In front of the building

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Itasan

#203324 Sun, 05 Mar 06 11:55 AM

Yesterday I went to a gorgeous condominium in Tokyo to visit an American friend of mine. On the 36th floor (if I remember correctly), he said, "The steeple you see in front of that building is Tokyo Tower." Definitely, the building is much closer to us than the Tower. Do you say 'the tower in front of that building' or 'the tower behind the building'? It's definitely BEHIND for us.

Thank you.

Itasan

Joined on Wed, May 11 2005

Japan

Full Member (402)

Clive

#203416 Sun, 05 Mar 06 06:01 PM

Hi,

It depends on whether you are thinking of your front, or of the building's front. Usually, we relate such expressions to ourselves and our position, so it would probably be more natural to say 'behind that building'.

Best wishes, Clive

Clive

Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004

Canada

Veteran Member (22,532)

El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

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Itasan

#203519 Mon, 06 Mar 06 01:11 AM

Thank you very much, Clive. It seems it's the same here.

I had said "It's definitely BEHIND", but my wife says it's probably 'in front of'. Anyway, in this case, 'behind' is better but 'in front of' is not entirely impossible, right? If the Tower was closer to us, then it's definitely 'in front of', never 'behind', right? 'the tower in front of that big building'

Itasan

Clive

#203566 Mon, 06 Mar 06 05:51 AM

Yes,

Clive