Question
Updated on
28 Nov 2022
- Japanese
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English (US)
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English (UK)
Question about English (US)
What does earlier last year mean?
What does earlier last year mean?
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- English (US)
It means it took place "previously (earlier in time), during the previous year."
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- Japanese
- English (US)
@Kyooo Actually, no. "early last year" means it took place at the beginning of the previous year. "earlier last year" means it took place anytime last year.
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- Japanese
@b33fc0de Thank you so much.
So,”earlier last year” means technically the same as “last year”?
The speaker express feelings that “ it happened recently”, or “it happened at just only one previous time” by adding “earlier” ?
So,”earlier last year” means technically the same as “last year”?
The speaker express feelings that “ it happened recently”, or “it happened at just only one previous time” by adding “earlier” ?
- English (US)
@Kyooo Yes, that is how I interpret these phrases. The term "earlier" to me just implies something prior to a point in a time. "Early" implies specifically near the beginning of that span of time.
earlier = any time before, usually "recently" but not strictly
early = near the beginning of that time
You can also use these for "this (length of time)", as in "early this year" and "earlier this year". It will depend on the context. Some people may disagree with me and say that they are the same, but I personally do not think that is correct.
Here is an example. We are talking about an event that happened in the past. It is February when we are talking now.
Me: "Do you remember when [such and such a thing] happened?"
You: "Yeah, that was back in January, right?"
Me: "No, earlier last year, in December."
Here I am specifying that the event happened not only prior to the time you said, but also in the previous year. But I cannot say "early last year", because it was December. I would have to say "late last year" in this case.
These terms can also be used to say "earlier this year" in the same way as saying "earlier this morning". These are cases where the span of time (day/week/month/year) stays within the current one. It does not cross over into the previous or next (day/week/month/year).
Let's say you and I are talking, and I mention some event that happened. Let's also say it is still morning when we are talking:
Me: "Did you hear? (Such and such a thing) happened."
You: "Really? When?"
Me: "Earlier this morning."
This implies it happened on the >>same day<<, at some previous time in the morning. It may have been 10am, or it may have been 5am. It is not specified.
If I said:
Me: "Early this morning."
This implies it happened >>specifically<< at (what I consider to be) an early time in the morning. Like 5am or something.
So to me, "early last year" means specifically near the beginning of last year.
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- Japanese
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question.
Your explanation is so easy to understand 😊
Thanks to you, I was able to understand the meaning of them.
I really really appreciate it. You helped me a lot.
Thank you very much!
Your explanation is so easy to understand 😊
Thanks to you, I was able to understand the meaning of them.
I really really appreciate it. You helped me a lot.
Thank you very much!
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