In the front of

[hela]

Dear teachers,

I found this sentence in an exercise, is it correct to say "In the front of" or should it be "At the front of" ?

In the front of the garage, a young chauffeur in shiny black leggingswas dusting a maroon convertible.

Thank you in advance.
Hela

 

[bhaisahab]

Dear teachers,

I found this sentence in an exercise, is it correct to say "In the front of" or should it be "At the front of" ?

In the front of the garage, a young chauffeur in shiny black leggingswas dusting a maroon convertible.

Thank you in advance.
Hela

If he was inside the garage near the front, "In the front" is correct.

 

[emsr2d2]

If he was outside the garage, then "In front of the garage" would be appropriate.
"At the front of the garage" is a little ambiguous.

 

[nelson13]

If he was outside the garage, then "In front of the garage" would be appropriate.
"At the front of the garage" is a little ambiguous.

That interests me. I 've hardly heard 'AT the front of something'; could you explain why the phrase can have more than one meaning?

 

[bhaisahab]

That interests me. I 've hardly heard 'AT the front of something'; could you explain why the phrase can have more than one meaning?

There are 270 entries for "at the front of" in the BNC and 1,036 in COCA. It's a very common construction. It's ambiguous in the context of the OP's question because it doesn't make clear whether the person is inside or outside.