In addition to the uses shown below, before is used in the phrasal verbs ‘go before’ and ‘lay before’.
除下列用法外,before 还可用于 go before 和 lay before 等短语动词中。
1 PREP (时间上)在…之前,早于 If something happens
before a particular date, time, or event, it happens earlier than that date, time, or event.
→see usage note at: ago (时间上)在…之前,早于 -
Annie was born a few weeks before Christmas.
安妮出生在圣诞节前几周。
-
Before World War II, women were not recruited as intelligence officers.
在第二次世界大战之前,女性不能当情报人员。
-
My husband rarely comes to bed before 2 or 3am.
我丈夫很少在凌晨两三点之前睡觉。
SYN earlier than, ahead of, prior to, in advance of
Before is also a conjunction.
2 PREP [PREP v-ing] 在(做某事)之前 If you do one thing
before doing something else, you do it earlier than the other thing.
在(做某事)之前 -
He spent his early life in Sri Lanka before moving to England.
在移居英格兰之前,他早年是在斯里兰卡度过的。
-
Before leaving, he went into his office to fill in the daily time sheet.
离开前,他到自己的办公室填写了日常考勤表。
Before is also a conjunction.
3 ADV [n ADVERB] 在(某时间或某事)以前 You use
before when you are talking about time. For example, if something happened the day
before a particular date or event, it happened during the previous day.
在(某时间或某事)以前 Before is also a preposition.
Before is also a conjunction.
4 CONJ-SUBORD 在(他人做某事)之前 If you do something
before someone else can do something, you do it when they have not yet done it.
在(他人做某事)之前 -
Before Gallacher could catch up with the ball, Nadlovu had beaten him to it.
加拉赫还没来得及追上球,纳德洛武就已经抢先一步触到球了。
5 ADV [ADVERB after verb] 以前;以往;过去 If someone has done something
before, they have done it on a previous occasion. If someone has not done something
before, they have never done it.
以前;以往;过去 6 CONJ-SUBORD (直到…)才;(过了…)才 If there is a period of time or if several things are done
before something happens, it takes that amount of time or effort for this thing to happen.
(直到…)才;(过了…)才 7 CONJ-SUBORD (必须先具备某一条件)才能;在…之前(必须具备某一条件) If a particular situation has to happen
before something else happens, this situation must happen or exist in order for the other thing to happen.
(必须先具备某一条件)才能;在…之前(必须具备某一条件) 8 PREP (方位)在…前面,在…面前 If someone is
before something, they are in front of it.
(方位)在…前面,在…面前 [formal] SYN in front of, ahead of, in advance of, to the fore of
9 PREP (所经位置)在…前面 If you tell someone that one place is a certain distance
before another, you mean that they will come to the first place first.
(所经位置)在…前面 10 PREP 面对…(回答质询) If you appear or come
before an official person or group, you go there and answer questions.
面对…(回答质询) SYN in the presence of, in front of, before the eyes of
11 PREP 当着…的面;在…注视之下 If something happens
before a particular person or group, it is seen by or happens while this person or this group is present.
当着…的面;在…注视之下 -
The game followed a colourful opening ceremony before a crowd of seventy-four thousand.
绚丽多彩的开幕式过后,这场比赛在74,000名观众的瞩目之下开始了。
12 PREP 摆在…面前;使面对;使面临 If you have something such as a journey, a task, or a stage of your life
before you, you must do it or live through it in the future.
摆在…面前;使面对;使面临 -
Everyone in the room knew it was the single hardest task before them.
房间里所有人都清楚,摆在他们面前的是最为艰巨的任务。
-
I saw before me an idyllic life.
展现在我眼前的是充满诗情画意的生活。
SYN ahead of, in front of, in advance of
13 PREP (重要性)超过;比…重要 When you want to say that one person or thing is more important than another, you can say that they come
before the other person or thing.
(重要性)超过;比…重要 Thesaurus | before Also look up: |
ADV. | already, earlier, previously; (ant.) after 3 |
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