trước khi
Học thuậtThân thiện
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.