"Antes de" and "Antes de que"?

Question

Hola. I have been having some problems with prepositions followed by a verb. With the simple phrase, "Before I eat"?

1. Would I say, "Antes de comer" or "Antes de que yo coma"?
2. If #1 is "Antes de comer", how would I say, "Before you/he/we/they/etc. eat"?

Answer 1

If you want to say something like "Before I eat, I always wash my hands", " Antes de que yo coma " would be correct. I think this falls under the "Uncompleted or prospective action with the subjunctive" category. See grammer verb section. The subjunctive works for first, second and third persons

Antes de que yo coma, siempre me lavo mis manos.

Answer 2

You can say it either way, just as you might do in English. For instance, both are correct in both languages: Antes de comer, me lavo las manos. Antes de que yo coma, me lavo las manos. In English: Before eating, I was my hands. Before I eat, I wash my hands. Even using "antes de," who is doing the eating is clarified elsewhere in the sentence.

Gracias a ti también! - alexkill51, Mar 19, 2013

Answer 3

Ok, muchas gracias!