Google
English-Test.net
Find penpals and make new friends today!
 
commonplace; ordinary; usual; customary; habitual
routine
equivalent
expensive
bottom
TOEIC exam test: Word quizzes: Free Online Adjectives Quiz Answer
 
Username
Password
 Remember me? 
Search   FAQ   Memberlist   Profile   Private messages   Register   Log in 

Firstly, secondly, etc.



 
ESL/EFL Worksheets and Handouts for Students Printable, photocopiable, clearly structured
Designed for teachers and individual learners
For use in a classroom, at home, on your PC
ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
How to use "As"? | What is the meaning of "last but not least"?
Listening exercises
Message
Author
Firstly, secondly, etc. #1 (permalink) Mon Feb 06, 2006 19:58 pm   Firstly, secondly, etc.
 

Hello everybody.

Our teacher of speaking/writing skills told us the other day that many of us made a mistake in our essay using 'firstly', 'secondly' etc. (we were supposed to clarify a certain point of view, i.e. to provide reasons). Her exact words were: 'Where did you come across those words? They do not exist in English'. I checked several dictionaries and all of them contained entries 'firstly' and 'secondly'. I am totally confused because she lived in the UK for many years and is a good speaker of English in general.
Can anybody prove her wrong? Smile
Thanks,

Jasna
Jasna
I'm new here and I like it ;-)


Joined: 02 Jun 2005
Posts: 15
Location: Serbia and Montenegro

Firstly/secondly #2 (permalink) Mon Feb 06, 2006 22:16 pm   Firstly/secondly
 

Hi Jasna,

I'd hate to come between you and your teacher but I must say that firstly was first used in the sense of in the first place in the 17th century and secondly probably during the 18th century and this is verified in the Oxford English Dictionary which is based as they say on historical principles. This means that the use of words is recorded as and when they were first used.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Briefly
Alan
Co-founder
Alan Townend

Joined: 27 Sep 2003
Posts: 9209
Location: UK

English grammar exercises — improve your English knowledge and vocabulary skillsHere is all you want to know about English! Click to subscribe to free email English courseIn this story you'll learn how to use the English articlesAre you a native speaker of English? Then you should read this!
Firstly, secondly etc #3 (permalink) Mon Feb 06, 2006 23:58 pm   Firstly, secondly etc
 

Thank you, Alan. Now I have to think of a way to tell her that. I hope she's not too vain. Smile
Jasna
I'm new here and I like it ;-)


Joined: 02 Jun 2005
Posts: 15
Location: Serbia and Montenegro

Firstly, secondly etc #4 (permalink) Tue Feb 07, 2006 1:40 am   Firstly, secondly etc
 

.
However, I understand her feeling, Jasna. First and second are perfectly good adverbs, and for enumerating e.g. points in a thesis, I find firstly and secondly unnecessary and stylistically unattractive.
.
_________________
Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's
Mister Micawber
Language Coach
Mr. Micawber

Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 7438
Location: Yokohama, Japan

Firstly, secondly etc #5 (permalink) Tue Feb 07, 2006 10:57 am   Firstly, secondly etc
 

Mister Micawber wrote:
.
However, I understand her feeling, Jasna. First and second are perfectly good adverbs, and for enumerating e.g. points in a thesis, I find firstly and secondly unnecessary and stylistically unattractive.
.


That's a good point. Maybe she wanted to say that those were obsolete forms but didn't make her point that way. Instead she said those words didn't exist.
Thanks for the clarification, Mister Micawber.
Jasna
I'm new here and I like it ;-)


Joined: 02 Jun 2005
Posts: 15
Location: Serbia and Montenegro

Firstly, secondly etc #6 (permalink) Thu Apr 02, 2009 17:40 pm   Firstly, secondly etc
 

Actually, "firstly" dates from the 1500's. There are many words from history that are no longer used today. Your teacher may have slightly mispoken and said it the wrong way, but her goal is for you to learn current proper usage. If we could get everything from books, we wouldn't need any teachers.
Smischke
New Member


Joined: 02 Apr 2009
Posts: 1

Firstly, secondly etc #7 (permalink) Thu Apr 02, 2009 18:08 pm   Firstly, secondly etc
 

" If we could get everything from books, we wouldn't need any teachers."

Oh, but we would my friend. Where is the human element in your reasoning ?. It requires a good teacher to breathe life into the words of a book. Breath and life that could never be drawn from the written pages of the book alone.

Read a good book yourself, and then ask a good storyteller to read the same book to you. A world of difference. Not many of us have the abilities to become teachers, and we should be forever grateful that our children have people with these abilities.

I have known many people who were teachers. Some nice people, some nasty people, but they were all great teachers.!

I do agree with you that a book is a great source of knowledge, but without a good teacher it is like a meal without condiments.

Kitosdad.
_________________
If you need me, I'm here.
Kitosdad
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 04 Mar 2009
Posts: 3918
Location: ESSEN, Germany, (but English.)

Firstly, secondly, etc. #8 (permalink) Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:37 am   Firstly, secondly, etc.
 

Kitosdad, I totally agree in the value of a great teacher, but one must not forget that the greatest lesson a teacher can and must teach is the ability to learn. Education is worthless without the ability to analyze what is presented and search it for truth. If a teacher fails to educate in this manner, the teacher has failed to educate at all.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.
Mbwatson
New Member


Joined: 13 Apr 2009
Posts: 1

Firstly, secondly, etc. #9 (permalink) Thu Jun 18, 2009 21:35 pm   Firstly, secondly, etc.
 

What about the use of the word lastly? Would last be sufficient?
Lancezilla
New Member


Joined: 18 Jun 2009
Posts: 1

Firstly, secondly, etc. #10 (permalink) Thu Jun 18, 2009 23:00 pm   Firstly, secondly, etc.
 

Yes
_________________
Native English teacher at Mister Micawber's
Mister Micawber
Language Coach
Mr. Micawber

Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 7438
Location: Yokohama, Japan

Firstly, secondly etc #11 (permalink) Wed Sep 02, 2009 1:50 am   Firstly, secondly etc
 

First, I whole heartedly agree with kitsodad's answer; to the extent that I would love to use his response as a quote, if possible, on another web page.

Second, I discovered this thread as a result of asking this very question, that is, what is the correct form and usage, "First" or "Firstly?" It seems to be the opinion of the professional literary that the use of "Firstly" has become much too unwieldy within either the context of good writing form or for usage in today's vernacular.

Third, as with all other exceptions to the rule, my thoughts have their pros and cons. I suppose this is due to the fact that we accept it as "okay" when license is taken and allowed with the writing of one's own language under the various formats and venues existing within today's world: newspapers, magazines, the internet or educational studies, to name just a few.

"I know what I will do, and in doing it, it will be done." - from a paper entitled I'll Second that Redundancy Again
Krpinkela
New Member


Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Posts: 1

Display posts from previous:   
How to use "As"? | What is the meaning of "last but not least"?
ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms Firstly, secondly, etc. All times are GMT + 1 Hour
Page 1 of 1
Latest topics on ESL EFL Forums
It made me happy or it made me feel happyGrammar: passive voiceDifference between "at lunch" or "for lunch"Help with articles needed: Are degradation, speed, rehabilitation uncountable?Meaning of "goofed off"leaps of faithThe status of "while"Question: 'have been doing', 'have + PP' and 'have been doing something''Go ahead, be gone with it.'Sentence: "Grateful to your help"How long have you been studing English Or How long have you been studied EnglishDifference between "too" and "so"How to make a question: Asking Student - Hello, do you have maths class today?They "bumped" my flight?Difference between "someone" and "somebody"Future simple tense after "when"Prologue (Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay...)It's the shizzle?Firstly, secondly, etc.

Discover English-test.net
More than and as much asFunny imagery/figurative languageAnnouncement (Today I asked a female Tibetan who was selling handcrafts, she...)Hi! I'm Pyramid from ChinaSAT verbal preparation: Vocabulary Games: English AdjectiveSAT preparation test: Free online word games: Adjective GameDefine diverse, plebeian, casual, involuntary, rustic, irreverential, fretfulVocabulary quiz: English nouns verbs prepositions adjectivesBasic grammar: Bank Terminology (1)Sample of run, hang, ghost, teeth, ceiling: English Slang Idioms (80)The Lion in Winter audiobook download

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Subscribe to FREE email English course
First name E-mail