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opposite, facing and in front of

‘across a road/room, etc from’: opposite/facing​

We do not use in front of to mean ‘across a road/river/room, etc from’. This idea is usually expressed with opposite or facing (AmE also across from).

  • There’s a garage opposite my house. (not … in front of my house.)
  • She stood at the other side of the table facing me. (not … in front of me.)
  • The man sitting across from me was smoking a pipe. (AmE)

in front of and opposite​

Compare:

  • There’s a bus stop in front of the school. (The bus stop is on the same side of the road as the school.)
  • There’s a bus stop opposite the school. (The bus stop is on the other side of the road from the school.)

In front of is often the opposite of behind.

  • The woman in front of me at the ticket window had a complicated problem. I always find myself behind people like that.

in front of and in the front of​

If you are in front of a place, vehicle, etc you are outside it; if you are in the front of it you are inside. Compare:

  • We stood in front of her car so that she couldn’t drive off.
  • Her husband was sitting in the front of the car. He looked frightened.
note

For the difference between before and in front of, (see here).