structure · neutral

First of all, + clause

Band 4-5speakingtask2

used to introduce the first point in a sequence or list

Examples

“First of all, we need to agree on a budget.”

“First of all, thank you for coming.”

“First of all, check your equipment before starting.”

Band 8 sentence

“First of all, the study identifies the main causes before proposing viable solutions.”

Collocations

  • First of all, I would like to say...
  • First of all, there are safety issues.

Common mistakes

First of all that, ...→First of all, ...

Firstly of all, ...→First of all, ...

First, of all ...→First of all, ...

Say it for a higher band

5First→6Firstly,→7+First of all, + clause

Synonyms

To begin with

Firstly,

Easily confused

Finally

“Finally, we reached the summit after a long climb.”

To begin with

“To begin with, the project needs more funding.”

Related words

It is imperative that + clauseOn the other hand, + clauseThere is a strong case to be made for + V-ingIn my opinion, + clauseThese findings have important implications for + NPTo sum up, + clauseIt took + somebody + [time] + to + VOne advantage of + Noun/Gerund + is + ...

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In Opening & closing ideas

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