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New2grammar Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

before vs in front of

0"A star exploded right 01b00before02b00 my eyes," lead author Alicia Soderberg, an astrophysics researcher at Princeton University, said Wednesday in a teleconference.02br
02br
00Can I replace 'before' with 'in front of' without change of meaning?02br
02br
00Thanks!0-
  

Top answer

12blockquote 10 Yes. That's fine. Of course it's impossible to take it literally, as no one is ever close enough to a star to claim that it is literally 'right in front of their eyes'.

— CalifJim

  • 12blockquote 10 Yes.
  • That's fine.
  • Of course it's impossible to take it literally, as no one is ever close enough to a star to claim that it is literally 'right in front of their eyes'.
  • That may be why 01i 00before02i 00 was chosen.
  • It's less likely to be taken literally.
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4 Answers
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0 01blockquote
01cite10New2grammar12cite10Can I replace 'before' with 'in front of' without change of meaning?12blockquote
10 Yes. That's fine. Of course it's impossible to take it literally, as no one is ever close enough to a star to claim that it is literally 'right in front of their eyes'. That may be why 01i00bef
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0It's less likely to be taken literally.02br
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00This is new to me. Thanks, CJ.0-
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0There are several other words that work that way -- not that I can think of many good examples at this hour.02br
00That is, certain words are more likely to be used in the context of abstract ideas and others in the context of concrete terms. 02br
00I may say that a person charged with a crime must appear 01u00before02u00 a judge. I mean this abst
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0Thanks a lot CJ!0-
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