In this context, “work” refers to B - a place where a person goes specifically to do their job.
A’s statement, “I got a promotion at work,” implies the workplace where they perform their job. It is not referring to the act of working (option A), but rather the location or setting of their job.
What does “earlier” mean here? Does it mean the same as early?
Here, “earlier” means at a previous time (specifically, earlier in the week). It does not mean the same as “early,” which generally refers to a time before the expected or usual time.
Example of “earlier”: “I got a promotion earlier this week” = “I got a promotion at a prior time this week.”
Example of “early”: “I arrived early for the meeting” = “I arrived before the scheduled time for the meeting.”
In short, “earlier” relates to a point in time in the past, while “early” relates to being ahead of a usual or expected time.
I think “early” and “earlier” would have similar, but slightly different meanings here.
Let me expand the time period for the example to make it easier to explain: A: I got a promotion at work earlier this month.
“Earlier this month” would refer to before the current time, but if it was recently, you’d probably use a different more specific reference like “yesterday” or “last Tuesday”.
“Early this month” would refer to the first part of the month, probably the first few days.
So, for your original example, “earlier/early this week”, there’s probably no difference in what period of time you are referring to.
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. 