This property specifies that the temporal extent of the domain instance A of E2 Temporal Entity starts definitely before the start of the temporal extent of the range instance B of E2 Temporal Entity.
In other words, if A = [Astart, Aend] and B = [Bstart, Bend], we mean Astart < Bstart is true.
This property is part of the set of temporal primitives P173 – P176, P182 – P185.
This property corresponds to a disjunction (logical OR) of the following Allen temporal relations (Allen, 1983): {before, meets, overlaps, contains, finished-by}. This property is transitive.
![](data:image/png;base64,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)
Figure 14: Temporal entity A starts before the start of temporal entity B. Here A is longer than B
![](data:image/png;base64,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)
Figure 15: Temporal entity A starts before the start of temporal entity B. Here A is shorter than B