25.4.2.1.2
Relative Adverbs Indicating Past Events
25.4.2.1.2.1 Bereits = already
Er hat es mir bereits
gesagt.
He has told me already.
25.4.2.1.2.2 Eben, soeben =
just
Er hat es mir
gerade eben gesagt.
He just told
me.
Er ist soeben
zur Tür hereingekommen.
He has just come through
the door.
25.4.2.1.2.3 Vorhin = a minute
ago
Vorhin
wusste ich es noch.
A minute ago I sill knew
it.
25.4.2.1.2.4 Früher, damals
* = then, in the past, in past times, ealier
Damals
(Früher) war
alles besser.
In the past
everything was better.
Früher
(Damals) hatte er immer Geld.
Then he always had money.
Er kam früher,
als wir dachten.
He came earlier, than
we thought.
* The difference between damals
and früher is quite
subtle and it is noticed only in certain cases. Damals
in general is used when talking about a certain
time in the past. Früher
can mean whatever time before the point of speaking.
Example: a) Erinnerst
du dich noch an jene Zeiten, als wir noch in Hamburg lebten?
Do you remember the times, when
we were living in Hamburg?
b)
Ja, damals war ich glücklich.
Yes,
I was very happy then.
In this case früher cannot be used, because it is
a certain, well determined time. For better understanding
we give another example.
These two questions do not
mean the same.
a) Wie haben
die das damals
nur gemacht?
How did they manage in the past?
b) Wie haben die das früher
gemacht?
How did they do it before now?
Phrase a) refers to a certain era (before the war, in
the 30ies, when they were married). Phrase b) refers to
an era at any time before now. And then there is früher
in the meaning of earlier.
25.4.2.1.2.5 Anfangs = in the
beginning
Anfangs
hat es mir ganz gut gefallen, aber dann wurde
es langweilig.
In the beginning I liked
it quite well, but then it became boring.
