virun (Ago)
Ago: Virun
Virun + time means ago: virun zwee Joer (two years ago), virun enger Woch (a week ago).
How It Works
Word order
Virun goes in front: virun zwee Joer, never zwee Joer virun.
Dative
The time phrase is in the dative: virun engem Mount, virun enger Woch, virun e puer Joer. Numbers and e puer do not change: virun dräi Méint.
Virun or viru?
By the n-rule, the n drops before most consonants: viru fënnef Minutten, viru Kuerzem (recently). It stays before a vowel and before d, h, n, t and z: virun enger Woch, virun dräi Méint, virun zwee Joer.
Past tense
Use the perfect with sinn, the perfect with hunn or war/hat: Ech si virun zwee Joer op Lëtzebuerg komm. Dat war virun e puer Joer.
Virun or zanter?
Virun names a moment in the past. For something that started then and is still going on, use zanter with the present: Ech wunnen zanter zwee Joer hei.
Other meanings
Virun also means in front of and before. Those meanings belong to the two-way prepositions: virum Haus, virum Examen.
Examples (6)
- Ech si virun zwee Joer op Lëtzebuerg komm.
I came to Luxembourg two years ago.
Word by Word: I am before two year to Luxembourg come.
Virun keeps its n before the z of zwee. Kommen forms its perfect with sinn.
- Dat war virun e puer Joer.
That was a few years ago.
Word by Word: That was before a few year.
E puer (a few) does not change in the dative.
- Ech hunn hie virun engem Joer fir d'lescht gesinn.
I last saw him a year ago.
Word by Word: I have him before a year for the last seen.
Joer is neuter, so the dative article is engem.
- De Bus ass viru fënnef Minutte fortgefuer.
The bus left five minutes ago.
Word by Word: The bus is before five minutes away-driven.
Virun becomes viru before the f of fënnef, and Minutten becomes Minutte before the f of fortgefuer.
- Si huet viru Kuerzem eng nei Aarbecht fonnt.
She found a new job recently.
Word by Word: She has before shortness a new work found.
Viru Kuerzem is a fixed phrase meaning recently.
- Wéini war dat? – Virun dräi Méint.
When was that? – Three months ago.
Word by Word: When was that? – Before three months.
A virun phrase often answers a wéini question.
Common Mistakes
Using the nominative after virun.
Ech hunn hie virun eng Woch gesinn.Ech hunn hie virun enger Woch gesinn.Virun meaning ago always takes the dative. Woch is feminine, so the article is enger.
Using virun for something that is still going on.
Ech wunne virun zwee Joer hei.Ech wunnen zanter zwee Joer hei.The intended meaning is I have lived here for two years. Virun only names a moment in the past; for a situation that continues until now, use zanter with the present.
Keeping the n of virun before a consonant.
De Bus ass virun fënnef Minutte fortgefuer.De Bus ass viru fënnef Minutte fortgefuer.By the n-rule, virun becomes viru before f and most other consonants. It keeps the n before a vowel and before d, h, n, t and z.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Before Ago: Virun, learn Since and For: Zanter and Perfect Tense With Hunn.
Related Patterns
- Two-Way Prepositions
Virun also means in front of or before, and then it is a two-way preposition.
Level 2 - Prepositions With the Dative
Like the dative prepositions, virun meaning ago always takes the dative.
Level 2 - Perfect-Tense Auxiliary: sinnPerfect Tense with Sinn
Sentences with virun usually use a past tense, such as Ech si virun zwee Joer komm.
Level 2 - war / hatSimple Past of Sinn and Hunn
War and hat often go with virun: Dat war virun e puer Joer.
Level 2 - wéiniWhen: Wéini
A virun phrase answers the question wéini.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice virun (Ago) in Bubblegum
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