Publicité
Justice at last !
<B>The British Council?s language clinic with ?Dr Danny? </B>
Hello and welcome back to the English Language Clinic. This week I have been asked about a number of phrases which are easily confused as they all refer to the end of something.
Let?s start with ?at the end?; this phrase is used to refer to the point at which something finishes and is usually followed by the word ?of?. For example; ?the dog will be sentenced at the end of the trail?. This phrase should not be confused with ?in the end? which is used to introduce the result or outcome of something, as in ?in the end it was decided that sending the dog to prison would accomplish nothing?. An alternative way of introducing result or outcome is to use the word ?eventually?, as in ?it was eventually decided that the dog was innocent?. ?Eventually? can also be used to express the fact that something happens after a long wait; ?the dog was eventually pardoned by the queen?.
?Finally? is used to convey the same meaning, for example; ?it was finally decided that sending animals to prison was a waste of tax payer?s money?.
The phrase ?at last? is also used to mean ?after a long wait?, but it expresses an additional sense of relief; ?as he left the prison the dog turned to the waiting press and said ?justice at last!?. The phrase ?after all? allows you to express that something has happened or is true despite what may have been expected or planned, as in ?it was later discovered that the dog was guilty after all?.
I am very interested to hear what you think of the English Language Clinic. Do you read this column online? Is there anything you would like me to include in the next article? Please let me know sending your comments, queries and questions to me, ?Dr Danny? by emailing the following address [email protected]
Publicité
Publicité
Les plus récents
