Hi,
Can I use ‘to say upfront’ to mean ‘to say something in the first place’?
Eg. If you think you can’t do the job well, you didn’t you tell me upfront/in the first place?
Thank you very much.
No.
" I have to give some money upfront" (before the task starts/ or some thing like that)
“Do I need to submit any docs. upfront”
‘Up-front’ or ‘up front’, not ‘upfront’ in all those cases.
Thanks for correcting me.
Regards,
Suresh
Hi Beeesneees and Suresh,
I can see the word has such a meaning as in Suresh’s first sentence - ‘if you pay money upfront, you pay it before any work has been done or before any goods are supplied’, but if you can use it for your second sentence, then why is it wrong in my sentence? because basically the word means do (say) something before something else happens/before you do something else.
@Beeesneees: ‘up front’ or ‘up-front’ gives no result in the Longman dictionary of contemporary English; there is only ‘upfront’.
Hi Abc,
It doesn’t look to me as if anyone has said your sentence is wrong.
I won’t argue with the learned scholars at Longman. Perhaps it’s a British/American difference. I’ve never seen it and wouldn’t use it, but if it’s made the dictionaries then I will accept it. You will certainly find my alternatives in dictionaries (including Longman if you look in the right place 
Scroll down to definition number 11:
ldoceonline.com/dictionary/front_1
I never knew we have to look in the right place for the right meaning in one dictionary 
Anyway the example that follows seems strange to me:
It’s important to tell potential clients this up front.
By the way, I thought Longman’s country of origin is the UK? 
The example is fine.
It is important that anyone who might become a client is told up front (at the beginning/before anything else).
‘Longman’ originated in the UK but it is international these days. I’m only guessing at the reason why I have never seen/used ‘upfront’. I can assure you I find it very strange looking at it written that way though.
I’ve never come across the structure ‘tell somebody something’ before. I thought it should be ‘tell somebody about something’…
Hi Abc,
I suspect you have indeed come across it before. For example:
- I told him the truth.
him = somebody
the truth = something
- I tell my kids a story at bedtime every day.
kids = somebody
a story = something
A: Thanks for lending me that money. Unfortunately, I may not be able to pay you back until next year.
B: Why didn’t you tell me that up front?
me = somebody
that = something [size=84](that = “I may not be able to pay you back until next year.”)[/size]
[color=white].
By the way, I would also typically write ‘up front’ as two words, or perhaps hyphenated when it’s an adjective. I suspect that writing it as one word is still much more the exception than the rule, and then it would mainly be when ‘up front’ is used as an adjective.
[color=darkblue]_________________________________________________________
[size=75]“Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn’t have the power to say yes.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt[/size]
Up-front (I like to stick to Beeesneees’s description), I heard, is used only in some areas of the U.S. (like in north only or only in south/west etc…).
So not others use it much (is this sentence correct).
I always love to use - up-front, re-set, re-written…(regardless of whether or not they are perfect 100%)
Regards,
Suresh
That is definitely [size=117]not[/size] correct, Suresh!
I don’t know what you’ve been told, but whatever it was, it was either incorrect or you misunderstood what you were told. ‘Up front’ is quite commonly used in the US. After reading Beeeesneees’s posts, it seems to me that the way I use and write it is the same as the way she does. You seem to have misunderstood both my post AND hers.
You shouldn’t decide to use a hyphen simply because you happen to like using them; you should learn how to use hyphens appropriately.
You can find the Cambridge Dictionary (British) entry for the adverb phrase ‘up front’ here.
You’ll find the American version of the adverb in the MacMillan Dictionary here.
Note that the entry for the adverb is two separate words both in a British dictionary AND in an American one.
In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (American), you’ll find the adjective ‘up-front’ here. There is also a link to the adverb on that page. Notice that the adjective is hyphenated, but the adverb is made up of two separate words (i.e. no hyphen).
As for the spelling ‘upfront’, the Oxford Dictionary (British) has an entry here. For the adverb, there is a notation that the adverb is usually written as two words – not as one word, and also not hyphenated. The adjective would be more likely to be spelled as a single word. The one-word spelling ‘upfront’ may be gaining momentum nowadays.
The grammar is just as incorrect as the meaning is. I can correct the grammar for you, but your statement will still be incorrect:
- So others don’t use it much.
[color=darkblue]________________________________________________
[size=75]“Sometimes thinking too much can destroy your momentum.” ~ Tom Watson[/size]
Hi ESL Expert,
Then when should we use ‘tell sb sth’ and when ‘tell sb about sth’? Because I think we can also use the latter for that sentence:
It’s important to tell potential clients about this up front.
It’s a good learning for me, Esl_Expert. Thanks for your time and elaborative reply.
Er… what about my last question? Could somebody help, please? 
None
Is that a reference to anything, Suresh?
No, sorry. I entered my new query here and later deleted. And did not know how to delete the entire thing. So…
Regards,
Suresh
Ah, I understand. Thanks.
but… what about my last question? 