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You are here: Home / English lessons / Difference between “finally”, “at last”, “lastly” and “in the end”

Difference between “finally”, “at last”, “lastly” and “in the end”

22nd May 2019 by Andrew

The following words and phrases are very similar:

finally
at last
lastly
in the end

But the meaning is in fact slightly different. Let’s look at each one in more detail.

finally – Use 1

“finally” presents the last element of a series or list.


Examples:
Mark: What do we need from the supermarket?
Jane: We need eggs, milk, sugar and finally, a frying pan.
frying pan

First, we need to rent an office. Then we need to buy some desks. Finally we need to recruit a secretary.

finally – Use 2

We use “finally” to express that one has been waiting a long time for something.

Position in a sentence

“finally” goes in the middle position of a sentence.

If the sentence has a main verb, then we put “finally” before the main verb.
Example: The bus finally arrived at midnight.

If the sentence has an auxiliary or modal verb, then we put “finally” after the auxiliary / modal verb and before the main verb.
Example: Andrew has finally bought a new car.
porsche

If the sentence has the verb “be” as a main verb (a linking verb), then we put “finally” after the verb “be”.
Example: The baby is finally asleep.

at last

“at last” also expresses that one has been waiting a long time for something. “at last” strongly expresses impatience or inconvenience at the long wait.

Position in a sentence

We can put “at last” at the beginning, middle or end position.

Examples:

Beginning position: At last Mark has passed his degree.
Middle position: Mark has at last passed his degree.
End position: Mark has passed his degree at last.

lastly

“lastly” describes something that comes at the end of a series or list. (This is the same as use 1 of “finally” as described above.)

Examples:
To start with, I drank a cup of coffee. Then I sat down. Lastly, I read the newspaper.
man reading newspaper

Firstly, the house is too expensive; secondly, it’s in bad condition; thirdly, the location is awful; and lastly, we don’t need a new house.

in the end

“in the end” describes a conclusion after a long process, a lot of problems or after a lot of discussion and analysis.

Examples:
The manager interviewed her 3 times, and in the end he offered her the job.

job interview
by franky242 | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We couldn’t decide between Paris, Rome or Madrid for our holidays. In the end, we chose Paris.

He isn’t a good driver but he passed his driving test in the end.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

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    1st November 2019 at 2:46 pm

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  2. Deepak jat says

    7th April 2020 at 10:59 am

    superb explaination.

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  5. Jane says

    7th September 2022 at 9:51 pm

    Lastly, I think lastly is a dumb word !

  6. Satish Kumar says

    12th November 2023 at 9:52 pm

    Lastly Take or In the End Take.

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