in the beginning - at the beginning

[sbrodsky]

Dear teacher,
please advise:

In (at?) the beginning of last summer I took swim (swimming?) class.

Thank you.

 

[emsr2d2]

Dear teacher,
please advise:

In (at?) the beginning of last summer I took swim (swimming?) class.

Thank you.

At the beginning of last summer, I took swimming classes.

 

[Atchan]

And I have a similar question to that. What is the difference between...
In front of
At front of

 

[emsr2d2]

And I have a similar question to that. What is the difference between...
In front of
At front of

"At front of" doesn't exist.

In front of is usually used regarding a location with regard to another object, (frequently when outside):

I am standing in front of the hotel.
The woman stood in front of her house.

"At the front of..." is very similar, but they're not always interchangeable

I'm at the front of the queue (line).
The synopsis is at the front of the book.

I'm hoping someone else will pitch in here to give a better explanation of when we use which one, as my brain is failing me at the moment!!!

 

[Atchan]

"At front of" doesn't exist.

In front of is usually used regarding a location with regard to another object, (frequently when outside):

I am standing in front of the hotel.
The woman stood in front of her house.

"At the front of..." is very similar, but they're not always interchangeable

I'm at the front of the queue (line).
The synopsis is at the front of the book.

I'm hoping someone else will pitch in here to give a better explanation of when we use which one, as my brain is failing me at the moment!!!

But look this "There is a blackboard at the front on which we write with chalk."
Why did it not become in front of. Maybe both of them have several usage in some sentences.

 

[emsr2d2]

But look this "There is a blackboard at the front on which we write with chalk."
Why did it not become in front of. Maybe both of them have several usage in some sentences.

The blackboard is "at the front of the classroom" but it's "in front of the children".

If you can replace "in front of" with "facing" then it's correct.

 

[Atchan]

The blackboard is "at the front of the classroom" but it's "in front of the children".

If you can replace "in front of" with "facing" then it's correct.

So that is. But I prefer to say "There is a blackboard in front of us on which we write with chalk." Is this sentence OK?

Sorry about annoying.

 

[emsr2d2]

So that is. But I prefer to say "There is a blackboard in front of us on which we write with chalk." Is this sentence OK?

Sorry about annoying.

I remember the thread in which that sentence appeared, and I believe I was one of the people who changed "There is a blackboard in front of us..." to "There is a blackboard at the front of the classroom..."

The reason I did this is that the location of the blackboard is constant, whether there are students in the room or not. Even when the classroom is empty of students, the blackboard is still located at the front of the room. The blackboard is only "in front of us" when the students are actually there. The rest of the paragraph described the fairly permanent attributes of the classroom (the walls, desks, tables, ceiling) etc, so describing the blackboard in relation to the rest of the room made more sense.

 

[Atchan]

I remember the thread in which that sentence appeared, and I believe I was one of the people who changed "There is a blackboard in front of us..." to "There is a blackboard at the front of the classroom..."

The reason I did this is that the location of the blackboard is constant, whether there are students in the room or not. Even when the classroom is empty of students, the blackboard is still located at the front of the room. The blackboard is only "in front of us" when the students are actually there. The rest of the paragraph described the fairly permanent attributes of the classroom (the walls, desks, tables, ceiling) etc, so describing the blackboard in relation to the rest of the room made more sense.

Yes, you was the person who changed it to "at the front". Absolutely you are my teacher. :-D
Now I understood it. Thank you.