
最初
起先,首先;最初
At first, Gregory was shy and hardly spoke. Later he changed.
起初 格雷戈里很害羞 几乎不说话 后来他变了
At first the place was strange to me.
起先我对这个地方不熟悉。
At first she was flattered by his devotion.
最初他的挚爱使她感到受宠若惊。
She'd liked him at first, but soon lost interest.
最初她喜欢过他,但很快就失去了兴趣。
Some of the space will at first be used for storage.
一些空间将首先用于贮藏。
The situation was more complicated than they had at first realized.
形势比他们最初意识到的更为复杂。
|at the beginning/above all;起先,首先;最初
"at first"是英语中常用的介词短语,表示"最初、起初",用于描述某个过程或事件的初始阶段,常暗含后续情况发生变化。该短语强调时间顺序上的起点,常见于对比语境中,例如:
基本定义
"at first"指代事物发展的时间起点,相当于中文的"一开始"。根据《剑桥词典》,其核心含义是"at the beginning of a situation or period of time"(在某种情况或时间段的开始阶段)。例如:"At first I thought he was joking, but then I realized he was serious."
语法特征
短语通常置于句首作状语,后接逗号分隔主句,也可置于句中。牛津学习者词典指出,其位置灵活但需保持逻辑连贯性。例如:"The experiment seemed simple at first, yet it turned out to be complicated."
语义辨析
《韦氏词典》特别强调,与"firstly"不同,"at first"不用于列举事项,而是专指时间起始。
多用于叙事性文本,尤其是需要展现认知转变的语境。语言学研究表明,该短语在学术写作中出现频率约为每百万词62次,多用于引出后续发现的对照关系。例如:"At first the data appeared contradictory, but further analysis revealed a clear pattern."
以下是关于短语"at first" 的详细解释,综合多来源信息整理:
例句:At first the place was strange to me.(起初我对这个地方感到陌生。)
语法功能
例:At first they were happy, but then problems arose.(起初他们很幸福,但后来问题出现了。)
常见搭配
例:At first I didn’t like the job, but now I enjoy it.(起初我不喜欢这份工作,但现在很喜欢。)
语境暗示
例:The work was hard at first, but I got used to it.(起初工作很累,但我后来习惯了。)
短语 | 核心区别与场景 | 例句 |
---|---|---|
first | 作形容词/副词/代词,侧重顺序或优先级(如“第一”) | First, boil water.(首先,烧水。) |
first of all | 强调列举顺序的首项(后续常接next,then) | First of all, let me introduce myself.(首先,我来自我介绍。) |
initially | 正式用语,中性描述“最初阶段”,不一定暗示变化 | Initially, the plan seemed feasible.(起初,计划似乎可行。) |
误用场景:
与中文表达的差异:
通过以上解析,可全面掌握"at first" 的语义与用法,注意其时间起点 和隐含转折 的特点,避免与first、first of all 混淆。
【别人正在浏览】