九月份的地震，发生在之前不为人知的断层带上，已经让当地人焦虑不安。

September's quake, along a previously unknown fault line, had unnerved locals.

youdao

这起强行闯入事件刚好发生在午夜之前。

The break-in had occurred just before midnight.

《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》

youdao

Setting yourself up before the fact so that you can win an argument after the fact, so that you didn't--you just got unlucky.

在事实发生之前先给自己预设一下结局,你就能在事实发生之后赢得一场争论，所以你并不是不能做到-，只是不走运而已。

耶鲁公开课 - 金融市场课程节选

They're going to be before you guys were born, but let me mention them anyway.

它们发生在你们出生之前,不过我们还是提一下

耶鲁公开课 - 博弈论课程节选

So it's got to have happened before this life.

所以这些应该在这辈子之前发生的

耶鲁公开课 - 死亡课程节选