# בעבר vs. קודם



## sawyeric1

They both mean "before". Are there any differences in meaning, usage, and register? 

Ex:

Have y’all already played this game before?
?כבר שיחקתם את המשחק הזה קודם

Have you been to Israel before?
?היית בישראל בעבר?

Thanks


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## bazq

1. it's "במשחק" not "את המשחק". 
2. "קודם" implies you are currently in the process of doing the said activity (you are playing the game now/you're in Israel now, and you're asked if this is the first time, or was there a time prior to this one). "בעבר" doesn't presuppose you are currently "in the activity".


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## sawyeric1

My Hebrew tutor said that both "במשחק" and "את המשחק" work equally fine


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## oopqoo

Your tutor is correct, they're both fine.

I can't think of the difference but I can contribute this:
Sentences with "already" and "ever" could be expressed more easily by incorporating the word יצא ל when speaking colloquially. Here's how I'd translate יצא in context:
יצא לכם כבר לשחק את המשחק הזה?
Have you ever gotten to play this game?

יצא לך להיות בברזיל אי פעם?
have you ever gotten to visit Brazil?

And this is an example without "ever" or "already":
תמיד יוצא לי להגיע לאילת בקיץ
I always get to go to Eilat in the summer


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## sawyeric1

Can "in the activity" include before you do it? Like if you were going to play a game in 15 minutes, you could use קודם, right?


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## sawyeric1

I was talking to my tutor about these words, and he said he didn't see the relation between what you're currently doing and the choice between קודם & בעבר, and that there's no reason to prefer one over the other. So now I'm not sure what to believe


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## bazq

קודם and בעבר are not interchangeable.
In the example you gave with the game it does give rise to a presupposition that you are currently playing the game.
קודם is "earlier", or at least it refers to an action in relation to another action.

"אגיע באיחור קל כי אני צריך ללכת לרופא *קודם*" is good ("I'll be running a little late because I have to go to the doctor's *first*"). 
"אגיע באיחור קל כי אני צריך ללכת לרופא בעבר" is nonesense.


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## sawyeric1

Yes, he told me about their difference in meaning in that sense. But he said something like עשית את זה בעבר and עשית את זה קודם would be practically the same thing. 

So can any other native speakers offer their input, since it seems like bazq and my tutor have different opinions about these words?


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## utopia

עשית את זה בעבר - you have done this in the past

Has a little different meaning than 

עשית את זה קודם - you did it before

Both Hebrew and English convey this difference


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