first与at first区别详解

区别一：词性不一样

first可用作形容词或副词，有时还可用作代词；而at first是一个介词短语，只起副词用作用（在句中用作状语）。如：

This is the first time I have heard of such things. 这是我第一次听到这样的事。(first为形容词，在句中用作定语)

First class is the most expensive way to travel. 坐头等舱是最贵的旅行方式。(first为形容词，在句中用作定语)

You needn’t read the whole book hut you must read the first four chapters.你们不必把整本书全读完，但必须读完前四章。(first为形容词，在句中用作定语)

I asked them to ring first in case we were out. 我请他们先打电话来，以防我们不在家。(first为副词，在句中用作状语)

His second suggestion was not much better than his first. 他的第二个建议比第一个好不了多少。(first为代词，可视为其后省略了suggestion)

She’s always the first to arrive and the last to leave. 她总是第一个来，最后一个离开。(first为代词，可视为其后省略了one, person等之类的词)

At first we used hand tools. Later we had machines. 开始我们用手工工具，后来我们有了机器。(at first在此用作状语)

区别二：用法上的不同

1. first 用来说明顺序，意为“先……”，暗示接下去还有其他动作或事件要发生，因此其后往往接有(或暗示有) then, next, last 等词。如：

Think first, then act. 先想清楚再行动。

I’ll have to finish my homework first. 我得先把作业做完。(from www.yywords.com)

First (you) boil some water. Then (you) warm the teapot. Then (you) add three teaspoons of tea. Next, (you) pour on boiling water... 你先烧些开水，然后把茶壶烫热，接着放三勺茶叶，随后冲入开水……

John came home from work. First he read the paper for a while, then he got up from the chair and turned on the radio. 约翰下班回家，先看一会儿报，然后从椅子上站起来，打开收音机。

2. at first 的意思是“起初”“开始”，它主要用于强调前后对照，暗示接下去的动作与前面的动作不同甚至相反，因此常有 but, afterwards, soon, at last 等相呼应。如：

At first I didn’t want to go, but I soon changed my mind. 我开始不想去，但我很快就改变了主意。

The work was hard at first, but I got used to it. 起初这活儿很累，不过后来我习惯了。

At first they were very happy, but then things started going wrong. 起初他们生活得很幸福，但后来就开始出问题了。

At first I paid little attention, but slowly my interest awoke. 起初我没怎么注意，但逐渐产生了兴趣。(from www.yywords.com)

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