The "garage" is in back of the house. (American English)

[sitifan]

in back of: behind, at the back of
The garage is in back of the house. (The Basic Dictionary of American English, page 33)
In the above quotation, does the garage refer to "a place where cars are parked" or "a place where cars are repaired"?

 

[teechar]

I see that you've viewed and clicked the "Like" button on a similar previous thread on this forum:

in back of or at the back of ?

Dear all, I have seen a phrase which confuses me a lot. Usually, when we want to say something is behind other things, we would use the expression, at the back of..... . For example, the chair is at the back of the television. However, the expression, in back of, is strange to me. I...

www.usingenglish.com

 

[5jj]

In the above quotation, does the garage refer to "a place where cars are parked" or "a place where cars are repaired"?

It could be either.

 

[PeterCW]

In BrE we would say "at the back of" or "behind" but the meaning of "garage" would depend entirely on context in either dialect.

 

[Tarheel]

If the garage is in back of the house that's where it's expected to be. Also, if I say that it's very unlikely that I'm referring to a place of business (car repair shop). We don't expect a car repair shop to be behind somebody's house.