Difference between revisions of "Language/English/Vocabulary/At-first-and-first"
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<div | <div class="pg_page_title">"At first" and "first"</div> | ||
[[File:English-Language-PolyglotClub.jpg|thumb]] | |||
==Beginning of a situation== | ==Beginning of a situation== | ||
'''We use "at first" to talk about the beginning of a situation, to make a contrast with something different that happens/happened later. "At first". . . is often followed by but.''' | '''We use "at first" to talk about the beginning of a situation, to make a contrast with something different that happens/happened later. "At first". . . is often followed by but.''' | ||
| Line 20: | Line 20: | ||
*We lived there when we were first married. (= . . . in the early days of our marriage.) (not . . . when we were at first married.) | *We lived there when we were first married. (= . . . in the early days of our marriage.) (not . . . when we were at first married.) | ||
*First, I want to talk about the history of the problem | *First, I want to talk about the history of the problem. Second, I'll outline the situation today. Third, we'll discuss possible solutions. (not... At first, I want to talk . . .) | ||
"First" in the last example is usage in American English. In British English, this example would be expressed as: | |||
* Firstly, I want to talk about the history of the problem. Secondly, I'll outline the situation today. Thirdly, we'll discuss possible solutions. | |||
==Other Lessons== | |||
* [[Language/English/Vocabulary/Most-Common-Greek-Roots|Most Common Greek Roots]] | |||
* [[Language/English/Vocabulary/Almost-and-nearly;-practically|Almost and nearly; practically]] | |||
* [[Language/English/Vocabulary/Words-with-different-spellings|Words with different spellings]] | |||
* [[Language/English/Vocabulary/English-words-of-Arabic-origin|English words of Arabic origin]] | |||
* [[Language/English/Vocabulary/List-of-words-with-a-silent-'H'|List of words with a silent 'H']] | |||
* [[Language/English/Vocabulary/At-Home|At Home]] | |||
* [[Language/English/Vocabulary/Tricky-words|Tricky words]] | |||
* [[Language/English/Vocabulary/Difference-between-verbs-See-Watch-Look|Difference between verbs See Watch Look]] | |||
* [[Language/English/Vocabulary/Asking-Directions|Asking Directions]] | |||
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Latest revision as of 10:50, 27 March 2023
"At first" and "first"
Beginning of a situation[edit | edit source]
We use "at first" to talk about the beginning of a situation, to make a contrast with something different that happens/happened later. "At first". . . is often followed by but.
Examples:
- At first they were very happy, but then things started going wrong.
- The work was hard at first, but I got used to it.
In other cases[edit | edit source]
In other cases, we usually prefer first.
Examples:
- That's mine - I saw it first! (not . . .I saw it at first.)
- We lived there when we were first married. (= . . . in the early days of our marriage.) (not . . . when we were at first married.)
- First, I want to talk about the history of the problem. Second, I'll outline the situation today. Third, we'll discuss possible solutions. (not... At first, I want to talk . . .)
"First" in the last example is usage in American English. In British English, this example would be expressed as:
- Firstly, I want to talk about the history of the problem. Secondly, I'll outline the situation today. Thirdly, we'll discuss possible solutions.
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Most Common Greek Roots
- Almost and nearly; practically
- Words with different spellings
- English words of Arabic origin
- List of words with a silent 'H'
- At Home
- Tricky words
- Difference between verbs See Watch Look
- Asking Directions