He was standing facing the opposite direction from car.

[tufguy]

John was standing in the middle of the road. Jerry had almost run over him by car. He stopped the car but couldn't see his face because he was standing in front of the car. He was standing facing the opposite direction from car. He could have seen his face if he had been standing facing the same direction as the car.

Please check my sentences.

 

[emsr2d2]

John was standing in the middle of the road. Jerry had almost run ​him over [STRIKE]him[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]by[/STRIKE] with his car.

He stopped the car but couldn't see his face because he was standing in front of the car. He was standing facing the opposite direction from car. He could have seen his face if he had been standing facing the same direction as the car.

Please check my sentences.

I've corrected the first two sentences. I've left sentence 2 in the past perfect although I'm not entirely sure it's the tense you need. The way you've written it suggests that John was standing in the road after Jerry nearly ran him over.


After that, there are so many repetitions of the word "he" that I can't work out whether each one refers to John or Jerry. Please rewrite the last three sentences so that it is clear who you are talking about.

 

[tufguy]

I've corrected the first two sentences. I've left sentence 2 in the past perfect although I'm not entirely sure it's the tense you need. The way you've written it suggests that John was standing in the road after Jerry nearly ran him over.


After that, there are so many repetitions of the word "he" that I can't work out whether each one refers to John or Jerry. Please rewrite the last three sentences so that it is clear who you are talking about.

Jerry stopped the car but couldn't see his face because he was standing in front of the car. John was standing facing the same direction as the car. Jerry could have seen his face if he had been standing facing the opposite direction from the car.

Can I also say "John was standing opposite the car. Jerry could see his face clearly"?

 

[Tarheel]

Try:

Jerry stopped the car, but he couldn't see John's face because John was facing away from the car.

And:

John was standing facing away from the car.

The rest is too confusing for me to figure out. (What in the world does "opposite the car" mean?)

 

[tufguy]

Try:

Jerry stopped the car, but he couldn't see John's face because John was facing away from the car.

And:

John was standing facing away from the car.

The rest is too confusing for me to figure out. (What in the world does "opposite the car" mean?)

"John was facing away from the car" does it mean "he was facing the same direction as the car"?

 

[emsr2d2]

No, it means he was facing the other way. He had his back to the car.

 

[GoesStation]

Say "he was facing away from the car".

 

[tufguy]

No, it means he was facing the other way. He had his back to the car.

So yes, if he is facing the same direction as the car so it means he is facing the direction car is travelling to. If he is facing the opposite direction from the car then he is standing facing the car with his face visible to the driver. Am I correct?

 

[emsr2d2]

It depends whether he's closer to the bonnet (hood) or the boot (trunk) of the car.

 

[Tarheel]

So yes, if he is facing the same direction as the car so it means he is facing the direction car is travelling to. If he is facing the opposite direction from the car then he is standing facing the car with his face visible to the driver. Am I correct?

Tufguy! You can do better than that. For starters, you can't always use the same verb for a car as for a person.

Let's say Bob is driving north on Elm Street. He sees his friend Jack walking in the same direction. He honks his horn to get Jack's attention. Jack stops and turns his head. He sees Bob. Bob says, "Jack, do you want a ride?" Jack says, "Sure!"

 

[tufguy]

Tufguy! You can do better than that. For starters, you can't always use the same verb for a car as for a person.

Sorry I don't get it.

 

[emsr2d2]

Sorry I don't get it.

You're not alone there, tufguy.

Tarheel, which verb were you referring to?

 

[Tarheel]

You're not alone there, tufguy.

Tarheel, which verb were you referring to?

This:

"...he is facing the same direction as the car..."

I don't believe the car is facing in any direction. Instead, it is either moving or it isn't.

Also, the rest of that sentence is too complicated.

 

[emsr2d2]

Saying that a stationary car is "facing" one way or another works perfectly in BrE. If it were moving, I would say it was "heading" in a particular direction.

I parked my car facing the theatre.
He left his car in the middle of the road, facing south.

Her car was last seen heading north on the M3.
I think I just saw your car heading into the car park at the hospital.

 

[Tarheel]

In the proper context it makes sense. But tufguy doesn't provide any context. "He was standing facing the car" is fine. But don't throw a bunch more words into the sentence. Start a new one! Perhaps:

He was standing facing the car. I could clearly see his face.