2024年12月英語四級語法系統復習：first與at first

first與at first使用方法不同解析：

1、從詞性上看不同

first可用作形容詞或副詞，有時還可用作代詞;而at first作為介詞短語，只起副詞用用途。如：

First class is the most expensive way to travel. 坐頭等艙是最貴的旅游方法。

This is the first time I have heard of such things. 這是我首次聽到如此的事。

You needn‘t read the whole book hut you must readthe first four chapters.你們不必把整本書全讀完，但需要讀完前四章。

I asked them to ring first in case we were out. 我請他們先打電話來，以防大家不在家。

She‘s always the first to arrive and the last to leave. 她一直第一個來，最后一個離開。

His second suggestion was not much better than his first. 他的第二個建議比第一個好不了多少。

At first we used hand tools. Later we had machines. 開始大家用手工工具，后來大家有了機器。

2、從使用方法上看不同

1).first的使用方法

first 用來講明順序，意為“先……”，暗示接下去還有其他動作或事件要發生，因此其后總是接有then，next，last 等詞。如：

Think first, then act. 先想了解再行動。

I‘ll have to finish my homework first. 我得先把作業做完。

Firstboil some water. Thenwarm the teapot. Thenadd three teaspoons oftea. Next,pour on boiling water… 你先燒些開水，然后把茶壺燙熱，接著放三勺茶葉，隨后沖入開水……

John came home from work. First he read the paper for a while, then he got up from the chairand turned on the radio. 約翰下班回家，先看一會兒報，然后從椅子上站起來，打開收音機。

2). at first 的使用方法

at first 的意思是“起初”“開始”，它主要用于強調前后對照，暗示接下去的動作與前面的動作不同甚至相反，因此常有 but，afterwards，soon，at last等相呼應。如：

At first I didn‘t want to go, but I soon changed my mind. 我開始不想去，但我非常快就改變了主意。

The work was hard at first, but I got used to it. 起初這活兒非常累，不過后來我習慣了。

At first they were very happy, but then things started going wrong. 起初他們生活得非常幸福，但后來就開始出問題了。

At first I paid little attention, but slowly my interest awoke. 起初我沒如何注意，但漸漸產生了興趣。

3、其他什么時間不同

1). at first 除以上使用方法外，其他場所一般不需要它;而first除表示“先……”外，還可表示“最早”“首次”“第一”等。如：

Ladies first. 女性優先。

That‘s mine—I saw it first. 那是我的，是我先看見的。

When did you first meet him? 你首次見他是什么時間?

2). 有時at first并不是固定搭配。如：

She was so nice a girl that he fell in love with her at first sight. 她是如此好的一個女孩，使他一見鐘情。

She could tell at first glance to which class a man belonged. 她一眼就能看出一個人是什么階級。

3). at first與at last不是一對反義詞組，后者的意思是“終于”“最后”。如：

At last the truth became known. 最后真相大白了。

She has at last got everything ready. 她最后把所有籌備好了。

At last the bus came. I had been waiting for half an hour. 最后公共汽車來了，我已等了半小時。