I would appreciate any clarifications regarding the correct usage of "early" vs "preliminary" in these two sentences.
This study provide an early evidence about life on Mars.
This study provide preliminary evidence about life on Mars
For instance, does early vs preliminary change the meaning? which one is more accurate to explain the meaning, or they both have the same?
When I opened my dictionary to check the difference in meaning between early and preliminary, I found "early" is largely referring to a time frame (e.g. I got in the early morning, she is in her early thirties). On the other hand, 'preliminary" usage has nothing to do with time. It is a word used to explain position (i.e. something come before something else). It was explained in the dictionary as "something that precedes or is introductory or preparatory" so it refers to something not sometime.
What confused me is that these two words were used in the literature to refer to a timing frame. I am not sure about the correct usage in my examples above?!