in/at the end

[dean1]

hi. Can anyone please explain the difference between ' at the end ' and ' in the end '? How to differentiate them?

thanks.

[Tdol]

at the end = when something finishes
in the end = finally, after a long time

[japanjapan]

As far as I know, "at the end, " and " in the end, " can be replaced with each other. but "at the end" can be followed by "of...", e.g. At the end of the party, he drank.
you can not say" In the end of the party, ...", you have to use "in the end" alone.
that's what i know about the question, I hope this is helpful.
but i think confirmation from the teachers here is indispensable.

[Tdol]

They can't be replaced:

I waited an hour and in the end left without them. = finally

You couldn't change this to 'at'.

[dean1]

Thanks a lot, tdol and JapanJapan. erm..... so according to what tdol wrote, there is no chance of replacing in the end with at, under any circumstances? Here I have another question, how to differentiate between ' finally, at last, eventually' ?

good day

[Tdol]

'Finally', 'at last', and 'eventually' mean much the same. In formal writing, you'd be less likely to see 'at last'. 'At last' and 'finally' can stand alone. If someone arrived very late and you greeted them with 'eventually', it wouldn't work as an exclamation. You might be able to find a context where either could be used, but, given that they have different meanings, it wouldn't be that common, IMO.

[dean1]

so should I put 'at last' at the end of a sentence? Last time my friend told me that it is wrong to put it at the end of a sentence, but I couldnt figure out why. And she also said that native speakers would prefer finally instead of at last. Can u pls explain this to me?

thanks

[Tdol]

It can go at the end:

You've arrived at last.

It depends on the context for the preference- informally, I would be happy with 'at last'.

[dean1]

ohh I see. So u mean it varies on different people? Some people prefer at last at the end of the sentence, but some people'd rather use finally. It is not gramatically wrong---- Hope i got u right.

thanks.

[Tdol]

Depending on context, it could go in different positions. It has more emphasis at the beginning than in the middle. At then end, it would depend on tone of voice.