in front of

Question

Do we use "in front of" instead of opposite if the two building faced  to faced across the road? Eg: The mosque is in front of the temple.

Cool Breeze · Accepted Answer

It might be a better idea to say: The mosque is opposite [to] the temple.

CB

CalifJim · Answer

Vincent TeoDo we use "in front of" instead of opposite if the two building faced to faced across the road?

Eg: The mosque is in front of the temple.

No. We don't use that. We say, "The mosque faces the temple" or "The mosque is opposite the temple".

CJ

Vincent Teo · Answer

Thanks, but we normally say:

She sat in front of the mirror. (means face to the mirror)

P/s: Why don't we say "in front of the temple"? They are the same thing. Right?

Cool Breeze · Answer

Vincent TeoWhy don't we say "in front of the temple"?

I don't know. Perhaps Jim does. People just say certain things and some other things they don't say. That is true about all languages, even your native language, Vincent.

When people speak a language, any language, they don't always think of reasons why they say something. No one can give a logical or grammatical explanation for all the words, phrases and expressions that people use in their speech. Very often something that has been good and acceptable for centuries becomes "incorrect" and changes. Modern English is vastly different from Old English, the English language as it is called in its early period up to about the year 1050.

CB

Vincent Teo · Answer

That means:

The mosque is in front of the temple. (is incorrect)

Abil · Answer

Vincent TeoWhy don't we say "in front of the temple"? They are the same thing. Right?

In my view, this is because the mosque is not a person. People can be in front of something or somebody, but an object like mosque, temple etc cannot.

CalifJim · Answer

Vincent TeoThanks, but we normally say:
She sat in front of the mirror. (means face to the mirror)

Yes. And you can sit or stand in front of the mosque, too, if you want. And you can sit or stand in front of the temple.

And in all three cases -- mirror, mosque, temple -- you do not have to be facing the object or building in question. In an auditorium, for example, all of the people in the row in front of me are facing the stage. They are not facing me. But they are in front of me. You can be sitting in front of a mirror without facing the mirror or looking into it.

in front of simply means "located near the front part of". When a street or road or river or whatever comes between, it breaks up space in such a way that objects on the other side of the street, road, or river are no longer "in front of" a building on the other side. The street or whatever separates the space around a building in such a way that "the front part" of that building extends only as far as the street -- not any farther.

If the mosque is truly in front of the temple, then if you are standing in front of the mosque you cannot see the temple because it is behind the mosque.

CJ

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