comma or not before 'before' [conjunction]: sent..., before departing

[Wernazuma]

I've come across several sentences in which I was not sure whether or not I should place a comma before the word before.

The following are my own examples, so don't expect any further context:

"He already lived in the house for a month[,] before he signed the rental contract."

"The king sent a messenger in advance[,] before departing for London."

"I will first focus on plants[,] before turning to the animals."

Personally I tend to not placing the comma, but I'm especially unsure about the second and third example - maybe this is because the sentences appear inverted and I'd rather say "Before departing to London, the king...".
I can't think of any comma rule I'd apply to these examples...

 

[panjandrum]

I don't think I would use a comma in any of those examples.
I share your insecurity about the second and third sentences - I think it's because of the words in the sentence, not the presence or absence of a comma. If the king sent the messenger before departing, of course he sent him in advance. In the third sentence either delete first or change before to then.

Here are some links to guides on comma use that you may find helpful:

University of Sussex (It seems to be working again)

University College London

Capital Community College Foundation

 

[AngelEyes]

:

"He already lived in the house for a month before he signed the rental contract."

"The king sent a messenger in advance before departing for London."

"I will first focus on plants before turning to the animals."

"Before departing to London, the king...".

Dependent markers (in bold) aren't set off by commas in the middle of these sentences.

When it begins a sentence, you use the comma.

A Site for you:

HERE


AngelEyes

 

[dobes]

I don't think that the word 'before' governs the use of commas in the sentences you provide. Instead, I would simply use the comma rule that says that when the first part of a sentence is a complete sentence in itself, and it is followed by a phrase that is not a complete sentence, no comma is needed.

In other words, I would not use a comma in any of your sentences. But I would change the first sentence to read: He had already lived in the house for a month before he signed the rental contract.

Please note that if you turned these sentences the other way, so that there was a phrase followed by a sentence, commas would be necessary:

Before he signed the rental contract, he had already lived in the house for a month.