difference between 'at the beginning' and 'in the beginning'

[Nguyendavis]

Could anyone tell me the differences between "at the begining" and "in the begining"
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[Alan]

Hi,

First the spelling - beginning.

'At the beginning' is usually more specific suggesting at the start of something as in: At the beginning of the meeting everybody was calm. It can also stand alone: At the beginning everyone remained very calm.

'In the beginning' is more fundamental and is more often used to stand alone as in: In the beginning we had to find new ways to start our new political party. This has the sense of 'at first' 'initially'.

Alan
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story A funny thing happened...