Earlier or Before

Question

I had to wake up at 6:00am but my mom woke me up at 5:45am instead (and intentionally). So what sounds better:

She woke me 15 minutes earlier.

She woke me up 15 minutes before. (six)

What sounds the best?

My dad doesn't like being woken up even a minute earlier.

What's the best way to describe it?

Thank you:)

Both earlier and before require some contextually established time that someone would have awakened. The same applies to early, except with that version, the "default" time is idiomatically established as the time at which the subject normally awakens (for example, the time he sets his alarm to go off). That default could apply with earlier, before - but it's not idiomatically established, so you should only use those if your context has explicitly identified the specific later time at which he intended to wake / be woken. — FumbleFingers, Jan 15, 2020 at 16:41

Paul Tanenbaum · Accepted Answer · 2020-01-15 16:27:08Z

1

Best in both examples would be early.

 She woke me 15 minutes early.

and

 My dad doesn't like to be awakened even a minute early.

answered Jan 15, 2020 at 16:27

Paul Tanenbaum

7003 silver badges7 bronze badges

So, "early" is more likely to be used in this context then?
– It's about English
Jan 16, 2020 at 10:56
Yes. In this context, early means "before the planned, intended, or agreed time."
– Paul Tanenbaum
Jan 16, 2020 at 11:06

Add a comment |

1 Answer 1