Answers
Aug 15, 2016 - 08:12 AM
I can't swear that I'm right but here's how I look at it: Primo (first) is an adjective and must agree in gender with a noun. It only becomes Prima when paired with a feminine noun. Therefore: Il primo tempo = the first time La mia prima macchina = My first car. To use Prima as before it becomes an adverb and must be connected to a verb or phrase by the preposition "di." Prima di parti lavoro. = Before you leave work. I think of Primo and Prima as two different words. (First and Before, respectively) Prima as first, only occurs in the context of a feminine noun. Later on, you'll get sentences like this: I lived here before. - Ho abitato qui prima.
Aug 16, 2016 - 07:51 AM
Hi Ruth, you are right, when "before" is followed by a noun or a verb, in Italian we use "prima di", as in "prima delle otto" or "prima di mangiare". "Prima" on its own means "first" and it can also be translated as "before", but we explain this later in the program (in level 5). So in level 2 the program should accept "prima di" as a correct answer. We'll correct this, thanks for pointing it out.