earlier vs early

Both 'earlier' and 'early' are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'Earlier' is used to compare two points in time, indicating that one event occurred before another. 'Early' is used to describe the time of day or a period in time that is at the beginning. They are not directly comparable as they serve different purposes.

Last updated: March 26, 2024 • 1473 views

The word 'earlier' is correct and commonly used in English to compare two points in time, indicating that one event occurred before another.

"earlier"

Use 'earlier' when you want to compare two points in time and show that one happened before the other. For example, 'She arrived earlier than expected.'

Examples:

He woke up earlier than usual.
The meeting was scheduled for earlier in the day.
I saw her earlier at the store.
The train arrived earlier than the timetable indicated.
She finished her homework earlier than her classmates.

Show examples from the web [+]
Last updated: November 25, 2024

5 days ago ... EARLIER definition: 1. comparative of early 2. comparative of early . Learn more.
Shuttling between his first year of life (1967) and the year he wrote the book (2020), Earlier is a glorious sequence of moments, a record of the experiences ...
Apr 25, 2024 ... Returns the current value of the specified column in an outer evaluation pass of the mentioned column. EARLIER is useful for nested calculations.
Can I add start not earlier than date. Maxplank. 05/25/22 in Smartsheet Basics. Dear Smart Sheet Community,. I am building a project plan and for few ...
The results are consistent with obesity's being an important contributing factor to the earlier onset of puberty in girls. Factors other than obesity, ...
Dec 18, 2023 ... Bringing Sequence Tasks Earlier > How to start immediately if in the future? SOLVE. So I want to get cracking on a load of call tasks scheduled ...
Results: Approximately 60% of mothers who stopped breastfeeding did so earlier than desired. Early termination was positively associated with mothers ...
Earlier.org - Friends for an Earlier Breast Cancer Test®, a 501(c) 3 organization, is the nation's only breast cancer charity focused exclusively on ...
Dec 17, 2013 ... Cannabis use is associated with an earlier age of onset of psychosis (AOP). However, the reasons for this remain debated.
... earlier snowmelt pulse onset dates are presented as evidence for observed earlier actual melting. Since the snowmelt runoff pulse is by far the largest ...

Alternatives:

before
previously
sooner
prior
preceding

The word 'early' is correct and commonly used in English to describe the time of day or a period in time that is at the beginning.

"early"

Use 'early' to describe the time of day or a period in time that is at the beginning. For example, 'He wakes up early every morning.'

Examples:

She arrived early for the meeting.
He left early to avoid traffic.
The early bird catches the worm.
They finished the project early.
I prefer to start work early in the morning.

Show examples from the web [+]

Phone's been ringing early today.
And too early for Inspector Lewis.
Jason graduated from high school early.
I dismissed class ten minutes early.
Except for the one we discovered early.
The recommendation was finally executed by the Danish authorities early 2013.
They sent me back too early.
Little early for a drunk-driving checkpoint.
Tomorrow, we should leave fairly early.
You came home early last night.
Jennifer Tolanïs body was discovered early this morning.
Your chance for an early night.
These days, big companies retire people early.
See, Beano opened fire too early.
Hemostatic resuscitation is about replacing coagulation factors and platelets early.
And why I got here early.
Owen never gets coffee this early.
The omens promised victory if we attacked early.
Hasan has gone home early today.
A bit early to start drinking.

Alternatives:

at the beginning
in the morning
at dawn
at the crack of dawn
at the outset

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earlier vs early

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