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# early

«early» in Mova's school dictionary: **Before the usual or expected time: «The bus came early»** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective (early, earlier, earliest); adverb (early, earlier, earliest)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Before the usual or expected time: «The bus came early». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/early/#m1)

2) Near the beginning of a day, a period or an event: early morning, early in the year. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/early/#m2)

3) Happening long ago or first: early humans, early cars. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/early/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life: get up early, early to bed; arrive early for school; in safety, leave early so you don't rush across roads. In history: early people, early inventions. In maths and time problems: «earlier» means before; «5 minutes early» means 5 minutes before the set time. Phrases: early bird, early morning, early on, early night, the early bird catches the worm, earlier than, at the earliest.

### examples

- I got up early to watch the sunrise. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/early/#x1)
- The train arrived ten minutes early. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/early/#x2)
- We had an early night before the trip. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/early/#x3)
- The early bird catches the worm. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/early/#x4)
- Early people made tools from stone. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/early/#x5)
- Spring flowers bloom early in the year. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/early/#x6)
- Come earlier next time. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/early/#x7)
- If school starts at 8:45 and you arrive at 8:30, you are 15 minutes early. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/early/#x8)
- ‘Whither away so early, Little Red-Cap?’ [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/early/#x9)

### note

Comparisons: earlier, earliest (y → i). Opposite: late. Say «ER-lee». In maths: «early» means before the set time, so subtract: 9:00 − 10 minutes early = 8:50.

### In the corpora

- [Many people are paid early in December, before Christmas, so January feels very long with the money already spent.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/5-where-money-comes-from/7/)
- [Sorting it is the grown-ups' job, not the child's, and asking for help early is the sensible move.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/8-borrowing-and-debt/10/)
- [A final demand is a warning that a bill is very overdue and stronger action will follow, so acting early is easier.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/8-borrowing-and-debt/19/)
- [Many parents wait about three months before telling people, because the early weeks are the most uncertain.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/18-were-having-a-baby/2/)
- [Morning sickness is feeling or being sick in early pregnancy, and despite the name it can happen at any time of day.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/18-were-having-a-baby/11/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «early» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/early/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.