<p>[.....] 之前 = before [.....]</p>
<p>[我找到工作] 之前 = before [I found a job]</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>在 [.....] 之前 = at before [.....]</p>
<p>[<strong>在</strong> (我找到工作) 之前] = [<strong>at</strong> (the time) before (我找到工作) ]</p>
<p>在我找到工作之前 = At the time before I found a job</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-25T08:18:48.280Z
2020-11-25T08:18:48.280Z
Tang Ho
<p>You're probably familiar with 在 meaning &quot;at&quot; with regards to a location, you probably just haven't yet recognized that it can also mean &quot;at&quot; with regards to a time (i.e &quot;at that time&quot;). Treat it as the equivalent of &quot;when&quot; in English. Where in English we would say &quot;When I found work&quot;, in Chinese you would say &quot;我找到工作的时候&quot; (the time that I found work) or &quot;在我找到工作&quot; (at (when) I found work).</p>
<p>The 之前 means before. In this context imagine there's a 的 in the sentence:</p>
<p>在我找到工作(的)之前 ([when I found work]'s before)</p>
<p>Taken as a whole, the phrase means &quot;before I found work...&quot;.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-27T07:26:45.967Z
How about "在我学习的同时...." Is it similar in that sense? How about we simply omit 在？ Would the sentences hold the same meaning and would they then be grammatically correct?
zaloniii
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-11-25T08:07:53.440Z
2020-11-25T08:28:19.660Z
2020-11-25T08:28:19.660Z
小奥利奥
<p>I don't understand what 在 means here?</p>

<grammar>
how would you translate 在我找到工作之前 ? What is the function of 在 here?
# how would you translate 在我找到工作之前 ? What is the function of 在 here?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-11-25)

I don't understand what 在 means here?

**Tags:** grammar


---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-11-25. Score: 2

[.....] 之前 = before [.....]

[我找到工作] 之前 = before [I found a job]

~

在 [.....] 之前 = at before [.....]

[**在** (我找到工作) 之前] = [**at** (the time) before (我找到工作) ]

在我找到工作之前 = At the time before I found a job


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-11-25. Score: 1

You're probably familiar with 在 meaning "at" with regards to a location, you probably just haven't yet recognized that it can also mean "at" with regards to a time (i.e "at that time"). Treat it as the equivalent of "when" in English. Where in English we would say "When I found work", in Chinese you would say "我找到工作的时候" (the time that I found work) or "在我找到工作" (at (when) I found work).

The 之前 means before. In this context imagine there's a 的 in the sentence:

在我找到工作(的)之前 ([when I found work]'s before)

Taken as a whole, the phrase means "before I found work...".

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: How about "在我学习的同时...." Is it similar in that sense? How about we simply omit 在？ Would the sentences hold the same meaning and would they then be grammatically correct?  

---

