Ⅰ. at last “最后”表经过一定曲折之后某事才发生，强调努力的结果，带有较强的感情色彩。须用一般过去时。如：
Did the man in the shop understand him at last?
Ⅱ. finally 表动作的发生顺序是在“最后”， 无感情色彩，只用于过去时。它居句首时较多。
① Finally he went to see the famous man himself.
Ⅲ. in the end 表事物发展的自然顺序的“终结”，有时可与finally相互替换。但用于将来的预测时，则只能用in the end 如：
① I hope that everything will turn out all right in the end.
§57 at school/ in school/ in a (the) school
Ⅰ. at school表示“在学校、在上学”相对于在家里或在校外。如：
① My son is at school now. He is not at home or somewhere else. 我儿子现在在学校，他不在家，也不在别的地方。
② When my brother was at school, he studied very hard. 在学校时，我兄弟学习很用功。
Ⅱ. in school “在求学、在上学”相对于有工作。如：
My daughter still in school She doesn’t work.。 我女儿还在上学，她不在工作。
[注]：①和②用at school 强调所在场所或时间。③中的in school 则强调主语的身份是学生。因此，in school. 和 at school的着重点不一样，通常不互换使用。
Ⅲ. In a / the school “在学校”，不一定指上学。类似的还有：
in hospital “生病住院”
in a / the hospital表“在医院”(工作或探视病人等)
at table “在吃饭”
at a / the table “在桌边”(有可能在聊天或看报)
① Is your friend in school? 你的朋友在上学吗?
① Your friend looked for you in the school just now. 刚才你的朋友在学校里找你。
② Children are often in hospital when they are young. 孩子们小的时候经常生病住院。
③ She is a good doctor in the hospital .她是医院里的一名好大夫。
§58 at the beginning/ at the beginning of/ in the beginning
Ⅰ. at the beginning 和 in the beginning都可表“起初、开始、原先”之意。两者间没有明显的区别，通常可互换。如：
① You’ll find it difficult to learn Russian at the beginning. 起初，你会觉得俄语很难。
② In the beginning I didn’t know this.开始我不知道这事。
Ⅱ. 若表当今世界的开头，则必须用in the beginning eg:
In the beginning there were no men nor animals nor plants. 在盘古开天辟地时，既没有人，也没有 动植物。
Ⅲ. at the beginning of “在……之初”， 其后通常 接表时间，事件或其它意义的名词，其反义词组为at the end of. 如：
① At the beginning of 1975 he came back to China. 1975年初，他回到了中国。。
② This adverb can also be placed at the beginning of the sentence.这副词也可以放在句子的开头。
§59 at the top of/ on the top of
Ⅰ. at the top of “在……顶点上、在……上”。At 表示点，在句子中用作状语，反义短语常为 at the bottom of “在……底部”;
on (the) top of 中的on 表示部位上的接触，意思是“在……之上、在……上面”。反义短语常为at the foot of “在……脚底下”。如：
① He shouted at the top of his voice. 他高声地叫喊。
② He is at the top of the class.他居全班之首位。
③ Will you please put this box on (the) top of the books.请你这个盒子放在那些书的上面好吗?
§60 at/ beside/ by/ near
Ⅰ. at “靠近”往往动作联系，意味着有目的、有意识的靠近，而by, beside, near只意味着就“靠近”而言。如：
① He sat at the desk. He wanted to read, 他坐到桌边，想看书。
Ⅱ. beside “在……旁边”;by = just at the side of “就在旁边”。两者一般可通用。但by 比beside语势较强些，并多用于日常用语中。如：
① There is a hospital beside / by the river. 河边有一家医院。
[注]：指“在某人身边”时，常多用beside. Eg:
① The little boy is standing beside his mother.
Ⅲ. near “在……附近”或“离……不远”，它表示的距离要比by / beside 来得远些。如：
① We live near the sea.我们住在海边。(表离海边有些距离)
② We live by / beside the sea.我们就住在海边。(表海就在身边)。
