Finally、at last、lastly 還是 in the end 呢?

Finally、at last、lastly 和 in the end 這四個字或片語都當副詞用,除了 lastly 外,finally、at last 和 in the end 均意為「最後;終於」,但用法並不相同。(請參見「At the beginning 還是 in the beginning?At the end 還是 in the end 呢?」一文)

Finally 意為「最後;終於」,通常是指在一段長時間或遭遇一些困難之後。就此意思而言,finally 通常位在句子的中間,亦即位在主詞和主動詞之間 (即普通動詞之前),或位在語氣助動詞或第一個助動詞之後,或位在當主動詞的 BE 動詞之後。例如:

  • We finally got home at midnight. (我們終於在午夜時分回到了家)
  • After months of looking John finally found a job. (找了好幾個月之後,約翰終於找到了一份工作)

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At the beginning 還是 in the beginning?At the end 還是 in the end 呢?

At the beginning (of something) 意為「在 (某事物) 開始時;開頭部分;開端」,其後經常接介系詞 of。In the beginning 意為「起初,當初;開始時,一開始 (用來與時間上的「後來」相對)」,與 at first 和 at the start 同義 (beginning 和 start 的前面皆可用 very 來修飾),其後不接介系詞 of。例如:

  • At the beginning of every lesson, the teacher gave us a quiz. (每堂課開始時,老師都會給我們小考) (正)
    In the beginning of every lesson, the teacher gave us a quiz. (誤)
  • I’ll go abroad for two weeks at the very beginning of May. (五月初我會出國兩個禮拜) (正)
    I’ll go abroad for two weeks in the very beginning of May. (誤)
  • Children are still at the beginning of their lives. (兒童仍處於他們生命的初期) (正)
    Children are still in the beginning of their lives. (誤)
  • In the beginning the main energy source was wood. (最初主要能源是木材) (正)
    At the beginning the main energy source was wood. (誤)
  • In the beginning I didn’t know what had happened. (起先我不知道發生了什麼事) (正)
    At the beginning I didn’t know what had happened. (誤)
  • If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. (一次不成功,那就再接再厲) (正)
  • He was a bit shy at the (very) start. (他開始時有點害羞) (正)

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