early/'ɜːlɪ $ 'ɜːr-/

a. happening or done near the beginning of a period of time or before the usual time

ad. near the beginning of a period of time or before the expected or planned time

➭ cf. -lier

➭ sf. -liest

a. 早的：the early morning 清晨

◇in the early 1990s 20世纪90年代初

◇You are early! It's only 6:30. 你来得真早，现在才6:30。

◇[一段时间+early] The train was 15 minutes early. 火车早到了一刻钟。

◇He learned to skate at an early age. 他很小就学会了滑冰。

ad. 早地：Try to arrive early if you want a seat. 如果想要有位子，就早点到。

◇We had to leave early that day. 那天我们不得不很早就离开。

◇He started living here as early as 1995. 他早在1995年就开始住这儿了。

常犯错误

✗ I was told that she had left two days early.

✓ I was told that she had left two days earlier. 我被告知她两天前就离开了。

[✌这里two days earlier相当于two days before]

用法in the early morning = early in the morning