in front of & in the front of

[Gość: smb]

I heard that these exspressions don't mean the same. So my question for you
is of course - what is the difference?

[Gość: chickenShorts]

Gość portalu: smb napisał(a):

> I heard that these exspressions don't mean the same. So my question for you
> is of course - what is the difference?

Expressions?... Nothing mysterious! At least I don't thik so...

"in the front of" = a leading place, a forefront, a position in leadership,
vanguard... for example:
'... in the front of scientific knowledge.'

Or specific place of a specific thing: "a fountain at the front of building."

While "in front of" means simply directly before or ahead of...

[zegar4]

Gość portalu: smb napisał(a):

> I heard that these exspressions don't mean the same. So
my question for you
> is of course - what is the difference?

"In front of" is a prepositional phrase, while in the "in
the front of" only "in" is a preposition.

When in doubt which of the two is the right one to use,
try this: put the noun "portion" or "part" into the "in
the front of" to get "in the front (portion) of", and use
it in your sentence.
For instance:
"He asked me to wait for him in the front (part) of the
restaurant". This means he expects you to meet him inside
the restaurant. If this is what you want to say, drop the
added "part" and say: "He asked me to wait for him in
the front of the restaurant".

Alternatively, you may want to say:
"He asked me to wait for him in front of the restaurant",
but this means that he wants you to meet him outside the
entrance to the restaurant.

Other examples:
"There is a bus stop in the front of my house" means
"There is a bus stop in the front (portion) of my house",
e.g., in my living room.
"There is a bus stop in front of my house" is much nicer.

"As I am typing this, I am sitting in front of my
computer", rather than "in the front (portion) of my
computer."

"I like to travel in the front of the car (sitting inside
the car and next to the driver)" but "I would hate to
travel in front of the car" because I am too old to run
fast enough.

[Gość: smb]

thanx ^_^