| 复合形式： |
| ago adv | (in the past) | SCSimplified Chinese 以前 yǐ qián
TCTraditional Chinese 以前 |
| | | SCSimplified Chinese 在…之前 yǐ qián，zài … zhī qián |
| | I went to the bank three days ago. |
| | 我三天前去了银行。 |
| ahead of sth prep | (prior to, earlier than) (事物) | SCSimplified Chinese 早于，在...之前 zǎo yú |
| | Thank goodness we finished that project ahead of the deadline. |
| | 谢天谢地，我们在截止日期前完成了那个项目。 |
| ahead of sb prep | (before, earlier than) (人) | SCSimplified Chinese 早于...，在...之前 |
| | John arrived at the restaurant ahead of his brother. |
| | 约翰在他哥哥之前到达饭馆。 |
| be followed by sth/sb v expr | (precede, come before) | SCSimplified Chinese 在…之前 zài … zhī qián |
| | | SCSimplified Chinese 先于 |
| | The calm is always followed by the storm. |
| before prep | (earlier than) (时间) | SCSimplified Chinese 在…之前 zài … zhī qián |
| | You should finish your homework before dinner. |
| | 你应该在晚饭前完成家庭作业。 |
| before prep | (preceding in order) (顺序) | SCSimplified Chinese 在…之前 zài … zhī qián |
| | The letter 'b' comes before the letter 'c'. |
| | 字母 ”b" 在字母 “c" 之前。 |
| before prep | (preceding in rank) | SCSimplified Chinese （等级上）在…之前，在…之上 děng jí shàng zài zhī qián，zài … zhī shàng |
| | | SCSimplified Chinese 先于… xiān yú … |
| | | SCSimplified Chinese 优于… yōu yú … |
| | Aces come before kings in this game. |
| | 这个游戏中，A比K大。 |
| by prep | (time: not later than) (时间) | SCSimplified Chinese 在…之前，不迟于 zài … zhī qián，bù chí yú |
| | You must have the report done by Monday. |
| | 你必须在周一之前把报告写好。 |
| by now adv | (before this moment) | SCSimplified Chinese 之前，刚才 zhī qián，gāng cái
TCTraditional Chinese 之前，剛才 |
| | My guests should have arrived by now – dinner's getting cold. |
| | 客人刚才就该到了。准备的晚餐都要凉掉了。 |
| by the time adv | (at some point before) | SCSimplified Chinese 到…时候为止 dào shí hòu wéi zhǐ |
| | | SCSimplified Chinese …之前 |
| | You better have your chores done by the time I get home or you're in big trouble. |
| | The traffic was so bad that by the time I got to the office I was 20 minutes late. |
| | 你最好在我回家之前把家务做完，不然你麻烦就大了。 |
| | 交通太拥挤了，我到达办公室的时候已经迟到20分钟了。 |
| come before sth vi + prep | (precede) | SCSimplified Chinese 出现在…之前 |
| | The number 2 comes before 3, and 4 comes before 5. |
| ere prep | archaic, literary (before) (古时用语，书面用语) | SCSimplified Chinese 以前，在…之前 yǐ qián，zài … zhī qián
TCTraditional Chinese 以前 |
| | The convict escaped from prison and ere noon was in another state. |
| forego sth/sb vtr | archaic (go before, precede) (古语) | SCSimplified Chinese 走在…之前 |
| | | SCSimplified Chinese 在…之前 zài … zhī qián |
| | | SCSimplified Chinese 先行于 |
| | A flash of lightning forewent the roll of thunder. |
| | 一瞬闪电过后传来了隆隆的雷声。 |
| forerun sth vtr | literary (go before, precede) | SCSimplified Chinese 跑在…之前，领先于
TCTraditional Chinese 領先於 |
| head sth vtr | (precede) | SCSimplified Chinese 在…之前 zài … zhī qián |
| | | SCSimplified Chinese 领先 zài … zhī qián，lǐng xiān
TCTraditional Chinese 領先 |
| | The candidate for prime minister headed the list of candidates. |
| in advance of prep | (prior to) | SCSimplified Chinese 在…之前 zài … zhī qián |
| | | SCSimplified Chinese 先于… zài … zhī qián，xiān yú … |
| | I bought my tickets in advance of the concert. |
| in the lead-up to sth expr | (in the period before) | SCSimplified Chinese 在...之前 |
| | This change was reflected in the opinion polls conducted in the lead up to the election. |
| just before prep | (a moment prior to) | SCSimplified Chinese 就在…之前 jiù zài zhī qián |
| | | SCSimplified Chinese 在…前刚刚 jiù zài zhī qián，zài qián gāng gāng |
| | I like to have a hot bath just before I go to bed. |
| of prep | US (time: before, to) (时间) | SCSimplified Chinese 在…之前，差（多少时间到几点） zài … zhī qián，chà duō shǎo shí jiān dào jǐ diǎn |
| | It's five minutes of three o'clock. |
| | 差五分钟三点。 |
pre,
pre- prefix | (before, earlier, prior) | SCSimplified Chinese 在…前 zài qián |
| | | SCSimplified Chinese 在…之前 zài qián，zài … zhī qián |
| | For example: pre-existing, preamble |
precede,
precede sth vtr | (come before) | SCSimplified Chinese 先于, 在…之前 |
| | | SCSimplified Chinese 优于, 高于 |
| | J precedes K in the alphabet. |
| prefix sth vtr | (add sth at the start of sth) | SCSimplified Chinese 置于…之前 zhì yú zhī qián |
| | | SCSimplified Chinese 加在…之前 |
| | The new system will prefix all existing phone numbers with a three-digit code. |
| previous to prep | (before, prior to) | SCSimplified Chinese 在…之前 zài … zhī qián |
| | | SCSimplified Chinese 在…以前 zài … zhī qián，zài … yǐ qián |
| | I lived in Blackpool previous to coming here. |
| prior to sth prep | (before sth) | SCSimplified Chinese 在…之前 zài … zhī qián |
| | Prior to the burglary, two men were seen hanging around outside the house. |
| | 盗窃发生之前，有人看见有两个人在房子外面闲晃。 |
| prior to doing sth expr | (before doing sth) | SCSimplified Chinese 在...之前 |
| | We went to the farmers' market prior to going to the pharmacy. |
| | 在去药房之前，我们去了一趟农场集市。 |
prioritize sth/sb over sth/sb,
also UK: prioritise sth/sb over sth/sb vtr + prep | (put before sth or sb else) | SCSimplified Chinese 把…置于…之前 |
| | Andrew has to prioritize work over spending time with his family when he has an important deadline to meet. |
| | 如果有重要的工期要赶，安德鲁会优先选择工作，无法陪伴家人。 |
| set sth before sb vtr + prep | (place in front of) | SCSimplified Chinese 置于…之前 zhì yú zhī qián |
| 备注: Often used in the passive. |
| | At about 3 months, a baby begins to focus its eyes on objects set before him. |
| | He set the plate of cookies before his mother. |
till,
'til prep | informal (until: before a point in time) | SCSimplified Chinese 直到…为止 zhí dào … wéi zhǐ |
| | (用于否定句) | SCSimplified Chinese 在…之前，直到…才 zài … zhī qián，zhí dào … cái |
| | The plumber can't come till tomorrow. |
| | 水管工直到明天才能来。 |
| to prep | (up to, until) | SCSimplified Chinese 在…之前 zài … zhī qián |
| | | SCSimplified Chinese 到 zài … zhī qián，dào
TCTraditional Chinese 到 |
| | To this very day, the original building still stands. |
| to prep | (time: before) (表示时间) | SCSimplified Chinese 在…之前 zài … zhī qián |
| | It is twenty to three in the afternoon. |
| | 现在时间是下午2点40分。 |
| until conj | (with clause: up to a point in time) | SCSimplified Chinese 到…为止 dào … wéi zhǐ
TCTraditional Chinese 到…為止 |
| | | SCSimplified Chinese 在...之前 |
| | Ali lived with his aunt and uncle until he was eighteen. |
| | 在十八岁之前，他一直与自己的姑姑和姑父住在一起。 |
| until conj | (with a clause: before a point in time) | SCSimplified Chinese 直到…才 zhí dào … cái |
| | | SCSimplified Chinese 在...之前 |
| | Lauren waited until Dan had finished before she spoke. |
| | You can't drive until you are sixteen in the U.S. |
| | 劳伦一直等到丹把话说完才开口。在美国，你在年满十六岁之前不能开车。 |