end: in the end vs. at the end (alla fine)

By | November 3, 2016
end: in the end vs. at the end (alla fine)
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
Alla fine, ricorderemo non le parole dei nostri nemici, ma il silenzio dei nostri amici.
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
In the end he decided to confess.
*At* the end he decided to confess.
Alla fine ha deciso di confessare.
We use in the end to say what we do or what happens after a lot of searching, talking, thinking, waiting, etc.:
✓ She didn’t want to do it at first, but in the end we managed to convince her.
✗ She didn’t want to do it at first, but *at* the end we managed to convince her.
Non voleva farlo inizialmente, ma alla fine siamo riusciti a convincerla.
✓ We looked for the restaurant for an hour. In the end we couldn’t find it and went home.
Abbiamo cercato il ristorante per un’ora. Alla fine non siamo riusciti a trovarlo e siamo andati a casa.
In the end also has the meaning of all things considered (tutto sommato):
In the end we’re quite happy with how things have turned out.
Tutto sommato siamo contenti di come sono andate le cose.
We don’t say *in the end of* … !
We say at the end of a specific event, period or physical place:
✓ I’ll answer any questions at the end. (= at the end of my talk or presentation)
Risponderò ad eventuali domande alla fine.
✓ There’ll be a test at the end of the course.
Ci sarà un test alla fine del corso.
✓ Our house is at the end of the road.
La nostra casa è in fondo alla via.

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Now try the quiz below! There are TEN answers. The passmark is 90% (9 out of 10). Click on the blue arrows to go to the next or previous question. You can check your answers immediately or when you’ve finished the quiz.

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