DAI RISPOSTE - English

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”for a start” VS ”at first” ?

Hi everyone,

 

What's the difference between "for a start" and "at first" and how to use them?

 

Many thankswink

PS: Check out these free English learning resources: Textbook: Phrasal verbs with out — Australia Timeline — Since and For — Adjectives ending in ly

DAI RISPOSTE

Vsevuskav profile picture VsevuskavJanuary 2021

"For a start" is used informally to introduce the first point in an argument.  It implies that there are other points, although the speaker may choose not to state them.  For example:

- "Why aren't you learning Antarctican?"  "Well, for a start, there's no such language as Antarctican."

-"But why would you do that?"  "For a start, it's not as bad as you think it is.  And I get paid."

"At first" is used to introduce a condition that used to be but changed afterwards, or that applies to the earliest parts of a process.

- "At first, we tried using glue.  But that never worked, so now we use duct tape."

- "She was too shy to say anything at first."

- "Is ballet hard?"  "At first."