före
Before
Före means 'before' or 'in front of'.
How It Works
The Swedish preposition före has two main uses:
1. Time: 'before'
It indicates that an action or event happens earlier than another point in time or event. In the following prepositional examples, it has a noun-phrase complement.
- Vi måste handla före helgen. (We have to shop before the weekend.)
- Tvätta händerna före maten. (Wash your hands before the meal.)
2. Space/Order: 'in front of' or 'before'
It describes the position of something being ahead of something else, often in a sequence, list, or line.
- Han står före mig i kön. (He is standing in front of me in the line.)
- Ditt namn kommer före mitt i listan. (Your name comes before mine in the list.)
Important: Do not confuse före with innan. Innan can introduce a finite clause, innan jag går, and it is also a preposition, innan lunch. For a neutral finite-clause introduction, use innan rather than före. Före and innan can both precede a noun phrase in time expressions.
The reference may be understood: Guiden gick före och visade vägen (The guide went ahead and showed the way), dagen före (the day before). Space/order före is not restricted to being still: it can describe moving ahead of someone too.
Examples (4)
- Jag äter frukost före jobbet.
I eat breakfast before work.
Word by Word: I eat breakfast before the-job.
- Hon kom fram till kassan precis före mig.
She got to the checkout just before me.
Word by Word: She came forth to the-checkout just before me.
Here 'före' indicates being ahead in a sequence or line.
- Du måste svänga vänster före trafikljuset.
You have to turn left before the traffic light.
Word by Word: You must turn left before the-traffic-light.
- Vi ses före klockan tre.
See you before three o'clock.
Word by Word: We see-each-other before clock three.
Common Mistakes
Using regional före before a finite clause when neutral standard wording is intended.
Jag dricker kaffe före jag börjar arbeta.Jag dricker kaffe innan jag börjar arbeta.Use innan before the finite clause jag börjar arbeta in neutral standard Swedish. Före with a finite clause occurs regionally, notably in Finland Swedish, but is not the recommended neutral construction. Before a noun phrase, either före arbetet or innan arbetet can work.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To use 'före' effectively, you need to understand basic time expressions and the general concept of temporal sequence in Swedish.
- Telling time
Understanding how to express time is essential since 'före' is frequently used to indicate time-based relationships (e.g., 'före klockan tre').
Level 1 - Tense concepts
A basic understanding of time and tense is necessary to conceptualize the temporal relationship of 'before' in a sentence.
Foundations
Related Patterns
- efterAfter
'efter' (after) is the direct opposite of 'före' (before) when talking about time.
Level 1 - innanBefore
Innan can be a conjunction before a finite clause and a preposition before a noun phrase. Compare före lunch / innan lunch, but innan jag äter in neutral standard Swedish.
Level 2 - framförIn Front of
'framför' also means 'in front of' and is more common than 'före' for general physical location. 'Före' is often preferred for being ahead in a line or sequence.
Level 1 - bakomBehind
'bakom' (behind) is the opposite of 'före' (in front of) when describing physical location or order.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice före in Bubblegum
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