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# sooner

adverb (soon, sooner, soonest); phrases (sooner or later, no sooner … than, the sooner the better)

«sooner» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Sooner means earlier or in less time than something else. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sooner/#m1)
2. Sooner can mean «rather», as in «I'd sooner walk» (I would prefer to walk). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sooner/#m2)
3. "Sooner or later" can also mean eventually, at some time in the future. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sooner/#m3)

### In the lessons

In everyday life «the sooner the better» means do it as early as possible, and «sooner or later» means it will happen some time. In maths problems on time, «sooner» means earlier: if a bus comes 5 minutes sooner, subtract 5 minutes from the time. In stories «No sooner had she sat down than the phone rang» shows two things happening almost at once.

### Examples

- Can we go home sooner? [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sooner/#x1)
- Sooner or later you will have to tidy your room. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sooner/#x2)
- The sooner you start, the sooner you'll finish. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sooner/#x3)
- I'd sooner stay home than go out in the rain. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sooner/#x4)
- No sooner had we arrived than it started to rain. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sooner/#x5)
- The train came ten minutes sooner than we expected. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sooner/#x6)
- If you tell an adult sooner, they can help sooner. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sooner/#x7)
- Sooner or later the old woman died. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sooner/#x8)

### Note

«Sooner» is the comparative of «soon»; the superlative is «soonest». In maths, «5 minutes sooner» means 5 minutes earlier, so you subtract from the time. «I'd sooner» = I would rather. Do not say «more sooner».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «sooner» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sooner/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«sooner» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sooner.html) on Mova free.