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a long time ago vs a long time before

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'A long time ago' is commonly used to refer to a distant point in the past, while 'a long time before' is used to indicate a period of time prior to a specific event or point in time.

Last updated: March 21, 2024 • 1197 views

a long time ago

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to refer to a distant point in the past.

This phrase is used to indicate a time that is far in the past. It is often used to start stories or anecdotes.

Examples:

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
I remember meeting her a long time ago.
He used to live here a long time ago.

Show examples from the web [+]

It was obviously abandoned a long time ago.
I found the appropriate response to these situations a long time ago.
He stopped being my father a long time ago, Ethan.
I suppose a long time ago, it was... architecture.
The phone was cut off a long time ago.
Alex died for most of us a long time ago.
I left home a long time ago.
I made peace with it a long time ago.
That was a long time ago, Patrick.
It was a long time ago, though.
Mormons abandoned the practice of plural marriage a long time ago.
Spain was a long time ago.
The first time was a long time ago.
There was, a long time ago.
I lost my mother and father a long time ago.
Dave Jenkins is dead a long time ago.
He interviewed me a long time ago.
She quit a long time ago.
That girl died a long time ago.
She was in our party a long time ago.

Alternatives:

ages ago
many years ago
in the distant past
back in the day
once upon a time

a long time before

This phrase is correct and is used to indicate a period of time prior to a specific event or point in time.

This phrase is used to refer to a time that occurred before a particular event or point in time. It is often used to provide context or explain the timing of events.

Examples:

She left a long time before the party started.
He had finished his work a long time before the deadline.
The incident happened a long time before I joined the company.

Show examples from the web [+]

And you were gone a long time before that.
We fought them for a long time before we removed it.
I got to the West a long time before Billy.
I lost Jack a long time before that.
I fell out of love with my wife a long time before she disappeared.
I think it will still take a long time before we get the genuinely lasting and coherent European transport policy that we want.
I lost Jack a long time before that.
It will be a long time before a field like that comes up again.
Only, it happened a long time before Christ. Before our Lord.
When your father died, it was a long time before he left me.
She knew me for a long time before I was in here.
Well, it's going to be a long time before you get any business from my office.
If you ask me, the booze did it to her a long time before that.
I started lying a long time before I learned how much men will give up for a pretty face.
I've got to wait a long time before I can enjoy you.
It might be a long time before his condition changes.
Harris was dead on the toilet a long time before we found him.
It could be a long time before he's back on his feet.
It will be a long time before they really understand it.
It'll be a long time before GeneCo can help you sing like Mag.

Alternatives:

long before
well before
prior to
previously
earlier than

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