Definition: At a time in advance of the usual or expected event.

Alright class, settle down and let’s take a look! That dictionary definition – “At a time in advance of the usual or expected event” – it gives us a good starting point. Let's break it down with a little rhyme, to make it stick: “‘Earlier’ means before, you see, A moment that came prior to thee! Before the norm, before the plan, It’s something that happened, just a bit than…” …a little bit earlier, that's right! Think of it like this: if your birthday is tomorrow , “earlier” would be today. Or maybe you were supposed to hand in an assignment at 3 PM, but you finished it an hour before – that was "earlier" than expected. It’s about timing, a point in the past that precedes something else. It's about being ahead of schedule, or simply before what we anticipated. Do you have any questions about this concept? Let’s discuss!