adverbial phrase · neutral
before long
UK/bɪˈfɔː lɒŋ/US/bɪˈfɔːr lɔːŋ/be·FORE LONG
speakingtask2
soon; in a short time (predictive tone)
Examples
“He practised every day and before long his skill improved noticeably.”
“Before long, the tiny startup had become a major player in the market.”
“They arrived late but before long everyone had settled down.”
Band 8 sentence
“The policy proved effective and before long neighbouring regions adopted the same measures.”
Collocations
- before long + comma + clause
- not long before long
Word family
before long adv phrase
Common mistakes
Before long he will be chief, he worked hard.→Before long, he became chief because he worked hard.
I will finish my degree before long next year.→I will finish my degree next year.
Say it for a higher band
5soon→6in a short time→7+before long
Synonyms
soon
shortly
Easily confused
soon
“She will be back soon.”
Related words
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In Sequence
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