Expert: WordChannel - 10/21/2007

Question
I saw a sentence on a book written by a non-native speaker. It goes like this: "You've touched him on the raw when you mentioned the budilding ravaged by fire ten years before. It was his building". It's a sample sentence which shows how to use "touch someone on the raw". But I think the "before" in the sentence should be "ago"."Before" sounds awkward in it.What do you think, Catherine?

Answer
Dear Sandy,

That's a good question, and I'm glad you asked, because so many people make this common mistake.

1. "Before" means, literally, at some unknown time before now. It does not say when. Therefore, you would say:

I know that man. I've met him somewhere before.
Have you been here before? No, I've never been here before.

You'd normally use the present perfect tense because the effect of meeting or seeing someone or being somewhere is still felt in the present. Simple past tense is also possible, because you are talking about unknown occasions in the past, but it is less likely -- for example:

I know that man. I met him somewhere before.
Were you here before? No, I was never here before. This is my first time here.

2. Now, "ago" means, literally, at a certain time before "now."

"Ago" is used to explain the time between the present and the time that something happened. It tells us when and gives us a time or a date. Because you're referring to a specific time in the past, the simple past tense is used. For example:

Your mother called 10 minutes ago. Can you call her back?
I saw her for the first time at the film festival about 20 years ago.

"Ago" always counts back from the present time: You'd say,

I met him in Holland in December 2002; he told me he had published a book four years before.


I hope this helps -- and doesn't confuse more than it sets straight!

All Best,
Catherine Van Herrin