Face to face means in person, physically together, rather than messaging or calling each other. Before a noun, it takes hyphens and describes something that happens in person rather than online: face-to-face classes. Come face to face with means to suddenly meet a person or an animal, or to have to deal with a difficult situation.
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meet/talk + face to face; a face-to-face + meeting/interview/class; come face to face with + someone/something
- We'd emailed for months, but we finally met face to face at the conference in Berlin.
- My university still offers face-to-face classes for students who don't like studying online.
- Halfway up the mountain path, we came face to face with a wild goat.
What changed
First versionI don't want to discuss my salary by email. Can we talk eye to eye tomorrow?
RevisionI don't want to discuss my salary by email. Can we talk face to face tomorrow?
Eye to eye might seem a good way to describe a private talk in person, but it isn't used on its own in this meaning. It appears in the expression see eye to eye, meaning to agree. For a conversation when you meet in person, you need face to face.
In person also means “personally”, but it stresses that someone comes themselves rather than sending a letter or another person: You have to collect the parcel in person. Face to face doesn't fit here: it describes a meeting or conversation between two sides, not someone being physically present.
Your turn
I've only spoken to my landlord on the phone, but tomorrow we're meeting ___ to sign the contract.
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face to face — The speaker has only talked to the landlord on the phone so far, and tomorrow they're meeting in person, so face to face. Eye to eye isn't used on its own like this; it appears in see eye to eye, meaning to agree.
Write about someone you talked to only online or on the phone for a long time. Say who it is and where you first met in person.
I worked with Anna from our Lisbon office for two years before we met face to face at a training day in London.
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