dekakeru mae ni, mado ni kagi o kaketa ka douka kakuninshimasu.

Before going out, I check whether I locked the window.

Breakdown of dekakeru mae ni, mado ni kagi o kaketa ka douka kakuninshimasu.

• に: time particle
• 前まえ: before
• 〜た: past tense
• 確認かくにんする: to check

Questions & Answers about dekakeru mae ni, mado ni kagi o kaketa ka douka kakuninshimasu.

What does 出かける前に mean, and how is it built?

出かける前に means before going out.

It follows a very common pattern:

• verb dictionary form + 前に = before doing something

So:

• 出かける = to go out / leave home
• 前に = before

Put together:

• 出かける前に = before going out

A related pattern is:

• noun + の + 前に = before a noun
  Example: 食事の前に = before the meal

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Why is it 出かける and not 出かけた before 前に?

Because with 前に, Japanese normally uses the dictionary form of the verb:

• 出かける前に = before going out

The idea is that the action going out has not happened yet at that point.

This is different from English, where we do not really think about this as a grammar rule. In Japanese, it is a fixed pattern:

• Vる前に = before doing V

So 出かけた前に would not be natural here.

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What does 鍵をかける mean exactly?