linking phrase · neutral
in the beginning
UK/ɪn ðə bɪˈɡɪnɪŋ/US/ɪn ðə bəˈɡɪnɪŋ/in·the·be·GIN·ning
speakingtask2
at the start; at the initial stage
Examples
“In the beginning, the app had many bugs; the developers fixed them quickly.”
“In the beginning I found the course difficult, but then it got easier.”
“In the beginning there was confusion about the schedule.”
Band 8 sentence
“In the beginning the initiative struggled for funding, but strategic partnerships eventually secured long-term support.”
Collocations
- in the beginning of the project
- in the beginning I thought...
Word family
begin vbeginning n
Common mistakes
In the beginning I think this is easy.→In the beginning I thought this was easy.
Say it for a higher band
5at first→6initially→7+in the beginning
Synonyms
at first
initially
Easily confused
at first
“At first I was worried about the exam.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Sequence
Learn it with its set