Are you sure that 'early' is an adverb? It seems like an adjective in those phrases. Early是副词,a few hours early不构成词组,是中国式的英语。 请看下面两个例句: i came three hours earlier than the others.
Jada Pinkett Smith's Style Evolution Through the Years, PHOTOS
Hi, we all know that one month has three sections which are defined as early/middle /late +month, for example: 我比其他人早来三小时。 the ship arrived 30 minutes early.