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You can use the present tense short form and まえに
- mae-ni to describe the event before which something happens. |
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| verb A (short present)+ まえに verb B:
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B before A. |
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| 国に帰る前に、もう一度東京に行きます。 |
I will go to Tokyo one more time before I go back
home. |
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kuni maeru mae ni, moo ichido, tookyoo ni
ikimasu. |
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日本に来る前に、
一学期日本語を勉強しました。 |
I studied Japanese for one semester before I came to Japan. |
nihon-ni kuru mae ni,
ichi gakki, nihongo-o benkyoo shimashita. |
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The verb that precedes mae-ni is
always in the present tense,
whether the tense of the overall sentence is in the present
tense (as in the first example above) or in the past tense
(as in the second). |
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To describe an event after which
another thing happens (*8), you can use the te-form
of a verb + kara. |
| verb A + てから verb B : |
A, and then B. / B after A. |
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勉強してから、
友達に手紙を書きました。 |
I studied and then wrote letters to my friends. |
benkyoo shite kara,
tomodachi-ni tegami-o kakimashita. |
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| けんさんが来てから、食べましょう。 |
Why don't we start eating after Ken has arrived. |
| ken-san-ga kite kara, tabemashoo. |
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*8 An "A te kara B" sentence can also describe the
state B that has held true since the event A. |
| 猫が死んでから、とてもさびしいです。 |
I have been feeling very lonely since my cat died. |
| neko-ga shinde kara. totemo sabishii desu. |
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