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Before A (occurs/happens), B
運うん動どうの 前まえに ス ト レ ッ チ を 為しま し ょ う 。 
Let's stretch before we work out.
60
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?
2
49
学 校 に 行 く 前 に 、 猫 に 餌 を 遣 り な さ い 。 
Feed the cat before you go to school.
0
70
寝 る 前 に 歯 を 磨 い て 下 さ い ！ 
Brush your teeth before you go to sleep!
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37
映 画 館 に 入 る 前 に チ ケ ッ ト を 買 わ な け れ ば 成 り ま せ ん 。 
You need to buy a ticket before you enter the movie theatre.
2
38
運 動 し 始 め る 前 に ス ト レ ッ チ を 為 て 下 さ い 。 
Please stretch before you begin to work out.
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45
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.
0
15
ず っ と 前 に 、 ミ カ ン を 食 べ 過 ぎ て 嫌 い に 成 っ た 。 
A long time ago, I ate too many mandarine oranges and came to hate them.
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18
如何 し て 其 の 前 に 、 話 し て 呉 れ な か っ た の か 。 
Why didn't you talk to me before then?
0
17
ご 飯 を 食 べ る 前 に 、 如何 し て も カ ラ オ ケ に 行 き た い 。 
At any rate, I want to sing karaoke before we eat.
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18
前 に 、 君 と 何処 か で 会 っ た 気 が す る 。 
It feels like I have met you somewhere before.
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14
パ ー テ ィ ー の 前 に 、 紹 介 し た い 友 達 が 居 ま す 。 
Before the party, there is a friend I want to introduce.
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14
ゲ ー ム を 始 め る 前 に 、 勉 強 を し よ う 。 
Let's study before we start the game.
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17
毎 年 、 苗 を 植 え る 前 に 田 を 耕 さ な け れ ば 行 け ま せ ん 。 
Every year, before planting the seedlings, one must plough the fields.
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6
ご 飯 を 食 べ る 前 に 手 を 洗 い ま し ょ う 。 
Let's wash our hands before eating.
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9
貴方 は 離 れ る 前 に 必 ず 火 を 消 し な さ い 。 
Be sure to put out the fire before you leave.
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6
出 か け る 前 に 確 り 鍵 を 掛 け ま し た か ？ 
Did you make sure and lock (the door) before heading out?
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11
此 の 瓶 は 開 け る 前 に 振 り な さ い 。 
Shake this bottle before you open it.
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7
ポール は 出 か け る 前 に 手 袋 を 為 た 。 
Paul put on gloves before going out.
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10
リ ン ゴ を 食 べ る 前 に 皮 を 剥 き な さ い 。 
Take the skin off before you eat the apple.
0
8
暗 く 成 る 前 に 帰 り ま す 。 
I'll be back before dark.
0

Getting the sentences
Construction
(Elements in parentheses are optional.)
AVerb: Dictionary Form
 
ANoun の
 
 
前にBInitial Event
Basic Examples:
走る前にストレッチング為る (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)

In other words:
1. Event B occurs first
2. Event A occurs second
The event described by A is always written in the casual present tense, even if B has already happened.
When both events occur in the present/future
In this usage, neither events A nor B have occurred. For example:

本 を 読 む 前 に 、 テ レ ビ を 見 ま す 。 (correct)

I (will) watch TV before I read a book.
rewritten like we did above, it would be
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 御 飯 を 食 べ ま す 。 (correct)

Before I do my homework, I will eat dinner.
rewritten like we did above, it would be
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 、 良 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)
In other words, this sentence's purpose is not to describe a sequence of events. It is to describe when the main action occurs/occurred.

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
Where this grammar is found


Grammar usage notes

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 ;-)
28
avatar
mysticfive
Level: 2122

Questions/Discussion

Nothing posted yet!

Discussion about this grammar
This section has been archived, and no new posts can be added. Please use the discussion form(s) above.
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Ukky
Level: 1
My Japan-native Japanese language instructor taught us that mae could be used with the "verb-dictionary form" without the "ni". is this true?
2
16 years ago
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マイコー
Level: 309
Yea, I'm pretty sure you could use it in the topic like this
食べる前は、しゅくだいをしなさい！
8
16 years ago
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顔無し
Level: 1
ahh, i'm so confused. why are they using 先 instead of 前？
0
15 years ago
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マイコー
Level: 309
Where is 先 being used?
0
15 years ago
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顔無し
Level: 1
In the basic usage section, they use さき　(sorry, just the hiragana, not the actual kanji as I wrote above) in the example sentences, like this one: 「本をよむさきに、テレビを見ます。」(correct) I (will) read a book before I watch TV. Are they just interchangeable, or am I missing something? Sorry to be a bother ^^
0
15 years ago
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マイコー
Level: 309
Oh hey, I see it now. You're definitely right, and I'll fix it right now. Thanks!
0
15 years ago
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顔無し
Level: 1
Not at all! Thank you!
0
15 years ago
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やくざ
Level: 1
「あさごはんをべんきょうしました」near the bottom of the "Basic Usage" section probably should be 「あさごはんをたべました」.
0
15 years ago
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マイコー
Level: 309
*laughs* yea, you're probably right. Thanks for catching that!
0
15 years ago
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damonhicks
Level: 1
In the above example: 「ほんをよむまえに、テレビをみます。」 the translation says I will read a book before I watch TV. Is that not reversed? Isn't the "まえに" referencing the time before reading the book? In other words, shouldn't the translation be "I will watch TV before I read a book"?
0
15 years ago
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マイコー
Level: 309
You're right - a bit of a typo. Thanks for that - I'll fix it right now!
0
15 years ago
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アペル
Level: 208

食事の３０分前に、薬を飲みます。

Is that correct?

0
1 year ago


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