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Rishonly Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

At the beginning

0"It's all about the focus of the investigation," she said. "01b00At the beginning02b00, this was a search. It's still a search, but the focus now of the search is as a criminal investigation." (quoted from cnn.com)02br
02br
00Should it be "At the beginning" or "In the beginning"? 0-
  

Top answer

0Hi,02br 02br 01font 00"It's all about the focus of the investigation," she said. "01b 00At the beginning02b 00, this was a search. com)02font 02br 02br 01font 00Should it be "At the beginning" or "In the beginning"?

— Clive

  • 0Hi,02br 02br 01font 00"It's all about the focus of the investigation," she said.
  • "01b 00At the beginning02b 00, this was a search.
  • com)02font 02br 02br 01font 00Should it be "At the beginning" or "In the beginning"?
  • 02font 00These phrases are very similar, it often makes little difference which you use.
  • Perhaps 'at' focuses more on the point of beginning, and 'in' more on the period of beginning.
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8 Answers
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0Hi,02br
02br
01font00"It's all about the focus of the investigation," she said. "01b00At the beginning02b00, this was a search. It's still a search, but the focus now of the search is as a criminal investigation." (quoted from cnn.com)02font02br
02br
01font00Should it b
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0Thanks for the examples and explanation, Clive. I have learned that "in the end" means "finally", and "at the end" is used to indicate 'at the end' of something;where 'something' is a noun. Therefore, in the same way, I derived the meanings of 'in the beginning' and 'at the beginning' in such a way that "In the beginning" means 'initially' and "At the beginning" means at the 'at the beginning'
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0Hi Krish,02br
02br
00Well, the difference is so little, and so subtle sometimes, that I really think a lot depends on the sentence and context. And even then, they may sometimes be interchanged. If you like, post a few sample sentences to illustrate where you may feel unsure.02br
02br
00Clive0-
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Clive12cite10Hi Krish,12br
12br
10Well, the difference is so little, and so subtle sometimes, that I really think a lot depends on the sentence and context. And even then, they may sometimes be interchanged. If you like, post a few sample sentences to illustrate where you may feel unsure.12br
12br
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0Hi Clive,02br
02br
00My questions as follows. I am curious to learn the the contexts in which the use of "in/at the beginning/end" would be wrong. I have framed some sentences, using my understanding on this topic. Could you please review them and explain to me if "01b00at02b00" can be replaced by "01b00in02b00" in any of these
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0Hi Krish,02br
02br
01font00My questions as follows. I am curious to learn the the contexts in which the use of "in/at the beginning/end" would be wrong. I have framed some sentences, using my understanding on this topic. Could you please review them and explain to me if "01b00at02b00" can be replaced by "01b00in0
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0Great. Thanks, Clive. I am glad that my understanding matches with your explanations. You suggest the usage of 'in the beginning' or 'at the beginning' depends upon the duration of the main action. Right?0-
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0Hi,02br
02br
00Yes. The Bible says even *** took a bit of time to create the world 01i00in the beginning.02i02br
02br
00Clive0-
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