"First" is it written together or separately? Split and separate spelling of adverbs

Spelling of adverbs often causes difficulties. One of the most common variants of misuse in writing is the incorrect use of a merged and separate spelling of word forms "at the beginning" and "at the beginning". In order to avoid such errors, it is necessary to understand the grammatical and semantic difference between the two word forms and to grasp the rule of their use.

Nouns and adverbs-homophones

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

In the Russian language, it is not uncommon for different parts of a speech to be pronounced and heard alike. You can differentiate them by understanding the context.

For example:

He said this phrase with a negative connotation.

But:

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

The orchestra played carcasses.

But:

The tears on her face were smeared with mascara.

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

Similar examples are typical not only for words that are one part of speech. Often speech units with absolutely different morphological signs "substitute" each other.

For example:

Verb and noun:

Leaves / faces: Water began to pour from the tap. / In the crowd I saw familiar faces.

An adverb and a noun with a preposition:

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

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

Such linguistic features serve as the main reason for misunderstanding, as the word "at the beginning" is written, either singly or separately.

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

Definition of the part of speech: effective or not

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

Understanding of which part of speech the wordform belongs to influences the choice of the method of writing. The adverb "in the beginning" is merged. The preposition with the noun "in the beginning" is a separate spelling.

The simplest way to determine the part of speech is by asking the question. However, this method in the sense of how it is written "at the beginning" - merged or separately - may prove to be false.

Let's 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 refer to both the dialect and the noun. Therefore, the definition of a part of speech can be difficult.

In order to test yourself, you can use the substitution of a synonymous word with an adverb. So, if "at first" can easily be replaced by "first", then in this case the writing is a fusion:

In the beginning (= first) we go to Ilya, and then we go to the cinema - a replacement, then we have an adverb, the writing is coherent.

At the beginning of the alley, limes and acacias grow - you can not change, so we have a preposition and a noun before us, we write separately.

Rule of merging and separate writing

There is a rule that regulates writing "at first" - merged or separately, as well as other immutable parts of speech with similar morphological features.

Together, without any gaps, adverbs are written with the semantics of space and time, in which the form-building prefix is connected with nouns: in-top, in-bottom, in-front, in-away, in-beginning, and so on. It is necessary to distinguish such morphological forms from other morphological forms - nouns, adjectives and pronouns.

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

For example:

In the beginning (when?) I eat soup and hot, and only then - dessert.

The key in the question of writing "in the beginning" - whether merged or separately - has a context. With its help, the real value and syntactic connections of the words of different parts of speech are determined.

While merging adverbs do not assume the presence of additional words, nouns with prepositions often have them. As a rule, such forms are expressed in the complement sentence.

Example:

At first I was very shy.

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

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

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

For example:

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 writing is separate. If there is no possibility to substitute an additional word, we have an adverb. Writing is a merging.

The possibility of selecting a single and separate spelling

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 example:

In the beginning (when?) It was difficult to work.

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

Examples of merged spelling

Thus, the word "first" is merged together, when it plays the role of adverbs:

• In the beginning (when?) At the party was very fun.
• In the beginning (when?) I will go to Prague, and then - to Paris.
• In the beginning (when?) People meet, and then get married.
• People who aspire first (when?) To do simple things, and difficult to postpone for later, will never succeed.

Examples of separate spelling

The word "in 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 built.
• The performance did not impress us very much: promising to be exciting at the beginning (where?), It turned out to be quite boring by the end.