How do you say correctly: „mai devreme” or „m-ai devreme”?

Answer 1

Mai devreme = earlier ("mai" is the comparative of superiority form, translated literally with "more" or with the suffix "-er" early - earlier).

Mai târziu= later

Mai bine = better

When spelled with a hyphen, "m-ai" is the abbreviated form of the DOP (direct object pronoun "mă" and the auxiliary verb "to have".

Example: tu m-ai invitat la tine acasă.

You have invited me over to your house.

When "mă" and "ai" meet, we always use their contracted form "m-ai".

Tu m-ai întâlnit în fața muzeului. - you've met me in front of the museum.

As you can see, in English we have two forms (you've and you have) when using the present perfect tense, but in Romanian we always use the abbreviated form.

Answer 2

How do you say correctly: „mai devreme” or „m-ai devreme”?

1. „Mai devreme.” (Earlier)
2. „M-ai devreme.” (Incorrect)

„Mai devreme” is the correct phrase for “earlier.” It’s used to refer to something happening at an earlier time. The form „m-ai devreme” is incorrect because „m-ai” is a combination of the pronoun „mă” (me) and the auxiliary verb „ai” (you have), which doesn't fit with the word „devreme”.

The confusion arises because „m-ai” is used for a different context, often in sentences like „M-ai ajutat” (You helped me), but it doesn’t work with „devreme”.

Always use „mai devreme” when referring to time.