Is "first" spelled or separately spelled? Combined and separate spelling of adverbs

Spelling of adverbs is often difficult. One of the most common variants of misuse in writing is the misuse of fused and separate spelling of word forms “at the beginning” and “at the beginning”. In order to avoid such mistakes, one should understand the grammatical and semantic differences between the two word forms and learn the rule of their use.

Nouns and adverbs-homophones

Often errors in writing certain word forms are associated with a misunderstanding of the grammatical, morphological and semantic differences of speech units.

In the Russian language, there are cases when different parts of speech are pronounced and heard the same way. They can be differentiated by understanding the context.

For instance:

He said the phrase with negative connotations.

But:

In this article, a picture should be inserted under the text.

The orchestra played carcasses.

But:

Mascara smeared from the tears on her face.

Such words - with the same sound and completely different spelling - are called homophones.

Similar examples are not unique to words that are one part of speech. Often, speech units with completely different morphological characters "replace" each other.

For instance:

Verb and noun:

Pouring / faces: Water started pouring from the tap. / I saw familiar faces in the crowd.

Adverb and noun with the preposition:

As a result of / as a consequence: Death occurred due to injury. / A mistake made in the investigation led to irreversible results.

At the beginning / at the beginning: At the beginning I was counting on an effective result. / At the beginning of our work, I was counting on an effective result.

Such linguistic features and serve as the main reason for misunderstanding, as the word "at the beginning" is spelled - together or separately.

In the first case, we are dealing with an adverb, in the second - with a noun in combination with a preposition, which are pronounced the same way, but have a different spelling.

Definition of a part of speech: effective or not

Of course, in this case we are talking about a specific situation - how to determine what is in front of us: the adverb "at the beginning" or the noun "beginning" with the pretext "in"?

Understanding what part of speech the word form refers to affects the choice of writing method. The adverb “in the beginning” is continuous. The preposition with the noun "at the beginning" is a separate spelling.

The easiest way to identify parts of speech is by asking a question. However, this method, in understanding how it is spelled “at the beginning” —alternatively or separately — may turn out to be false.

Consider an example.

At the beginning (where?) Of the event, the atmosphere was very solemn.

At first (when?) The atmosphere was very solemn.

Both questions can relate to both the adverb and the noun. Therefore, the determination of a portion of speech may be difficult.

In order to test yourself, you can use the substitution of a synonymous word for an adverb. So, if “in the beginning” can be easily replaced with “at first”, then in this case the spelling is fused:

First (= first) we go to Ilya, and then we go to the cinema - a replacement, which means we have an adverb, a spelling together.

Linden and acacia grow at the beginning of the alley - you can’t change it, which means that we have a preposition and a noun, we write separately.

The rule of merged and separate writing

There is a rule that governs the spelling “at the beginning” - in one piece or separately, as well as other unchanged parts of speech with similar morphological characters.

Together, without any spaces, adverbs are written with the semantics of space and time, in which the formative prefix is ​​combined with nouns: top, bottom, front, back, first, and so on. Such morphological forms should be distinguished from other morphological forms - nouns, adjectives and pronouns.

The adverb “in the beginning” has a temporary meaning and answers the question “when?”.

For instance:

At first (when?) I eat soup and hotter, and only then - dessert.

Of key importance in the question of writing “in the beginning” - together or separately - is context. With its help, the real meaning and syntactic relations of the words of different parts of speech are determined.

While merged adverbs do not imply the presence of additional words, nouns with prepositions often have them. As a rule, such forms are expressed in the sentence by supplement.

Example:

At first I was very shy.

At the beginning of our acquaintance, I was very shy.

Thus, when an addition appears in a sentence, an adverb can be transformed into a noun with a preposition, which, accordingly, changes the way of writing.

Another way to determine whether “in the beginning” is written together or separately is the possibility of substituting an additional word between the preposition “in” and the noun “beginning”.

For instance:

At the very beginning of the journey, I was cheerful and cheerful.

But:

At first I was cheerful and cheerful.

Thus, if it is possible to substitute an additional word, we are dealing with a noun and a preposition. Accordingly, the spelling is separate. If we add an additional word, there is no possibility, we have an adverb. The spelling is fused.

Possibility to choose continuous and separate writing

Depending on the speech situation, the writer can choose "at the beginning" or "at the beginning" - how to write - together or separately. It is necessary to distinguish between such situations.

For instance:

At first (when?) It was difficult to work.

At the beginning (where?) Of the site it was difficult to work - the sun was beaming in this part, while the middle and final parts of the site were located in the shade.

Examples of continuous writing

Thus, the word form “at the beginning” is cohesively written when it acts as adverbs:

• At the beginning (when?) The party was a lot of fun.
• First (when?) I will go to Prague, and then to Paris.
• At first (when?) People meet, and then get married.
• People who aspire at the beginning (when?) To do simple things, and difficult ones to postpone for later, will never succeed.
  

Separate Writing Examples

The word form "at the beginning" is written separately when it acts as a "preposition - noun":

• At the beginning of the day (when?) I need to do a lot of things.
• At the beginning (where?) Of any enterprise, plans should be made.
• The performance did not really impress us: promising to be exciting in the beginning (where?), It turned out to be rather boring towards the end.