Order: noun/adjective

[fignamoya]

Which is correct and why?

Michael made Beijing his home long before to be an expatriate was fashionable, and he remained...

Long before it was fashionable to be an expatriate, Michael made Beijing his home, and he remained...

Thanks

[jitendra.havaldar]

Which is correct and why?

Michael made Beijing his home long before to be an expatriate was fashionable, and he remained...

Long before it was fashionable to be an expatriate, Michael made Beijing his home, and he remained...

Thanks

The 2nd option sounds much more precise and comfortable. Note that in such sentences, there is no antecedent for the pronoun 'It'

Cheers.

[esledge]

Definitely agree--the 2nd is better. The first sounds awkward, as if using "to be" to avoid the use of "it was." I think "before" is unclear without a tensed verb (i.e. before what happened?), and "to be" is the infinitive, not a verb in a tense.

Note that in such sentences, there is no antecedent for the pronoun 'It'

Cheers.

Not only is there no antecedent, there is no NEED for an antecedent! Such pronouns are sometimes called dummy pronouns--they are used in sentences with no clear actor as the subject.

It was a dark and stormy night....
It hasn't rained in 30 days.