看美剧学英语高频短语：In the first place

明月

In the first place: used at the end of a sentence to indicate what was true or what should have been done at the beginning of a situation; used when listing the most important parts of something or the most important reasons for something.

中文释义：in the first place的字面意思会让人以为这表示“在第一个地方”，但first在这里的意思其实不是“第一的”，而是“最初的”。此处的place不表示空间“地方”，而是引申来表示时间“时候”，所以first place不是“第一个地方”或“最初的地方”，而是“最初的时候”，也就是in the first place指在最初的时候、在一开始的时候、起初、原本、本来、首先。in the first place是副词短语，在句子中充当状语。它相当于at first和at the beginning，一般放在句末。例句：You never should have been involved with him in the first place.（你原本就不应该招惹他。）