Common Mistakes : Before
Adverb
.BAD: Before forty years the journey took twice as long
.GOOD: Forty years ago the journey took twice as long
.BAD: Not so long before we used animals for transportation
.GOOD: Not so long ago we used animals for transportation
ago = before ‘now’, the moment of speaking
.Her plane landed ten minutes ago. In fact, here she comes now
(I saw him just five minutes ago. (=five minutes before now
before = before ‘then’, a time in the past
I went to the airport last Monday to meet Sue. I hadn’t been to the airport (before. (= before last Monday
(I saw him last Friday in London and two days before in Leeds. (= last Wednesday
.BAD: My parents first came here before 40 years ago
.GOOD: My parents first came here 40 years ago