before in the Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary

Translations for before in the English»French Dictionary

I.before [Brit bɪˈfɔː, Am bəˈfɔr] PREP

1. before (earlier than):

before

avant

the day before yesterday

avant-hier

the day before the interview

la veille de l'entretien

I was there the week before last

j'y étais il y a deux semaines

they hadn't met since before the war

ils ne s'étaient pas vus depuis avant la guerre

it should have been done before now

ça aurait dû être fait avant

phone if you need me before then

téléphonez-moi si vous avez besoin de moi avant

six weeks before then

six semaines avant or auparavant

she became a doctor, like her mother before her

elle est devenue médecin comme sa mère

before long it will be winter

ce sera bientôt l'hiver

before long, he was speaking Spanish fluently

très vite, il parlait l'espagnol couramment

not before time!

ce n'est pas trop tôt!

it was long before your time

c'était bien avant ta naissance

2. before (in order, sequence, hierarchy):

before

avant

G comes before H in the alphabet

dans l'alphabet le G est avant le H

your name comes before mine on the list

sur la liste ton nom est avant le mien

the page before this one

la page précédente

3. before (in importance, priority):

before

avant

to put quality before quantity

placer la qualité avant la quantité

for him, work comes before everything else

pour lui le travail passe avant tout

should we place our needs before theirs?

devrions-nous accorder plus d'importance à nos besoins qu'aux leurs?

ladies before gentlemen

honneur aux dames

4. before (this side of):

before

avant

turn left before the crossroads

tournez à gauche avant le carrefour

5. before Am (in time expressions):

ten before six

six heures moins dix

6. before (in front of):

before

devant

she appeared before them

elle est apparue devant eux

the desert stretched out before them

le désert s'étendait devant eux

before our very eyes

sous nos propres yeux

they fled before the invader

ils ont fui devant l'envahisseur

7. before (in the presence of):

before

devant

he was brought before the king

on l'a amené devant le roi

to appear before a court

comparaître devant un tribunal

to put proposals before a committee

présenter des projets à une commission

to bring a bill before parliament

présenter un projet de loi au parlement

8. before (confronting):

before

face à

they were powerless before such resistance

ils étaient impuissants face à une telle résistance

these are the alternatives before us

voici les choix qui s'offrent à nous

the task before us

la tâche qui nous attend

II.before [Brit bɪˈfɔː, Am bəˈfɔr] ADJ

before

précédent

the day before

la veille

the week/the year before

la semaine/l'année précédente

this page and the one before

cette page et la précédente

III.before [Brit bɪˈfɔː, Am bəˈfɔr] ADV (at an earlier time)

before

avant

as before

comme avant

before and after

avant et après

he had been there two months before

il y était allé deux mois auparavant

have you been to India before?

est-ce que tu es déjà allé en Inde?

I've never been there before

je n'y suis jamais allé

haven't we met before?

on s'est déjà rencontré, il me semble?

I've never seen him before in my life

c'est la première fois que je le vois

it's never happened before

c'est la première fois que ça arrive

long before

bien avant

IV.before [Brit bɪˈfɔː, Am bəˈfɔr] CONJ

1. before (in time):

before I go, I would like to say that …

avant de partir, je voudrais dire que …

before he goes, I must remind him that …

avant qu'il parte, il faut que je lui rappelle que …

it was some time before she was able to walk again

il lui a fallu un certain temps pour pouvoir marcher de nouveau

before I had time to realize what was happening, he…

avant que j'aie eu le temps de comprendre ce qui se passait, il…

it will be years before I earn that much money!

je ne gagnerai pas autant d'argent avant des années!

oh, before I forget, did you remember to post that letter?

avant que j'oublie, est-ce que tu as pensé à envoyer cette lettre?

2. before (rather than):

before

plutôt que

he would die before betraying that secret

il mourrait plutôt que de révéler ce secret

3. before (otherwise, or else):

get out of here before I call the police!

sortez d'ici ou j'appelle la police!

4. before (as necessary condition):

before

pour que + subj

you have to show your ticket before they'll let you in

il faut que tu montres ton ticket pour qu'ils te laissent entrer

V.before [Brit bɪˈfɔː, Am bəˈfɔr]

before you could say Jack Robinson inf

en moins de temps qu'il ne faut pour le dire, en moins de deux inf

before you know where you are…

on n'a pas le temps de dire ouf que…

I.go before VB [Brit ɡəʊ -, Am ɡoʊ -] (go before)

go before (go in front)

aller au devant

go before (in time) fig

se passer avant

all that had gone before

tout ce qui s'était passé avant

II.go before VB [Brit ɡəʊ -, Am ɡoʊ -] (go before [sb/sth])

go before person court, judge:

go before

comparaître devant

the bill went before parliament

le projet de loi a été soumis au parlement

I.lay before VB [Brit leɪ -, Am leɪ -] (lay [sth] before sb)

lay before law, bill

soumettre [qc] à qn

lay before case, facts, evidence

exposer [qc] à qn

I laid the facts before them

je leur ai exposé les faits

before tax ADJ

before tax income

brut

before tax profit

avant impôts

best-before date N

best-before date

date f limite de consommation

Your search term in other parts of the dictionary

before a notary

devant notaire

Translations for before in the French»English Dictionary

Your search term in other parts of the dictionary

précédemment

previously, before

devancement d'appel

enlistment before call-up

auparavant

before

comme auparavant

as before

nous ferons comme auparavant

we'll do as we did before

peu (de temps) auparavant

shortly before

un an auparavant

a year before ou earlier

moins/plus qu'auparavant

less/more than before

l'avant-veille

two days before

l'avant-veille du couronnement

two days before the coronation

l'avant-veille

the day two days before

l'avant-veille avait été pluvieuse

the day two days before had been rainy

before in the PONS Dictionary

Translations for before in the English»French Dictionary

I.before [bɪˈfɔ:ʳ, Am -ˈfɔ:r] PREP

1. before (earlier):

before

avant

before doing sth

avant de faire qc

to wash one's hands before meals

se laver les mains avant de manger

2. before (in front of):

before

devant

before our eyes

sous nos yeux

3. before (preceding):

before

avant

C comes before D

le C précède le D

just before the bus stop

juste avant l'arrêt du bus

4. before (having priority):

to put sth before sth else

donner la priorité à qc sur qc d'autre

5. before (facing sb):

he has sth before him

il a qc qui l'attend

Phrases:

business before pleasure prov

le travail d'abord, le plaisir après

II.before [bɪˈfɔ:ʳ, Am -ˈfɔ:r] ADV

1. before (previously):

I've seen it before

je l'ai déjà vu

I've not seen it before

je ne l'ai jamais vu

the day before

la veille

two days before

l'avant-veille

as before

comme dans le passé

2. before (in front):

this word and the one before

ce mot et le précédent

III.before [bɪˈfɔ:ʳ, Am -ˈfɔ:r] CONJ

1. before (at previous time):

before

avant (que)

he spoke before she

il parla avant qu'elle +subj

he had a drink before he went

il a pris un verre avant de partir

2. before (rather than):

he'd die before he'd tell the truth

il mourrait plutôt que de dire la vérité

3. before (until):

it was a week before he came

il s'est passé une semaine avant qu'il ne vienne

4. before (so that):

to have to do sth before sb would do sth

devoir faire qc pour que qn fasse qc (subj)

lay before VB trans

to lay sth before sb

soumettre qc à qn

to lay one's case before sb

exposer son cas à qn

Translations for before in the French»English Dictionary

Your search term in other parts of the dictionary

auparavant

before

avant-veille

two days before

l'avant-veille de qc

two days before sth

DEA

diploma taken before PhD

le jour précédent

the day before

comparaître devant qn

to appear before sb

avant-hier

the day before yesterday

s'humilier devant qn

to humble oneself before sb

se prosterner devant qn/qc

to bow low before sb/sth

before Examples from the PONS Dictionary (editorially verified)

don't count your chickens before they're hatched! prov

il ne faut pas vendre la peau de l'ours avant de l'avoir tué

to put the cart before the horse

mettre la charrue avant les bœufs

he'd die before he'd tell the truth

il mourrait plutôt que de dire la vérité

I fancy I have seen her before

j'ai l'impression de l'avoir déjà vue

to put the cart before the horse

mettre la charrue devant les bœufs

we are all equal before the law

nous sommes tous égaux devant la loi

to put the cart before the horse

mettre la charrue avant [ou devant] les bœufs

was it before or during the lesson?

c'était avant le cours ou pendant?

to let sb go before/after the others

faire passer qn avant/après les autres

is it going to happen before midnight?

c'est pour aujourd'hui ou pour demain? inf

Monolingual examples (not verified by PONS Editors)

English

The polariscope combines the different polarization states of light waves before and after passing the specimen.

en.wikipedia.org

I wasn't exactly a night owl, but they went to bed way before my bedtime.

www.huffingtonpost.com

She was also prohibited from hunting for a period of three years, and ordered to take the hunter education and ethics course before obtaining her next hunting licence.

www.whitehorsestar.com

One night shortly before the battle, a powerful dust storm destroyed many of the dummy vehicles.

en.wikipedia.org

He later worked as a window cleaner for 12 months before selling the round for a profit.

en.wikipedia.org

If this procedure is used, it is imperative to rinse the unit with soap and water before reinstalling onto the machine and breathing.

en.wikipedia.org

Amy had never even had a singing lesson before that audition, so we practised it together and worked on her breathing.

www.digitalspy.com

Young people should use every political means at their disposal to change this law back to the fair and non-discriminatory way it was before.

www.macleans.ca

Odour complaints were complicated because of difficulties in ascertaining the source, and smells could dissipate before a compliance officer arrived, he said.

www.stuff.co.nz

Remember before the last election, remember those airbrushed posters?

www.dailymail.co.uk