刚开始 短语是三个词的短语———,he knew nothing about english（刚开始时,他不懂英语）这是

at first “开始”、“最初”、“起初”, 口语用语,相当于initially,其反
意短语是 at last.

1）At first / Initially he opposed the plan, but later he changed her mind
and decided to give them some necessary help.
起初他反对这个计划,但后来他改变了主意,决定给他们一些必要的帮助.
2）At first I thought he was joking but then I realized he meant it.
起初我以为他是在开玩笑,但后来我意识到他是有意的.
3）The drugs work well at first but gradually lose their effectiveness.
这些药的效果起初非常好,但后来逐渐失效.
4）The election went against him at first, but he won at last.
选举开始时对他不利, 但最终他还是获胜了.

in the beginning “开始“、“起初”,相当于at first,有时也可说 at
the beginning.

1）In the beginning, there was a lot of scepticism about 3D imaging,
particularly from within the medical community.
刚开始,人们,尤其是医学界,对三维形象有很多怀疑.
2）It's tiring in the beginning, but after a while you will get used to it.
刚开始很无聊, 但过一阵子后你就会习惯.
3）At the beginning, he was rather stubborn, bur finally he accepted our idea
and changed his mind.
一开始他很固执,但最后他还是接受了我们的想法,改变了他的主意.
4）At the beginning I paid little attention, but slowly my interest awoke.
起初我没怎么注意, 但逐渐产生了兴趣.

at the outset “一开始”,也可说 from the outset.

1）I warned you at the outset not to trust him, but you wouldn’t listen to
me.
从一开始我就警告你不要信任他,你就是不听我的话.
2）You should explain this to him at the outset, or you would’nt have got
into the trouble.
你应该一开始就把这事向他解释清楚,否则的话,你就不会遇上这麻烦了.
3）At the outset, jazz was dance music , performed by swinging big bands.
起初爵士乐是一种舞蹈音乐,由一些规模较大的乐队以摇摆舞的形式来演出.
4）The mood at the outset was deeply somber, but eventually the two teams got
down to business.
开始时的气氛是极端阴沉的,但后来双方还是谈起正经事来了.

● 有时也可说 from the outset,侧重“从一开始”.

1）The novel fascinates the reader from the outset.
这部小说一开头就把读者迷住了.
2）The teacher laid emphasis on the precision of the translation from the
outset.
老师从一开始就强调翻译准确性.
3）From the outset, the designers of uml recognized that uml would have
applications that they had not anticipated , so they implemented extension
mechanisms that allow users to improve uml
从一开始, uml 的设计者就认识到 uml 可能会被用于没有预料到的用途,因此实现了
扩展机制,以允许用户改进 uml.

from scratch “从头开始”、“ 从零开始”.

1）The business lost all his money in the business transactions and he had to
start from scratch.
在商业交易中他把钱都亏光了,他不得不从头开始.
2）Don’t lose heart. You could start everything from scratch.
不要灰心,一切你可以从头开始.
3）He's a real go-getter. He built up his business from scratch.
他是一个进取又勤奋的人,他是白手起家创业的.
4）There are quite a number of mistakes in the report. I’ll haveto write it
again from scratch.
这份报告里有不少错误, 我得重新开始写.


at the beginning of 短语介词表示“在……开始的时候”.

1）At the beginning of the negotiation, both sides refused to make any
compromise on the problem.
谈判之初,双方都拒绝在这个问题作出任何妥协.
2）It was unlucky to have such a thing happen at the beginning of the new
year.
大新年碰到这种事,总是不吉利.
3）We are, I believe, at the beginning of a period where significant new
research into the practice of management is essential .
我相信,我们正处于一个时期的开端,在这一时期,对管理实践重新加以研究是至关
重要的.
4）He remembered a particularly bad patch struck at the beginning of his
career.
他想起了事业刚起步时所度过的那段极其困难的时期.

from / at the outset of 短语介词,用 at表示“在……开始的时候”; 用
from表示“从……时候开始”

1）At the outset of her career she was full of optimism but not now she seems
to lack confidence.
事业伊始她十分乐观,但现在似乎缺乏信心.
2）At the outset of the match, the two sides were both on the offensive.
比赛一开始, 就出现了双方对攻的场面.
3）From the outset of the negotiations, it was clear but it would be hard for
the two sides to reach agreement.
从会谈刚开始时, 双方很难达成协议,这是显而易见的.

in the beginning.

At first, he did not understand English。 At the beginning of，he did not understand English。

At first
In the beginning

in the begining

At the begining