¿Antes de las nueve, usted cree?
Before nine, you think?
At the hospital, the hope is that the patient can go home before nine, and antes de sits right in front of the hour.
From Dr. House · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "before" in Spanish
antes de
phrase: antes deadverb: antesnever changes
"Before" in Spanish is antes de when a time, a noun or a verb comes next: antes de las nueve, antes de comprar. When nothing follows, it's just antes: como dije antes, as I said before. For "before" meaning in front of a place, Spanish uses delante de.
Hear "antes" in real movie scenes
Once with a time, once on its own. Each video starts and stops on that line.
¿Hago lo mismo que antes?
Should I do the same as before?
In the rehearsal room a dancer checks before the music starts again, and antes stands alone at the end of the question, meaning "earlier".
From El show debe seguir · Spanish audio
Six ways to use antes
What comes after antes decides which pattern you need.
| Spanish | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| antes de las nueve | before nine | A clock time follows de. |
| antes de comer | before eating | The verb stays in the infinitive. |
| antes de que llegues | before you arrive | A new subject brings que and the subjunctive. |
| como dije antes | as I said before | Antes alone, at the end. |
| Antes vivía aquí. | I used to live here. | With the imperfect, antes means in the past. |
| delante de la casa | in front of the house | For a place, Spanish uses delante de. |
Tip: In emails and at work you'll often read cuanto antes or lo antes posible, both meaning "as soon as possible".
Grammar: antes and antes de
Four patterns, from clock times to whole sentences.
Alone or with de
Antes can close a sentence: Nadie lo descubrió antes. The moment something follows it, add de: antes de la clase.Antes de + infinitive
Antes de salir means before leaving. The verb keeps its dictionary form, so it never ends in -ando or -iendo here.Antes de que + subjunctive
When someone else does the second action, add que and the subjunctive: Llámame antes de que salgas. Call me before you leave.Antes for "used to"
Paired with the imperfect, antes points to how things were: Antes vivía en Madrid. I used to live in Madrid.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Antes de las dos, por favor.
Before two, please.
¿Hago lo mismo que antes?
Should I do the same as before?
Nadie lo descubrió antes.
Nobody discovered it before.
Antes estuve allí.
I was there before.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗antes las nueve
✓antes de las nueve
Without de, antes has no way to link to the time that follows.
✗antes de la casa (meaning in front of)
✓delante de la casa
Antes is about time. For position, say delante de.
✗antes de que llegas
✓antes de que llegues
Antes de que is always followed by the subjunctive.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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How to remember it
Think of English words that start with ante-, like anteroom, the small room you pass through before the main one. Antes comes from the same Latin ante, before.
Questions about "before" in Spanish
How do you say before in Spanish?
Antes de when something follows it (antes de las nueve), and antes on its own (como dije antes).
What's the difference between antes and antes de?
Antes finishes the thought by itself: Nadie lo descubrió antes. Antes de needs a time, a noun or a verb after it: antes de comer.
How do you say "before you leave" in Spanish?
Antes de que te vayas, with the subjunctive. When the same person does both actions, antes de irte works too.
How do you say "the day before yesterday" in Spanish?
Anteayer, or antes de ayer written as three words. Both are correct.
