The TR Company

IN FRONT OF, FACING AND OPPOSITE

7/8/19 IN FRONT OF, FACING AND OPPOSITE

We do not use in front of to mean “across a road/ river/ room etc from”. This idea is usually expressed with opposite or facing. In the US, across from.

• There’s a garage opposite my house. (NOT … in front of my house.)
• She sat facing me across the table. (NOT … in front of me.)

In front of is the opposite of behind. Compare:

• There’s a bus stop in front of the school.
• (The bus stop is on the same side of the road as the school.)
• There’s a bus stop opposite the school.
• (The bus stop is on the other side of the road from the school.)