gặp nhau trước nhà hàng lúc 7 giờ. (Meet in front of the restaurant at 7 o'clock.)
  • Chúng tôi cần hoàn thành trước thứ Sáu. (We need to finish before Friday.)
• Trước đó (adverb): Before that, previously. Refers to a time prior to a mentioned point.
  • Anh ấy đã sống ở Đà Nẵng trước đó. (He had lived in Da Nang before that.)

Synonyms

• Trước lúc: Before the time of. (Similar meaning, slightly less common.)
• Trước hết: First of all, firstly. (Used to list points, not for temporal sequence of two specific events.)

Related Phrases

• Trước sau: Sooner or later, eventually. (An idiom about eventual outcome, not direct temporal "before").
  • Công việc trước sau gì cũng xong. (The work will be finished sooner or later.)

Notes on Grammar

• "Trước khi" vs. "Sau khi": "Trước khi" (before) is the direct opposite of "sau khi" (after).
• The clause following "trước khi" often uses the base form of the verb or a noun phrase. It does not typically use future tense markers like "sẽ".
• It can be placed at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence.

adv

1. before