Usage note : before

When before is used as a preposition in expressions of time or order of sequence or importance, it is translated by avant :

before the meeting

= avant la réunion

she left before me

= elle est partie avant moi

For more examples and particular usages, see A1, 2, 3 in the entry before.

When before is used as a preposition meaning in front of (when you are talking about physical space) or in the presence of, it is translated by devant :

before our eyes

= devant nos yeux

he declared before his mother that …

= il a déclaré devant sa mère que …

When before is used as an adjective after a noun, it is translated by précédent/-e :

the time before

= la fois précédente

the one before is translated by le précédent or la précédente :

no, I’m not talking about that meeting but the one before

= non, je ne parle pas de cette réunion-là mais de la précédente

For particular usages see B in the entry before.

When before is used as an adverb meaning beforehand, it is translated by avant in statements about the present or future :

I’ll try to talk to her before

= j’essaierai de lui en parler avant

you could have told me before

= tu aurais pu me le dire avant

When before means previously in statements about the past, it is translated by auparavant :

I had met her two or three times before

= je l’avais rencontrée deux ou trois fois auparavant

When before means already it is translated by déjà :

I’ve met her before

= je l’ai déjà rencontrée

you’ve asked me that question before

= tu m’as déjà posé cette question

In negative sentences before is often used in English simply to reinforce the negative. In such cases it is not translated at all :

I’d never eaten snails before

= je n’avais jamais mangé d’escargots

you’ve never told me that before

= tu ne m’as jamais dit ça

For particular usages see C in the entry before.

When before is used as a conjunction, it is translated by avant de + infinitive where the two verbs have the same subject :

before he saw her he recognized her voice

= il a reconnu sa voix avant de la voir

before I cook dinner I’m going to phone my mother

= avant de préparer le dîner je vais appeler ma mère

Where the two verbs have different subjects, the translation is avant que + subjunctive :

Tom wants to see her before she leaves

= Tom veut la voir avant qu’elle parte

Some speakers and writers add ne before the verb : Tom veut la voir avant qu’elle ne parte, but this is simply a slightly precious effect of style and is never obligatory. For particular usages see D in the entry before.

Big English-French dictionary. 2003.