Come in front or Come from front?

Question

Let's say I am in a house with two entrances, one in the back, one in front. I need to ask someone which one they took Should I say

I did not see you come in. Did you come in front/back?

or

I did not see you come in. Did you come from front/back?

Are they both idiomatic? If yes, Which of these two expression a native speaker is more likely to use?

It's generally the front and the back: I didn't see you come in. Did you come in the front? You can expand this with additional words if you like: "Did you come in through the back/front [door]?" With back you can also use way: Did you come in the back way? (Using way with front isn't as common- since the front is not an alternate or sneaky way in it's just called "the front door". — Jim, Apr 24, 2015 at 5:12

user3169 · Accepted Answer · 2015-04-24 04:43:07Z

2

It is a bit different between where you came into the house, and where you came from.

I did not see you come in. Did you come in the front/back door?

and

I did not see you come in. Did you come in from the front porch/backyard?

answered Apr 24, 2015 at 4:43

user3169

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Maulik V · Accepted Answer · 2015-04-24 05:02:50Z

-2

You are talking about the source which is unknown to you.

When you talk about the source, it is generally with the preposition 'from'.

I did not notice you. Did you come from the backdoor?

People come from somewhere as a source which is the case here.

You come from America
She came from the top
He came from the washroom. And so on...

answered Apr 24, 2015 at 5:02

Maulik V

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