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earlier in time; previously;
"I had known her before"
"as I said before"
"he called me the day before but your call had come even earlier"
"her parents had died four years earlier"
"I mentioned that problem earlier"
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comparatives of `soon' or `early';
"Come a little sooner, if you can"
"came earlier than I expected"
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before now;
"why didn't you tell me in the first place?"