Translation
before, sooner than
Examples
Discessit advenit.
He left before the king arrived.
venias, erunt.
Before you come, everything will be ready.
loquaris, .
Before you speak, listen.
inciperet, petivit.
Before the war could begin, he sought peace.
, .
Before the light rose, they set out.
Antequam is ante plus quam, and the two halves can still come apart in verse and in careful prose: ante ... quam, with words in between. It behaves exactly like priusquam, its commoner rival, and the mood is the whole lesson. Indicative when you are simply dating one past event against another: discessit antequam venit. Subjunctive when the second action is anticipated, intended or prevented, which is most of the time in future or purposive contexts.
The trap is treating it as a preposition. Ante takes an accusative, antequam takes a clause with a verb in it, and mixing them produces the sort of Latin that gets circled in red.
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antequam: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "antequam" (before, sooner than): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 13.