BEFORE plus a verb

[anglychanin.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit confused about "before", especially when a verb comes after

""Before you start off, fasten your seat belt"

"Before you criticise your colleague, you should look in the mirror"

"Before taking off, make sure the aeroplane has some fuel in the tanks"

This is a long standing problem for me. I usually turn the sentence into something else that I do know how to say.

I'd be grateful for a few examples.

Comments

[oryx_and_crake]

"before" usually does not affect the verb form, no matter whether the verb stands before or after it.

Пристегните ремни! Fasten your seat belts!
До старта пристегните ремни! Before you start off, fasten your seat belts!

Посмотрите на себя в зеркало! Look in the mirror!
Прежде чем критиковать своего коллегу, посмотрите на себя в зеркало!
Before you criticize your colleague, you should look in the mirror!

etc.etc.

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

+ Перед стартом пристегните ремни! (sounds more natural to me)

[icamel.livejournal.com]

Still sounds unnatural to me, since I can not imagine context

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

Maybe this one isn't a very good one. But here's another one that's structurally very similar, yet isn't unnatural at all:
Перед уходом проверьте, выключены ли обогревательные приборы.

[icamel.livejournal.com]

I think, the difference between the situations is that in the plain you don't control the time of takeoff if you are a passenger, so it is not "перед стартом пристегните ремни", it is rather 'fasten your seatbelts, NOW!'

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

One more form:
Перед тем как уйти он выключил свет = Перед уходом он выключил свет = He turned the lights off before leaving.

[icamel.livejournal.com]

In Russian I would say Уходя, он выключил свет.

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

That is correct too, just doesn't have any form of перед.

[icamel.livejournal.com]

Usually you don't switch the light off after you leave, so there is no need to stress upon that he switched the light of before he left. It would be enough to say that he switched the light off while leaving.

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

To me there's no emphasis on before, unless the speaker articulates one. Other than the length, I find both equal.

[daskalidi.livejournal.com]

In the second example the best translation, to my mind, is "прежде чем".
"Прежде чем критиковать коллегу, посмотрите в зеркало".

[alon_68]

If both actions related to the same person:

Before - Прежде чем
you - isn't translated
criticise - критиковать (infinitive)
your colleague - вашего коллегу
you should look in the mirror - can be translated literally (вы должны посмотреть в зеркало)

If the actions related to different persons:

Before - Прежде чем
the aircraft - самолет
takes off - взлетит (Future)

fasten your seat belt - can be also translated literally

[icamel.livejournal.com]

or just прежде чем критиковать коллегу, посмотрите в зеркало.

The second case is more difficult, because you will never say such a phrase in russian. It would rather be something like 'Наш самолет готовится к взлету, пристегните, пожалуйста, ремни.'

[anglychanin.livejournal.com]

Thanks a lot