I was here earlier/previously/before

[thehammer]

Is before and earlier and previously mean the same in the following sentences? Which tense should I use with them?

1- Mumbai is a nice place. I have been here before.
1a- Mumbai is a nice place. I was here earlier/previously.

2- As I said before/previously/earlier you should not waste your food like that.

 

[Barque]

In regular informal speech, "before" is fine.

 

[jutfrank]

I don't think you need to learn these words together. Try learning each word separately.

When you're learning new vocabulary, sometimes it's helpful to compare similar words, but sometimes it's unnecessarily confusing.

 

[5jj]

Is Do before and earlier and previously mean the same in the following sentences?

.

 

[thehammer]

In regular informal speech, "before" is fine.

Thank you. Before seems more familiar. But in many legal and formal writing I have seen 'earlier' and 'previously' being used so much. So could you please explain my examples and tell me which tenses fit with those words. Thank you.

 

[Tarheel]

Thank you. Before seems more familiar. But in many MUCH legal and formal writing I have seen 'earlier' and 'previously' being used so VERY much. So could you please explain my examples and tell me which tenses fit with those words? Thank you.