Learn Greek › A2 › προτού
προτού
before /proˈtu/
adverbA2#989 most common
Also: before that, prior to
Example sentences
Κλείσε την πόρτα προτού φύγεις.
Close the door before you leave.
Πλύνε τα χέρια σου προτού φας.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Σκέψου καλά προτού απαντήσεις.
Think carefully before you answer.
Προτού ξεκινήσουμε τη συνάντηση, θέλω να σας πω κάτι.
Before we start the meeting, I want to tell you something.
Προτού υπογράψεις το συμβόλαιο, διάβασέ το προσεκτικά.
Before you sign the contract, read it carefully.
Προτού προλάβει να αντιδράσει, το αυτοκίνητο είχε ήδη εξαφανιστεί στη στροφή.
Before he could react, the car had already disappeared around the bend.
Word family
Etymology
Προτού comes from Ancient Greek πρό, meaning before, joined with τοῦ, the genitive singular of the article. The genitive originally marked a point in time, so the phrase meant something like before that time. Over centuries the two words fused into one, and modern Greek uses it as a single temporal conjunction.
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Start free