[Tex/LaTex] Vertically align text next to (not in) a table

tablesvertical alignment

There are plenty of questions about vertically aligning text within a table. I wan't to make text to the left of a table vertically aligned to the top:

I want this text aligned to top:
\begin{tabular}{lll} 
     1. & First step &\\
     2. & Second step &\\
     3. & Go back & Step 1\\\\
     \hline\\
     4. & Can't get here & Error.
\end{tabular}

This is what the above LaTeX looks like:
enter image description here

Is there a way to make the "I want this text aligned to top" be aligned to the top instead of the vertical center of the table?

Best Answer

You need to add option [t] to tabular for its position:

\documentclass{article}

\begin{document}
I want this text aligned to top:
\begin{tabular}[t]{lll} % <--- observe `t`
     1. & First step &\\
     2. & Second step &\\
     3. & Go back & Step 1\\\\
     \hline\\
     4. & Can't get here & Error.
\end{tabular}
\end{document}

enter image description here