# uno di fronte all'altro



## Salegrosso

Good afternoon.
What's the best translation of "I due negozi sono uno di fronte all'altro" ?

1. The two shops are one in front of each other.
2. The two shops are in front one of each other.
3. The two shops are in front one each other.

What is/are right? 

Thank you, 
Salegrosso.


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## Crisidelm

Credo "one in front of the other"


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## Paulfromitaly

Salegrosso said:


> Good afternoon.
> What's the best translation of "I due negozi sono uno di fronte all'altro" ?
> 
> 1. The two shops are one in front of each other.
> 2. The two shops are in front one of each other.
> 3. The two shops are in front one each other.
> 
> What is/are right?
> 
> Thank you,
> Salegrosso.



The two shops are opposite each other.


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## TrentinaNE

None of the literal translations really works in English, because two things can't be "in front of each other."  One is in front and the other is behind.  You could say "One shop is directly behind the other."

Elisabetta

_ETA: based on Paul's response, does "un di fronte all altro" mean that they are facing each other??_


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## Crisidelm

Yes trentina, on the two sides of a street, for example.


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## Salegrosso

Thank you. 



TrentinaNE said:


> You could say "One shop is directly behind the other."


 
Maybe this is a different meaning. 
I'd like to say that Shop no.1 is, say, on the right-hand side of the street, and Shop no.2 is on the left-hand side of the same street, just opposite.

Has your suggestion exactly this meaning? 



TrentinaNE said:


> _Based on Paul's response, does "un di fronte all'altro" mean that they are facing each other??_


 
Yes, I think. But maybe I'm not the right person to give a sure answer...


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## underhouse

Se proprio vuoi usare "in front" puoi dire (credo):

_The two shops are one in front of the other._


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## Einstein

This is something that I often have to clarify when teaching. You can say "la farmacia è di fronte all'ufficio postale", but if in English you say "the pharmacy is in front of the post office" it means the post office is behind the pharmacy and you can't reach it when the pharmacy is closed!


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## underhouse

Einstein said:


> This is something that I often have to clarify when teaching. You can say "la farmacia è di fronte all'ufficio postale", but if in English you say "the pharmacy is in front of the post office" it means the post office is behind the pharmacy and you can't reach it when the pharmacy is closed!


 
Ciao Einstein,

quindi dal tuo esempio, "the pharmacy is in front of the post office", sembrerebbe di capire che i due locali/negozi sono comunicanti (you can't reach it when the pharmacy is closed)?

E ancora, dire come ho detto "the two shops are one in front of the other" non è corretto, o almeno, non è la traduzione di "i due negozi sono uno di fronte all'altro".


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## Crisidelm

Einstein, anche "in front of each other"?


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## TrentinaNE

OK!  As others have pointed out, "di front all'altro" is the equivalent in English of saying the shops are *opposite each other* or *across from each other*.    The word _front _doesn't enter into it.  

Elisabetta


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## Crisidelm

Chiedevo perché in Internet ho trovato vari casi di "in front of each other" che inequivocabilmente vogliono dire "facing each other".


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## Paulfromitaly

Crisidelm said:


> Chiedevo perché in Internet ho trovato vari casi di "in front of each other" che inequivocabilmente vogliono dire "facing each other".



Facci leggere questi esempi 

In front - opposite


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## TrentinaNE

underhouse said:


> Ciao Einstein,
> 
> quindi dal tuo esempio, "the pharmacy is in front of the post office", sembrerebbe di capire che i due locali/negozi sono comunicanti (you can't reach it when the pharmacy is closed)?


It would be very strange to place one business in behind another, but it does happen on occasion.  If the pharmacy is in front of the Post Office, then the Post Office is a building physically located behind the pharmacy, which does not "front" on the street.  Molto strano!



> E ancora, dire come ho detto "the two shops are one in front of the other" non è corretto, o almeno, non è la traduzione di "i due negozi sono uno di fronte all'altro".


Both -- it's not the translation, and it really doesn't make sense in any other context.  

Elisabetta


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## Crisidelm

Paulfromitaly said:


> Facci leggere questi esempi


Per esempio:"
Q: What can you do in front of a mall for two frickin hours? Yeah, me and my friend are going and we will have two entire hours until it opens... what can we do? we don't have any games or anything.
A: Stand in front of each other with your hands held like you're about to push each other. Then push each other's hands, trying to knock the other person off balance. The first person to move their feet loses."

Altro esempio: http://issmatblog.wordpress.com/2005/07/01/big-city-narrow-minds-yemens-battle-of-the-sexes/
"If the cloak of mystery cast by segregation is revealed, then perhaps both sexes in Yemen will eventually come to stand in front of each other, naked of presumptions, and realize that both are equally creatures of flesh, thoughts, feelings, and mutual misunderstandings."


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## Paulfromitaly

Crisidelm said:


> Per esempio:"
> Q: What can you do* in front of a mall* for two frickin hours? Yeah, me and my friend are going and we will have two entire hours until it opens... what can we do? we don't have any games or anything.



Puoi dire di essere "in front of" un palazzo, un albergo, il che non significa che tu e l'albergo siete l'uno di fronte all'altro o vi fronteggiate.


> A: Stand in front of each other with your hands held like you're about to push each other. Then push each other's hands, trying to knock the other person off balance. The first person to move their feet loses."


Questo è un esempio scorretto che potrebbe essere stato scritto da un italiano uno spagnolo che ha fatto una traduzione letterale inesatta.


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## Crisidelm

Sinceramente ne dubito, viene da una pagina di yahoo.com "solo Inglese". E ce ne sono vari altri esempi...

Qui c'è anche un'immagine esplicativa: http://www.ballroomdancers.com/Learning_Center/Dance_Positions/info.asp?pos=ofp


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## Paulfromitaly

Crisidelm said:


> Sinceramente ne dubito, viene da una pagina di yahoo.com "solo Inglese". E ce ne sono vari altri esempi...
> 
> Qui c'è anche un'immagine esplicativa: http://www.ballroomdancers.com/Learning_Center/Dance_Positions/info.asp?pos=ofp



Dubita quanto vuoi, ma non postare due volte di fila.

http://www.englishgratis.com/1/risorse/grammatica/gram-preposizionidiluogo.htm


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## Alxmrphi

Se vuoi raggiungere l'ufficio, prima, vai dietro l'angolo ed e' li, di fronte al parco.
If you want to reach the office, first, go around the corner and it is there, opposite/facing the park.

[edit] : is this correct?


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## TrentinaNE

I'd say this use of "in front of each other" is colloquial sloppiness.    It's more appropriate to say "stand facing each other."  

However, when you say that two people "stand in front of each other", what is the reference point?  When *they are already facing each other* (which the dance site pre-supposes), each is in front from the other's perspective.  This is not true of buildings, where the reference point typically is the street.  In that case, only one can be in front of the other (the one nearer the street).

Elisabetta


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## gabrigabri

Alex_Murphy said:


> Se vuoi raggiungere l'ufficio, (prima), gira l'angolo ed è lì, di fronte al parco.
> If you want to reach the office, first, go around the corner and it is there, opposite/facing the park.
> 
> [edit] : is this correct?




Do you want to know if it is correct in English or in Italian?  In Italian it is almost perfect.


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## underhouse

Mi sembra di capire che "in front" sia un "false friend", che vuol dire "davanti", non "di fronte", e forse la confusione nasce dal fatto che in certi casi "davanti" e "di fronte" si usano (forse a torto) intercambiabilmente, anche in inglese, come nell'esempio di due persone, una di fronte all'altra o una davanti all'altra.


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## Alxmrphi

gabrigabri said:


> Do you want to know if it is correct in English or in Italian?  In Italian it is almost perfect.


 
I wanted to know if it's correct Italian, this keyboard freaks out with accents so I've just been using *letter+'*.

I forgot girare! ah

Thanks gab


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## housecameron

Salegrosso said:


> I'd like to say that Shop no.1 is, say, on the right-hand side of the street, and Shop no.2 is on the left-hand side of the same street, just opposite.


 
In questo caso _di fronte_ corrisponde a _dirimpetto,_ meno usato.
Il negozio dirimpetto, il (negoziante) mio dirimpettaio.
_Opposite_


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## Salegrosso

underhouse said:


> Mi sembra di capire che "in front" sia un "false friend", che vuol dire "davanti", non "di fronte", e forse la confusione nasce dal fatto che in certi casi "davanti" e "di fronte" si usano (forse a torto) intercambiabilmente, anche in inglese, come nell'esempio di due persone, una di fronte all'altra o una davanti all'altra.


 
Dopo tutto questo thread e i suoi link sono giunto esattamente alla stessa conclusione di UnderHouse.
If that's not true, you native let us know please!

Thank you all, 
bye.

Salegrosso


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## beauxyeux

I've read all the thread but haven't found a satisfying reply, so I decided to ask my question here:
Someone told me that both these sentences are correct. What do you think? Do you detect any differences? Which ones?

The teacher sits opposite his students
The teacher sits in front of his students

I would have chosen the first one, at least in BE
Thanks for your opinions


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## Alxmrphi

Well... opposite is so they are face to face...
But on a bus, you can be sitting in front of someone (facing the same way)
It can also mean the same thing, opposite is only one option, but "in front of" can be facing the same way, in a row, or facing opposite, it's hard to determine.


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## Paulfromitaly

beauxyeux said:


> I've read all the thread but haven't found a satisfying reply, so I decided to ask my question here:
> Someone told me that both these sentences are correct. What do you think? Do you detect any differences? Which ones?
> 
> The teacher sits opposite his students
> The teacher sits in front of his students
> 
> I would have chosen the first one, at least in BE
> Thanks for your opinions



Leggi bene: la differenza è spiegata bene e più volte.
Il fatto che entrambe le frasi siano corrette, non implica che abbiano lo stesso significato.

In front - opposite

http://www.englishgratis.com/1/risorse/grammatica/gram-preposizionidiluogo.htm


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## Einstein

The use of _opposite/in front of_ doesn't depend on which way the teacher is facing. _Opposite_ means on the opposite side, which wouldn't have much sense in a classroom unless, for a special lesson, the students were all bunched up against one wall with the teacher against the opposite wall.
We say the teacher is _in front of_ the students because he/she is not _behind_ them.

If you are near me, you can be _in front of_ me, whether I see your face or your back.
If you are on the other side of the room/table/street, you are _opposite_ me, whether I see your face or your back.

Of course there are cases where both are possible.


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## Salegrosso

Einstein, thank you for your excellent explanation.


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## Einstein

Non c'è di che!


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## beauxyeux

Einstein said:


> The use of _opposite/in front of_ doesn't depend on which way the teacher is facing. _Opposite_ means on the opposite side, which wouldn't have much sense in a classroom unless, for a special lesson, the students were all bunched up against one wall with the teacher against the opposite wall.
> We say the teacher is _in front of_ the students because he/she is not _behind_ them.
> 
> If you are near me, you can be _in front of_ me, whether I see your face or your back.
> If you are on the other side of the room/table/street, you are _opposite_ me, whether I see your face or your back.
> 
> Of course there are cases where both are possible.



Grazie Einstein, hai colto il succo della mia richiesta.
Ok adesso cominciamo a ragionare; allora in italiano normalmente dico:
Il docente siede di fronte agli studenti
e con ciò intendo che ha il viso rivolto agli studenti, i quali sono seduti nell'area restante.
Ora tu mi dici che "opposite" in questo caso non sarebbe molto corretto, a meno che gli alunni non si siano raggruppati contro il muro opposto alla postazione del docente, magari nel caso di una foto di gruppo, o per visionare meglio delle diapo o un film o....
Quindi potrei usare "in front of", intendendo tuttavia qui che il docente si trova davanti agli alunni e non dietro di loro, dove invece si posiziona per controllare che non copino quando fanno un compito in classe....
Ok fin qui; a questo punto però per tradurre la mia frase italiana, mantenendo il significato di l'uno di fronte agli altri dovrò usare "is facing"?
Forse a questo punto mi è più chiara la differenza tra opposite/in front of/facing.... Forse....


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## Einstein

Penso che ci siamo!
Hai ragione, se il docente ha il viso rivolto agli studenti, si dice "the teacher sits facing the students" o semplicemente "the teacher faces the students". In altri contesti si può anche specificare "to face towards the students" e "to face away from the students" (with his/her back to the students).

Abbiamo anche "the teacher sits _at the front_ of the room"; "student X sits at the front of the class, student Y sits at the back".

Ultimo punto: _Ci vediamo davanti al cinema_, sarebbe _in front of_, ma si dice _outside_.


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## beauxyeux

Einstein said:


> Ultimo punto: _Ci vediamo davanti al cinema_, sarebbe _in front of_, ma si dice _outside_.




Ecco un altro mito che cade!!!!
Quanto mi piace scoprire che quello che ci è stato insegnato come assoluto in realtà ha varie sfaccettature... Questa è la lingua vera, un po' come la vita!


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## Einstein

Beh, _in front of the cinema_ è perfettamente corretto come forma, ma qui il punto è che ci vediamo fuori, non dentro, mentre _in front of _sembra specificare non dietro, né di fianco, né spostati di 20 metri in là... Comunque _See you in front of the cinema_ non farebbe ridere.


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