Imagine you’re chatting with a friend in person, not through a screen. You’re having a direct conversation, which means you’re interacting directly and personally.
Is it face to face or face-to-face? Should you use a hyphen in “face to face” or not?
As a rule of thumb, without the hyphen, face to face usually modifies a verb, indicating how the action is happening.
But, if you add a hyphen making it “face-to-face,” it acts like an adjective. You can use it to describe things like meetings or interviews happening in person.
Face to Face or Face-to-Face? Which is Correct?
Both “face to face“ and “face-to-face“ are correct. The correct form depends on usage in a sentence.
“Face to face” is an adverb phrase, while “face-to-face” is an adjective phrase.
To give you a practical example, consider these sentences:
- “We sat down and talked face to face about the project,” which means the discussion happened in person.
- “It was a face-to-face interview,” which describes the interview as being one where the people were in each other’s physical presence.
Can face-to-face and face to face be used interchangeably?
No, “face-to-face” and “face to face” cannot be used interchangeably because they play different roles in a sentence.
You use “face to face” when you want to explain how something is done. But if you’re looking to describe a noun that follows it, go for “face-to-face”.
Face to Face: Meaning and Usage
“Face to face” works like an adverb in a sentence. If you’re not sure what an adverb is, it’s just a word or group of words that provide more details about how an action is carried out.
When you say “face to face”, you’re usually talking about a situation where two or more people are directly looking at each other, usually in the same place.
For example, if you have an issue with a friend, you might want to discuss it with them face to face, rather than over the phone or online. In this instance, “face to face” tells us how you want to handle the conversation — directly and personally.
Face-to-Face: Meaning and Usage
“Face-to-face”, the version with hyphens works as an adjective, which means you use it to describe a noun.
In terms of “face-to-face”, the phrase is used to explain the type of interaction or encounter. If you have a meeting planned where everyone will be in the same room, you can call it a “face-to-face meeting”. Here, “face-to-face” gives more information about the type of meeting.
For example,
- I have three face-to-face classes this week.
In this case, “face-to-face” describes the type of classes you’re holding — ones where you’ll be teaching students in person.
Examples of Using “Face to Face“ in A Sentence
“I prefer dealing with clients face to face.“
“We need to discuss this matter face to face.“
“After months of online dating, they finally met face to face.“
“The two opponents came face to face in the final round.“
“Let’s resolve our differences face to face.“
Examples of Using “Face-to-Face“ in A Sentence
“We scheduled a face-to-face meeting for next week.“
“The conference includes several face-to-face sessions.“
“I prefer face-to-face classes over online ones.“
“The doctor arranged a face-to-face consultation with the patient.“
“We had a face-to-face discussion about the project.“
