🔑 Key Difference

• Sooner: Used when comparing two points in time or events, often to suggest preference, urgency, or the idea of “as soon as possible.”
• Earlier: Refers to something happening before a specific time, without necessarily implying urgency or preference.

📚 Detailed Explanation

1. Sooner

• Meaning: Implies a preference or urgency for an event to happen earlier than expected or needed.
• When to Use:
  • When comparing two situations: “I would sooner leave than argue.”
  • To emphasize urgency or preference: “The sooner we leave, the better.”
• Examples:
  • “I’d sooner go now than wait for the rain to stop.”
  • “Let’s finish this sooner rather than later.”

2. Earlier

• Meaning: Describes an action or event that happened, happens, or will happen before a particular time.
• When to Use:
  • To indicate time without preference or urgency: “She arrived earlier than expected.”
  • For general past or future timing: “Can we meet earlier tomorrow?”
• Examples:
  • “I woke up earlier than usual today.”
  • “Earlier in the meeting, we discussed this issue.”

🎭 Analogy

Think of sooner as expressing eagerness or a choice, like saying, “Let’s do this quickly!” Meanwhile, earlier is more like calmly noting time, as in, “It just happened before.”

📝 Practice Time

Fill in the blanks with “sooner” or “earlier”:

1. The train arrived _______ than scheduled.
2. I’d _______ eat pizza than sushi for dinner.
3. The professor started the lecture _______ than usual today.
4. The sooner we start studying, the _______ we’ll finish.

✅ Answers

1. The train arrived earlier than scheduled.
2. I’d sooner eat pizza than sushi for dinner.
3. The professor started the lecture earlier than usual today.
4. The sooner we start studying, the sooner we’ll finish.