Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[learner1]

Hello,

'There is a car in front of our house.'

Could we use 'before' in stead of 'in front of' here, as in 'There is a car before our house.'?

Thank you very much.

[Yinglish]

It feels deja vu but BBC answers your question:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv222.shtml

[learner1]

Hello,

Yinglish, thank you very much for your reply. But According to dictionary, I found out that 'before' can mean 'in front of' and it is more formal. Thus, I wonder if 'before' is normally used in formal context in stead of 'in front of'? Furthermore, Do you use 'in front of' in formal speech or writing? Here is another example from dictionary:

"The priest stood before the altar."

Thank you very much.

[lotus]

Hi Learner1,

That's a really good question. I think the definition of the word in your last sentence might be more in line with #6, "in the presence of."

http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/before


--lotus
_________________
War does not make one great --Yoda

[learner1]

Hello lotus,

Thank you for your reply. Could you please tell me if native speakers don't use 'before' instead of 'in front of'? And do you think the sentence below is wrong?
'He stood before me.'

Thanks again.

[CP]

I think it was Churchill who wrote back to a critic to say, "Sir, I am sitting in the smallest room of my house. I have before me your letter. Soon it will be behind me."

I have before me a cup of coffee -- it is sitting on my desk, right in front of me.

This morning I went before a judge and argued a motion. I was standing in front of the judge speaking, so both literally and figuratively I was before the judge. I stood before the judge.

Sometimes people will talk about the problem before them, figuratively in front of them.

Yes, native speakers can and do use "before" to mean "in front of" in space as well as "earlier than" or "in front of" in time.

But I don't think most people would like "The car is before the house" instead of "The car is in front of the house."

The priest stood before my car, which was standing in front of my house, and he blessed it with holy water. I crashed it later that day, so I'm not sure the priest helped.
_________________
You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[lotus]

Hi learner1,

Your sentence is ok. Standing "in front of" something has more to do with position. Standing "before" something has more to do with a presence.

He stood in front of the crowd. (he stood in the front facing the crowd)
He stood before the crowd. (he stood up there in the presence of a crowd)

Each sentence has a slightly different meaning.

For example, the second sentence below is more appropriate in conveying Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s magnetic presence during his famous speech.

Dr. Martin Luther King stood in front of the crowd and made his great speech.
Dr. Martin Luther King stood before the crowd and made his great speech.


--lotus
_________________
War does not make one great --Yoda

[learner1]

Hello,

Thank you CP and lotus very much for your helpful explanation. I think I understand the difference better now.