Questions & Answers about tuìfáng yǐqián qǐng gěi wǒ fāpiào.
Why does 以前 come after 退房? Shouldn’t before go in front, like in English?
In Chinese, time expressions like 以前 often come after the event they refer to.
So:
- 退房以前 = before checking out
- literally: checkout + before
This is a very common pattern:
- 吃饭以前 = before eating
- 上课以前 = before class / before attending class
- 睡觉以前 = before sleeping
So even though English says before checkout, Chinese naturally says checkout before.
Can I say 退房前 or 退房之前 instead of 退房以前?
Yes. All three can mean before checking out:
- 退房前
- 退房之前
- 退房以前
For many everyday situations, they are very similar.
A few notes:
- 前 is short and very common.
- 之前 sounds a little more explicit and is extremely common in spoken and written Chinese.
- 以前 also works, but depending on context it can sometimes mean formerly / in the past, so beginners often find 之前 easier to interpret.
In this sentence, all of these are acceptable:
- 退房前请给我发票。
- 退房之前请给我发票。
- 退房以前请给我发票。
What exactly does 退房 mean here?