front

[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

[BobK]

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

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

[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

[BobK]

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

'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