Spelling adverbs is often difficult. One of the most common misuses in writing is the misuse of the continuous and separate spelling of the 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 for their use.
Nouns and Homophone Adverbs
Mistakes in spelling certain word forms are often associated with a misunderstanding of grammatical, morphological and semantic differences between speech units.
In Russian, it is not uncommon for different parts of speech to be pronounced and heard the same way. You can differentiate them by understanding the context.
For example:
He said this phrase with negative connotations.
But:
In this article, a picture must be inserted under the text.
The orchestra played touches.
But:
From the tears on her facemascara smeared.
Such words - with the same sound and completely different spelling - are called homophones.
Such examples are typical not only for words that are one part of speech. Often, speech units with completely different morphological features “substitute” for each other.
For example:
Verb and noun:
Pour/Faces: Water started pouring from the faucet. / I saw familiar faces in the crowd.
Adverb and noun with preposition:
As a result of/as a result of: Death was due to injury. / The mistake made in the investigation led to irreversible results.
Initially/Initially: At the beginning, I expected an effective result. / At the beginning of our work, I counted on an effective result.
Such linguistic features are the main reason for misunderstanding how the word "at the beginning" is written - together or separately.
In the first case, we are dealing with an adverb, in the second - with a noun combined with a preposition, which are pronounced the same, but have different spellings.
Determining the 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 preposition "in"?
Understanding what part of speech the word form belongs to influences the choice of the way of writing. The adverb "in the beginning" is fused. A preposition with a noun “at the beginning” is a separate spelling.
The easiest way to determineparts of speech - by asking a question. However, this method in understanding how it is written "at the beginning" - together or separately - may turn out to be false.
Let's consider an example.
At the beginning (where?) of the event, the atmosphere was very solemn.
In the beginning (when?) the atmosphere was very solemn.
Both questions can apply to either an adverb or a noun. Therefore, determining the part of speech can be difficult.
In order to test yourself, you can use the substitution of a synonymous word for an adverb. So, if “at the beginning” can be easily replaced by “at first”, then in this case the spelling is continuous:
First (=first) we will go to Ilya, and then we will go to the cinema - replacement, which means we have an adverb, spelling is continuous.
Linden trees and acacias grow at the beginning of the alley - you can't change it, so we have a preposition and a noun, we write separately.
Rule of continuous and separate writing
There is a rule governing the spelling "at the beginning" - together or separately, as well as other invariable parts of speech with similar morphological features.
Together, without any spaces, adverbs are written with the semantics of space and time, in which the formative prefix is combined with nouns: up, down, front, far, at the beginning, 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 meaningand answers the question "when?".
For example:
First (when?) I eat soup and hot, and only then - dessert.
The key to the question of writing "in the beginning" - together or separately - has a context. With its help, the actual meaning and syntactic links of words of different parts of speech are determined.
While fused adverbs do not require additional words, nouns with prepositions often do. As a rule, such forms are expressed in a sentence with an addition.
Example:
I was very shy at the beginning.
At the beginning of our acquaintance, I was very shy.
Thus, when an object appears in a sentence, the 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 ability to substitute an additional word between the preposition "at" and the noun "beginning".
For example:
In 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 substitute an additional word, there is no possibility, we have an adverb. Spelling – continuous.
Choice of continuous and separate writing
Depending on the speech situation, the writer can choose "at the beginning" or"in the beginning" - how to write - together or separately. It is necessary to distinguish between such situations.
For example:
At the beginning (when?) it was difficult to work.
It was difficult to work at the beginning (where?) of the site - the sun was beating down in this part, while the middle and end parts of the site were in the shade.
Examples of continuous writing
Thus, the word form "at the beginning" is written together when it acts as an adverb:
- Initially (when?) the party was a lot of fun.
- First (when?) I will go to Prague and then to Paris.
- First (when?) people meet and then get married.
-
People who tend to do simple things first (when?) and put off difficult things for later will never succeed.
fused adverbs
Examples of separate writing
The word form "at the beginning" is written separately when it acts as a "preposition - noun":
- At the beginning of the day (when?) I have a lot of things to do.
- At the beginning (where?) of any enterprise, plans should be made.
- The performance didn't impress us much: promising to be exciting at the beginning (where?), turned out to be rather boring by the end.
