come before

He debated heating up the pot first before his friends came.

他考虑在朋友们到来之前先把火锅烧热。

A general comes before a colonel.

将官比校官高。

It is the reason why the wildcatter, the independent oilman whose test drillings might come up dry 20 times before gushing in the end, is an enduring Texas symbol.

这就是为些在投机，些个体石油在石油喷发前可能要试钻二十次的原因，这也是德州一直以来的标志。