the generations before us vs the generations before ours

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in slightly different contexts. 'The generations before us' is more commonly used and refers to the generations that came before the current one. 'The generations before ours' is less common but can also be used to convey the same meaning.

Last updated: March 27, 2024 • 1324 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

"the generations before us"

This phrase is used to refer to the generations that came before the current one.

Examples:

We can learn a lot from the generations before us.
The traditions of the generations before us are still alive today.

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That is why in confronting these fears, we have to follow the example of the generations before us; we have to show the same imagination and the same courage.
And all the generations before us...
We begin each meeting the way generations before us have - by taking a blood oath.
Generations before us have longed for this.
Me and your grandmother and generations before us faced discrimination because our name is Vasquez.
We think that means the generation before.
I... I think that's the generation before you.
My generation and the generation before that did not concern itself very much with the idea of being independent or becoming an entrepreneur.
Where is the sense of crisis which generations before us had?
You initially grow up with the music that the generation before you, your parents, have chosen.
But Freddie passed on his soul and his spirit to a new generation - before he was cruelly taken.
And when I'm done, it will be as if neither you nor any generation before had ever existed.
My mother can neither read nor write like all who toil to earn a living from the soil like many generations before her.
In my life time and that of a generation before me, we knew only peace.
It will take several more generations before the insane decisions of a dictator and a secret police, the, cease to affect how people behave.
And they were led by Captain Piers Hasselburg and his lieutenant, Piers Egremont, French champions settled in Holland from persecuted Protestant Huguenot French stock two generations before.
And we're building upon innovations of generations who went before us.
And the generation of elders before them?
But Jodo was try - Was hoping it would happen within his lifetime, that it would happen now and the truth of the matter is that it may take generations before movies actually aspire to the level that Jodo is wishing for.
We could be sparking innovation and raising a whole new generation of dreamers who would push us even further than the generations that came before them thought possible.

Alternatives:

the previous generations
the generations that came before us
the older generations

This phrase is correct but less commonly used in English.

"the generations before ours"

This phrase can also be used to refer to the generations that came before the current one.

Examples:

The values of the generations before ours are often different from ours.
We should respect the knowledge of the generations before ours.

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We're just trying to get our hands on the next generation of biological weaponry before our enemies do.
We think that means the generation before.
I... I think that's the generation before you.
And all the generations before us...
Me and your grandmother and generations before us faced discrimination because our name is Vasquez.
You initially grow up with the music that the generation before you, your parents, have chosen.
My generation and the generation before that did not concern itself very much with the idea of being independent or becoming an entrepreneur.
That is why in confronting these fears, we have to follow the example of the generations before us; we have to show the same imagination and the same courage.
Generations before us have longed for this.
But Freddie passed on his soul and his spirit to a new generation - before he was cruelly taken.
In fact, our own bodies are made out of recycled earlier generations of stars... that had dispersed material into the interstellar medium... before our own solar system formed.
For five generations, every bride in my family walked down the aisle carrying that blue handkerchief, and then you throw it out the night before our wedding.
And when I'm done, it will be as if neither you nor any generation before had ever existed.
My mother can neither read nor write like all who toil to earn a living from the soil like many generations before her.
In my life time and that of a generation before me, we knew only peace.
We begin each meeting the way generations before us have - by taking a blood oath.
It will take several more generations before the insane decisions of a dictator and a secret police, the, cease to affect how people behave.
And they were led by Captain Piers Hasselburg and his lieutenant, Piers Egremont, French champions settled in Holland from persecuted Protestant Huguenot French stock two generations before.
Where is the sense of crisis which generations before us had?
Please leave the apartment before our return.

Alternatives:

the previous generations
the generations that came before ours
the older generations

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the generations before us vs the generations before ours