front

Hi there,
What is the differences between 'They are sitting in the front' and 'They are sitting at the front'?

Why is 'They are sitting in the front' wrong?

pete

Quote:

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Originally Posted by peter123

Hi there,
What is the differences between 'They are sitting in the front' and 'They are sitting at the front'?

Why is 'They are sitting in the front' wrong?

pete

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It's not; possibly it's less common. But take a four-seater car; it has room for two people sitting in the front.

If you're referring to an area, you say 'at'; "I want seats right at the front". But if 'the front' is an enclosed space (as in a car) "in" is right.

PS for advanced students: "the front" has a specialized meaning in a sea-side context. So prepositions that collocate with "the front" include "on": "We lived in a lovely little cottage right on the front."

b

Hi there,

Thanks,
Then, how about this:

Students, there are more seats in the front/ at the front/, please come and sit in the front OR at the front.

Could you give more examples about 'on the front'?

pete

Quote:

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Originally Posted by peter123

Hi there,

Thanks,
Then, how about this:

Students, there are more seats in the front/ at the front/, please come and sit in the front OR at the front.

Could you give more examples about 'on the front'?

pete

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'At the front' in this case (referring to a general area). I often hear it used at informal concerts; the organizers say 'If the people standing by the door came in and took up the seats at the front, there'd be space for late-comers.'

On your last point, in the phrase 'on the front' (maybe only British English) 'the front' refers to the part of a sea-side town that looks out to sea. So you can have a house/cottage/hotel on the front, go for a walk on the front, run to an ice-cream kiosk on the front.... Sometimes it's clarified by the insertion of 'sea' (before 'front').

b