请问老师，These example in the form of inscribed clay tablets that date to shortly before 3000BCE.
由于date to是动词短语，后面不是应该加一个名词吗？ 请问老师这种just before 和shortly before加一个时间，这种结构如何理解？
大家容易见到的before之前都是：
数词+时间名词+before（介词或连词），中心词仍然是介词或连词，数词+事件名词是before的修饰语（程度状语）。
但若是 the +时间名词+before（副词、介词或连词），则中心词是该时间名词，before（副词、介词短语或before从句）为名词的修饰语。比如：
He bought the car but his father had died the day before. (the day before=前一天）
I still remember the week before the examination. (考试前的那一个星期）
I still remember the month before I went to America. (去美国前的那一个月）
介词to后应该接名词。所以这个句子可以理解为to后省略了the time, shorttly before...后置修饰the time.
These example in the form of inscribed clay tablets that date to shortly before 3000 BC.
= These example in the form of inscribed clay tablets that date to the time shortly before 3000 BC.
