In front of and opposite are the prepositions used to determine the location of something and/or someone.
If you wonder to differentiate the two prepositions in
front of and oppositeand get stuck in their use at the right place, then
reading this post is really mature of you. This article will surely help you
cope with this difficulty and get better understanding of both in front
of and opposite. It is true that the use of in
front of and opposite becomes quite confusing for new
English learners, but you don’t have to worry about it as the below
explanations of these prepositions with their examples are likely to help you.
In front of and opposite are the
prepositions used to determine the location of something and/or someone.
In Front Of
In front of (literally means located before, previous to, or ahead of) is the antonym of behind. It is used if you want to talk about any person or object who/which is ahead of someone or something else. In front of you, in other words, is used for anything or anyone who is before something/someone at a space farther ahead. For instance,
- John is in front of me in the queue.
- You are in front of the Cesar’s door.
- I stand in front of the car.
In the first sentence, John has a place ahead of me. In
second, you are behind the door of Cesar. While in third one, I stand before
the car.
Opposite
Opposite (literally means facing or across from) is used when something or something faces another one or looking that one. Opposite in other words, refers to two entities (person/thing) who/which are facing to each other. Though, opposite has several usages but in terms of preposition it can be a synonym of facing and across from. For example,
- Smith’s shop is opposite John's house.
- You were opposite Julia in the lab class.
- I was opposite Ruby in tennis.
In the first sentence: Smith’s shop is across from John's house. In the second, you are facing Julia in the lab class. While, in third, I’m the opponent of Ruby in the match or say I have to face him.
Also read: Difference between had and have had
In front of vs Opposite
The main difference between in front of and opposite
can be understood as the former comes to demonstrate the location of something which
is behind or before of something, while the latter is used
to determine the things that face each other.
Many usages of Opposite
As mentioned above the word opposite has several meanings
besides its usage as preposition that also become a confusing case for the new
learners. So, I would suggest you to kindly take a look at dictionary (Mariam
Webster, Oxford, etc.) before its various meanings and usages.
What we learnt today
In front of
- is antonym of the word behind.
- is used to talk about any person/object’s placement ahead of someone or something else.
Opposite
- is synonym of the facing and across from in terms of preposition.
- is used to demonstrate the things that face each other or located across from each other.
