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 Thu Mar 09, 2006 23:09 pm Before vs infront of |
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Before usually means earlier in time.
He eats before he goes out.
Look before you cross the street.
In front of usually describes physical position.
If you stand in front of me, I can't see the TV.
I'll wait for you in front of the building.
In older language, before is sometimes used to mean physical position, instead of in front of. |
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Jamie (K)
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Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| Thu Mar 09, 2006 23:43 pm Stand before my eyes |
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As a Depeche Mode fan I'd like to give an example of the use Jamie has illustrated. In the song 'Blue Dress' you will find the folowing lines:
Put it on
And don't say a word
Put it on
The one that I prefer
Put it on
And stand before my eyes
Put it on
Please don't question why
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Nicole
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| Fri Mar 10, 2006 10:45 am Before |
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Hi Nicole,
Some more examples of before meaning in front of:
In Macbeth by Shakespeare: Is this a dagger I see before me? when Macbeth contemplates his killing of the king.
As used when you express great surprise that you are witnessing something that you didn't expect: And then before my very (own) eyes he gets into my and drives off without me!
Alan
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Alan
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| Fri Mar 10, 2006 11:14 am Bring the issues before the Security Council |
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Good morning Alan, here are is another one
...these issues will be brought before the Security Council....
Nicole
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Nicole
I'm here quite often ;-)
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Location: Bern, Switzerland
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| Fri Mar 10, 2006 11:56 am Before vs. in front of |
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My, what a little word can trigger!
| Quote: | | In older language, before is sometimes used to mean physical position, instead of in front of. |
Will I have to stop saying things like: meals are prepared before you at the counter, the queue before me, the opportunity is before you, the open road before us?
Could you please tell me how these phrases sound to you (sincerely!)? I think I've heard that before can also be used if there is movement. Thank you for your comments. |
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Conchita
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Location: Madrid, Spain
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| Fri Mar 10, 2006 12:15 pm Before |
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Hi Conchita,
No, you carry on with these uses. Now I'm fully awake, I agree the reference to older is a little quaint.
Alan
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Alan
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| Fri Mar 10, 2006 14:25 pm Before vs. in front of |
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| Conchita wrote: | Will I have to stop saying things like: meals are prepared before you at the counter, the queue before me, the opportunity is before you, the open road before us?
Could you please tell me how these phrases sound to you (sincerely!)? I think I heard that before can also be used if there is movement. Thank you for your comments. |
I hear "the queue before me" as indicating that there is a line of people who will be taken care of before I will be. It's okay, but if we are trying to say the people are positioned in front of me, then it sounds archaic to me. In the US, we'd be more likely to say "the line in front of me" if we meant physical position, and "the line before me" if we meant that we would be the last taken care of.
The rest of them have a very formal, archaic quality that would be used in high style. This is especially true because "the opportunity is before you" and "the open road before me" are more or less fixed phrases. (Note that less formally we can also say "the opportunity is there for you" and "the open road ahead of me".)
"Meals are prepared before you at the counter" is sort of an odd case, in my opinion, because if you use "in front of" you project too little formality for the situation and/or imply that people might want to see the meal prepared due to suspicion. You would definitely use "before" here in an advertisement for the restaurant, but when talking to friends you'd say, "They prepare the meals right in front of you."
Usually, however, "before" is used in place of "in front of" in fixed phrases ("before my very eyes") and situations of high formality ("before Congress", "before the United Nations"), and in poetry. All of these uses attest that this usage is more or less formal and archaic, even though it can be employed today.
One of my dictionaries says that "before" can mean "in front of and required to answer to", as in "before the court", but this also usually involves either high formality or fixed phrases, which indicates an archaic construction.
I should not have used the term "older" to explain the type of usage I was describing, but the original poster was clearly a beginner, and I was trying to simplify my language. |
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Jamie (K)
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Joined: 24 Feb 2006
Posts: 4337
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA
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| Brief vs. file | How do I say that my country is an EU member state? |
