Before A (occurs/happens), B
運動の前にストレッチをしましょう。
Let's stretch before we work out.
49
決める前にもう一度相談してみた方がいいでしょう？
Wouldn't it be good to discuss it one more time before you decide?
33
学校に行く前に、猫に餌をやりなさい。
Feed the cat before you go to school.
48
寝る前に歯を磨いてください！
Brush your teeth before you go to sleep!
31
映画館に入る前にチケットを買わなければなりません。
You need to buy a ticket before you enter the movie theatre.
24
運動し始める前にストレッチをしてください。
Please stretch before you begin to work out.
31
私は毎朝ご飯を食べる前にお風呂に入ります。
Every morning, I take a bath before I eat breakfast.
10
ずっと前に、ミカンを食べすぎて嫌いになった。
A long time ago, I ate too many mandarine oranges and came to hate them.
16
どうしてその前に、話してくれなかったのか。
Why didn't you talk to me before then?
13
ご飯を食べる前に、どうしてもカラオケに行きたい。
At any rate, I want to sing karaoke before we eat.
14
前に、君とどこかで会った気がする。
It feels like I have met you somewhere before.
11
パーティーの前に、紹介したい友達がいます。
Before the party, there is a friend I want to introduce.
11
ゲームを始める前に、勉強をしよう。
Let's study before we start the game.
Getting the sentences
Construction
(Elements in parentheses are optional.)
Basic Examples:
走る前にストレッチングする (stretch before running)
宿題の前に食べる (eat before doing homework)
会議の前に準備する (prepare before a meeting)
1. Event B occurs first
2. Event A occurs second
When both events occur in the present/future
In this usage, neither events A nor B have occurred. For example:
rewritten like we did above, it would be
Neither event has happened yet, but the order of the events have been noted by まえ に.
Note that you can use a noun with A to describe a time (even though there's no verb)
rewritten like we did above, it would be
本を読む前に、テレビを見ます。(correct)
I (will) watch TV before I read a book.
1. テレビをみます occurs first
2. 本をよむ occurs second
Neither event has happened yet, but the order of the events have been noted by まえ に.
Note that you can use a noun with A to describe a time (even though there's no verb)
宿題の前に、晩ご飯を食べます。(correct)
Before I do my homework, I will eat dinner.
1. ばんごはんをたべます occurs first
2. しゅくだい (をする) occurs second
When both events occur in the past
In this usage, both events A and B have occurred. For example:
昨日の試験の前に、よく勉強しました。(correct)
I studied a lot before the test yesterday.
1. よくべんきょうしました occurred first
2. しけん (をしました) occurred second
今朝、学校に行く前に朝ご飯を食べました。(correct)
This morning, I ate breakfast before I went to school.
1. あさごはんを食べました occurred first
2. 学校に行きました occurred second
Wait! Why is 'がっこうにいく' in non-past tense, even though it's already happened? Japanese time statements like まえに are relative: that means they refer to the time of the other event in the sentence, not the present time during which the sentence is being read/said.
In cases like this, the sentence has a time phrase (which describes when), and a main phrase (which describes the key action). The time phrase includes the 前に, and comes first:
がっこうにいくまえに (time phrase: this describes when the main phrase occurs
あさごはんをたべました (main phrase: this is what the sentence is focused on)
The main phrase's action is the focal point of the sentence. Anything that happens before it should be in non-past, while anything that happens after it (in the case of あとで) is written in past, regardless of whether or not the main action has already occurred.
Related Expressions
にあたって／にあたり
後で
後で
Where this grammar is found
User notes
mysticfive
Level: 1603
(13 years ago)
another way to think about this is putting the event that occurred second in the gerund form: 'before doing my homework, I will eat dinner.' or 'Before going to school, I ate breakfast.' In English as well we have times when both actions are in the past but one action is not written in past tense ;-)
25
Discussion about this grammar
