The word 'preface' is correct and can be used in written English. It can be used when you want to introduce, or preface, a subject before you discuss it. For example, "In this essay, I will preface my argument by discussing the history of the topic.".
"Our generation has the opportunity to stop imagining and wondering and start building the better Scotland we all know is possible," he declared in the preface to the document.
Ebert was conflicted – it offended him to preface his article with such a warning, not least because the NSFW label was, as he put it, an "unsightly typographical offence", but mostly because it "would contradict the point I was making", namely that he was opposed to American puritanism, preferring Europe's supposed festive nudearama.
The two successive top-lick curves on the course – where Senna and the day before, in a grim prophetic preface, Roland Ratzenberger died – have been significantly slowed by lower-gear chicanes and gravel traps.
Here, the nearest we have to a solution is "you lot", but it's difficult to use without sounding as if you're about to punch the recipients in the face and it only really works if you preface it with an "oi".
The colourful preface features a delightful cameo appearance by Helen Mann, of The Economist, and a description of a bored Ned Johnson, boss of the huge Fidelity mutual fund firm, floating wine glasses in the lighted pool in the middle of New York's Four Seasons restaurant.
The preface to the MCC's laws of cricket states:"The basic Laws of Cricket have stood remarkably well the test of well over 250 years of playing the game.
They saw the evil of their own time "not as throwback but preface".
Being a terminologist, I care about word choice. Ludwig simply helps me pick the best words for any translation. Five stars!
Maria Pia Montoro
Terminologist and Q/A Analyst @ Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union