in the first place   (TTS發音)

1. in the beginning；before now 早先；起初；早就

    You already ate breakfast！ Why didn't you tell me that in the first place？你已經吃過啦！你為什麼一開始不告訴我呢？

    We would have finished the job long ago if we had listened to him in the first place. 要是我們一開始就聽他的話，這工作早就完成了。

    Carl patched his old ball but it soon leaked again. He should have bought a new one in the first place. 卡爾把舊球補好，可很快又漏氣了。他早就該買個新球了。

2. firstly首先

    You cannot go swimming. In the first place，the water is too cold；and in the second place，there is no enough time before dinner. 你不能去遊泳。第一，水太冷；第二，晚飯前沒有足夠的時間。

    In the first place，students should study hard. 首先，學生應該努力讀書。