earlier last week

USAGE SUMMARY

"earlier last week" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to refer to anything that happened in the preceding week, up until the present moment. For example, "I saw Tom earlier last week and he was in a good mood."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Formal & Business

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

60 human-written examples

Last year, during David Cameron's trip to Beijing, the same paper announced that Britain was "just an old European country apt [that is, suitable] for travel and study".

The Guardian - Opinion

Referred to in court as D, she entered a not guilty plea to a charge of intimidation last week while wearing a niqab after the judge backed down from a previous decision that she would have to show her face to be properly identified.

The Guardian

"It's only what happened a couple of weeks ago or next week that matters.

The Guardian - Sport

As a result, the country lost a further 21 positions in the policy evaluation compared to last year, thus replacing Canada as the worst-performing industrial country".

The Guardian

Washington, March 8, 2011.

The New York Times

"Scoring is not up, but injuries are up," Tallon said of the current rule last week.

The New York Times

I think there might have been the odd humorous comment over the porridge about supposing he had some work to do next week".

The Guardian

The order book was down slightly at £3.6bn from the last update in June but well ahead of the £3.3bn reported this time last year.

The Guardian - Business

Since last July the state has opted to use just one massive dose of the sedative pentobarbital as its lethal injection, instead of a cocktail of three different drugs.

The Guardian

Last summer the Electoral Commission said 7.5 million eligible voters were not registered, with poor, black and young people least likely to be on the electoral roll.

The Guardian

The shares have underperformed the market by 6% in the last three months and now trade at a discount to the oil service peers.

The Guardian - Business

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "earlier last week" when you need to specifically distinguish a timeframe within the previous week from more recent events. For clarity, ensure the context establishes the timeframe clearly.

Common error

Avoid using "earlier last week" when "earlier this week" or "last week" alone suffices. The addition of "earlier" can sometimes be unnecessary and makes the phrase sound verbose.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "earlier last week" functions as an adverbial modifier, specifying when an action or event took place. It indicates a time frame within the week preceding the current one, providing a temporal reference point.

Expression frequency: Missing

Frequent in

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Formal & Business

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Less common in

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Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "earlier last week" serves as an adverbial modifier to specify a timeframe within the previous week. While grammatically correct, it can sometimes be redundant and is not as frequently used as simpler alternatives like "early last week" or just "last week". Ludwig AI confirms the grammatical correctness and usability of the phrase in written English. Although no examples were found in the database, the absence doesn't indicate incorrectness. If you aim for clarity and conciseness, consider whether the "earlier" component is necessary, or if a shorter alternative like "early last week" would be more appropriate.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

early last week

Simplifies the phrase by removing "earlier", which may make the phrase sound more natural in some contexts.

previously last week

Replaces "earlier" with "previously", emphasizing that the action happened before another event in the same week.

before last week ended

Rephrases the time frame more explicitly, focusing on the action occurring before the end of the previous week.

in the early part of last week

Specifies the time as being in the beginning portion of the previous week, adding more precision.

at the start of last week

Similar to the above, but uses "start" instead of "early part" for a slightly different emphasis.

toward the beginning of last week

Offers a more descriptive and less direct way to reference the initial days of the prior week.

in the initial days of last week

Highlights the first few days of the previous week.

a few days into last week

Indicates the action took place within the first few days of the previous week, without specifying a precise day.

the week before this one

Descriptive and less direct way to reference the prior week.

at the top of last week

An informal way to say at the beginning of last week. The expression is more colloquial.

FAQs

How does "earlier last week" compare to "earlier this week"?

"Earlier last week" refers to a time in the week before the current one, while "earlier this week" refers to a time in the current week. Using "earlier this week" suggests a more recent timeframe.

When is it appropriate to use "earlier last week" instead of just "last week"?

Use "earlier last week" when you want to specify that something happened at the beginning of the week prior to the current one, as opposed to later in that week. If the specific timing isn't important, just use "last week".

What are some alternatives to "earlier last week"?

Depending on the context, you could use phrases like "previously last week", "early last week", or "at the start of last week".

Is "earlier last week" considered formal or informal?

The phrase "earlier last week" is relatively neutral but leans toward informal, its formality can be easily changed using alternatives like "previously last week" if a more formal word is needed.