The natural phrase is before submitting the request. You can also say before you submit the request. The form before submit the request is incomplete in standard English.
For more examples of natural workplace language, read 25 ways to sound more professional in English. If you regularly make similar mistakes, personalised Business English coaching can help you practise the patterns you need.
One message, two natural options
You're writing to a colleague who's about to send a customer request. Both of these sound natural: “Please check the figures before submitting the request.” and “Please check the figures before you submit the request.”
The choice is about sentence structure, not formality. The first uses an -ing phrase; the second includes a subject (you) and a full verb clause. Once you see that difference, you'll recognise the same pattern with after and without.
Why “before submit the request” sounds wrong
The word before can be followed by a noun, by a clause with a subject and a verb, or by an action expressed with a verb ending in ing.
When there is no new subject after before and we want to describe an action, English normally uses the ing form.
Incorrect: Please check the details before submit the request.
Correct: Please check the details before submitting the request.
The action is submit. Because it comes directly after before without a subject such as you, we use submitting.
You can also use a full clause
There is another completely natural option. If you include a subject, you can use a normal verb form.
Please check the details before you submit the request.
Please check the details before submitting the request.
Both sentences are correct. The first version explicitly includes you. The second is shorter and very common in instructions, emails and professional writing.
The same pattern appears everywhere
This is not just a rule for the verb submit. The same structure appears constantly in natural English.
Check the figures before sending the report.
Read the instructions before completing the form.
Speak to your manager before making a final decision.
Save a copy before closing the document.
In each sentence, before introduces an action and the action is expressed with a verb ending in ing.
Why this matters in professional English
This pattern appears frequently in workplace communication because people often give instructions, explain procedures and describe what needs to happen before another action.
A sentence such as Please check the details before submitting the request sounds polished and natural. A sentence such as Please check the details before submit the request is still understandable, but the grammar immediately sounds incomplete.
That is why small grammar corrections matter. Professional English is not only about using advanced vocabulary. It is also about controlling common sentence patterns automatically.
What happens after “after” and “without”?
You will notice a similar pattern with other words. English often uses an ing form after after and without when they introduce an action.
After reviewing the proposal, we made a decision.
After finishing the meeting, I sent the notes.
Do not send the document without checking the figures.
She left without saying goodbye.
This makes the pattern easier to remember because you are not learning one isolated correction. You are learning a structure that appears again and again.
A useful way to remember the rule
If before is followed directly by an action and there is no new subject, the ing form is usually the natural choice.
Before + subject + verb: before you submit, before she sends, before they leave, before we decide.
Quick practice
Complete each sentence with the natural form of the verb in brackets.
Please read the email carefully before ______ it. (send)
We should review the numbers before ______ a decision. (make)
Check the address before ______ the parcel. (post)
Please save your work before ______ the programme. (close)
Answers: sending, making, posting, closing.
The takeaway
The correction is simple. Instead of saying before submit the request, say before submitting the request.
You can also say before you submit the request when you want to include a subject.
This is a small grammar point, but it is exactly the kind of small change that makes your English sound clearer, more natural and more professional.