■ before

1) 这个单词既可以是介词（后接名词成分），也可以是主从连词（后接时间状语从句），还可以是副词（后不接任何成分，作“从前”解），要善于辨别，避免理解错误。

• Twice before he had arranged a lunch date with George, and each time George had canceled the date at the last moment.这里的 before 就既非介词（后面不可能有主格的 he），也非主从连词（后面的 and 表明了这是两个并列分句，前面不可能是从句，因而 before 不可能作为主从连词引入从句），而只能是副词，从后面修饰 twice，再合起来一起修饰 he had arranged... 译文是：他以前已经有过两次安排同乔治午餐约会，但每一次乔治都在最后一刻取消了约会。

2) 以主从连词 before 引入的时间状语从句，如果放在大句的末处，译成中文时，因为是状语，往往要提前到谓语之前（中文正常词序是状语先于谓语，英文则是谓语先于状语），既破坏了事情的先后顺序和重点（往往重点信息最后才出来），语气也不通顺。这时候可以采取一个变通的办法，before... 不要译成“在…之前”，而是把“前”译成“后”，保持英文的顺序：“然后再…”。

• Each adoption paper needs to have a notary's stamp, then county, state department, and Chinese embassy or consulate stamps attached before the document can be sent to China.每一份领养文件都必须有公证人盖章，然后还要加上本郡、本州和中国大使馆或领事馆的公章，然后才能发往中国（不要译成：“在发往中国之前…”）。

如果时间过得长，中文就用“才”字。

• It was three days before the body came up.过了三天，尸首才浮起來。
• ... and then it may be another four or five days before they can fill a prescription. (The New York Times, May 1, 2007, F5)…然后可能要再过四五天他们才能去抓药。
• Deep are the wounds that remain in the human spirit from this period. Much time must yet pass before they will be completely healed. (John Paul II)这个时期留在人类心灵中的创伤很深。要过很长时间才能完全愈合。
• It could be eight years, even ten, before we get permission to start construction.要过八年甚至十年我们才能得到开工的许可。
• Anyone who wants to tie into this databank from the outside has to pass a series of security gates before they're admitted.任何人想要从外界进入这个数据库，就必须通过一连串的安全闸门，然后才被放进去。
• The reader must slog through more than 400 pages before finally getting back to the story line.读者需要辛辛苦苦看完了四百多页，才最后回到故事主线。

如果时间短，中文用“就”字。

• The blackness lasted only a moment before it was pierced by the intense glare of media spotlights. (Dan Brown, Deception Point, p.136)那片黑只保持了一会儿，就被媒体照射灯的强烈亮光穿透了。

有时候主句简直“萎缩”成为事实上的一个状语成分，最核心的新信息集中到了从句。

• It was not long before he became invaluable to them.过不了多久，他们就觉得他非常有用。
• But it wasn't long before I began to see that the short skirt played a role in boosting my tips. (Newsweek, Nov. 13, 2006, p.21)但是不久之后，我就开始发现，穿短裙对于让我多得到小费起了作用。

before 从句的这种在语用 (pragmatic) 意义上“升格”，“功高震主”，压倒主句的现象，也超出了语用的范围，对句法产生了一些影响。通常时间状语从句是以一般现在时代替一般将来时的。

• Let's give the house a thorough cleaning before the visitors arrive (*will arrive).客人没到之前，咱们把房子彻底打扫一下。

但是，由于 before 从句在主句后面可以承载主要信息，实际上已经失去了状语从句的功能，而状语从句本来可以以一般现在时代替一般将来时，遇到这种情况，如果 before 从句所说的是比较远的将来的事，人们也就忘掉这种代替的成规，在 before 从句中也照思维逻辑用起一般将来时了。

• He was sentenced to two years in prison before he will be deported in his terrorism conspiracy case.他因为恐怖阴谋案，被判处两年监禁，然后驱逐出境。
• It's just a few more years before the space shuttle fleet will be retired, according to current plans.按照目前的计划，过不了若干年，航天飞机机队就要退休了。

3) 有时候 before 从句所指的事，其实是肯定不发生或是要避免发生的，此时也不宜译成“在…之前”（中文“在…之前”与“在没有…之前”往往同义，可对照参考）。

• Lucky, a giant autonomous beast now stalking Hong Kong Disneyland, walks so carefully that if it steps on an egg, it'll back off before breaking the shell.现在独来独往走遍香港迪士尼乐园的互动恐龙“乐奇”走起路来十分小心，如果踩着了一个蛋，它会后退，以免踩破了蛋壳。
• Intelligence agencies had an urgent mission to find hidden plotters before they could strike again. (The Washington Post, Feb. 5, 2006, A10)情报机关的一项迫切任务，是趁阴谋者尚未再次下手就发现他们。
• The Fed would tolerate a recession before again permitting inflation to go bonkers.联储会大概会宁可容忍一次衰退，也不会再让通货膨胀成为脱缰之马。
• It's time to call Adult Protective Services before the 85-year-old lady sets the house on fire and forgets how to open the door to get out.应该及时呼叫成年人保护处，免得那位八十五岁的老太太把房子烧着而且忘掉怎样开门出去。
• An Army investigation in the 1970s found 18 of so-called Tiger Force soldiers had committed (in Vietnam) war crimes, but the probe was terminated before anyone was charged. (US News & World Report, Sept. 6, 2004, p.40)20 世纪 70 年代陆军的一项调查发现，所谓“猛虎部队”的士兵，有 18 人曾经（在越南）犯过战争罪行，但没等到任何人被控罪，这次调查就结束了。

值得注意的是：由于 before 可以隐含否定的意义，所以一些通常同否定相联系的副词，也可以出现在 before 引入的从句之中。

• Before she had even buckled herself in, the craft was airborne, banking hard across the Virginia woods. (Dan Brown, Deception Point, p.18)她还没来得及扣好坐稳，直升飞机就离地升空，斜斜地掠过弗吉尼亚的森林。

4) 但是有时候 before 从句所指的事也可能是肯定要发生的，此时就要译成“在…之前”。

• Now, will there be anything else before you go?你们临走之前还有什么事情吗？

（变相婉转催对方走。）

5) not before + -ing 表示“在做某事之前赶紧做了 -ing 这件事”。

• Charles Taylor... yielded the presidency Monday... but not before vowing "I will be back."(The Associated Press, Aug. 12, 2003)查尔斯·泰勒…星期一让出了总统职位…但是赶紧先扬言：“我还是要回来的。”
• The director bade farewell, but not before handing out some advice.局长告别了，但告别前提出了一些忠告。
• The hurricane weakened to a tropical storm by evening, but not before swamping roads and knocking out power to more than 2.5 million people. (The Daily Gazette, Schenectady, New York, Sept. 19, 2003, A1)飓风到傍晚时减弱为热带暴风雨，但在此之前已经淹没了一些道路并且使得大约二百五十万人遭遇停电。