adverb/adjective · neutral
earlier
UK/ˈɜːliə(r)/US/ˈɜːrliər/EAR·li·er
task1task2speaking
at or before a time that is before the present time or before a referenced time
Examples
“As mentioned earlier, tourism is vital to the local economy.”
“She arrived earlier than expected.”
“Earlier studies found similar results.”
Band 8 sentence
“Earlier research indicated a correlation between urban density and public transport usage, which current studies now confirm.”
Collocations
- as mentioned earlier
- earlier than expected
Word family
early adj/advearlier adj/advearliest adj/adv
Common mistakes
earlier on→earlier
previous→previously
Say it for a higher band
5before→6previously→7+earlier
Synonyms
previously
before
Easily confused
previously
“Previously, the company had focused on local markets.”
before
“I had met him before.”
Related words
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In Sequence
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