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avant que. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
avant que, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
avant que in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
avant que you have here. The definition of the word
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French
Pronunciation
Conjunction
avant que (+ subjunctive)
- before
- Antonym: après que
Usage notes
- Along with en attendant que (“until”) and jusqu’à ce que (“until”), avant que is one of the three conjunctions of time that take the subjunctive in prescriptive French; all three refer to expected events in the future. Colloquially, après que may also take the subjunctive, but this is discouraged by language authorities.
- In written French, the verb that follows avant que takes the expletive particle ne, which does not negate the verb and serves no grammatical function.
- Il mourut avant que l’ambulance n’arrive. ― He died before the ambulance arrived.