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"en face de" is clear.  Would appreciate seeing the distinction between "en face" and "d'en face" s.v.p.    

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en face de .. : in front of

d'en face : from accross literaly

La maison d'en face : the opposite house

my confusion stems from my belief that there are times "en face" (without "de" after) is used rather than "d'en face."  Also, anything in front of me is opposite me.             

My interpretation of what Davenne wrote above is:

La maison est en face = The house is opposite (as in 'across' the way)

La maison d'en face est blanche = the house opposite (or the house across the way) is white.

There was a british 1917 movie named "The house opposite". Is there a difference with "The opposite house" ?

there's no difference in meaning and it wouldn't sound wrong if you used the latter, but the former is what most people will use.  

well in French you cannot always use one for the other.See that example :

- où est la maison ?

- en face (d'en face is wrong here) 

- de quelle maison me parlez-vous ?

- de celle d'en face (en face is alright )

So I would say:  

 - use 'd'en face' with the noun : la maison d'en face, le gars d'en face... (using en face is not so wrong, we could use it when we talk but it does not mean it is correct)

 - after the verb change for 'en face' : il est en face, la maison est en face, je vais en face,

 -  use 'en face' when it is said alone to express the point, the location like in the example above.

 - finally use 'en face' when it has the meaning of 'in front of' : regardais le soleil en face

everydody agrees ?

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