in the first place
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？你已经吃过啦！你为什么一开始不告诉我呢？
We would have finished the job long ago if we had listened to him in the first place．要是我们一开始就听他的话，这工作早就完成了。
Carl patched his old ball but it soon leaked again． He should have bought a new one in the first place．卡尔把旧球补好，可很快又漏气了。他早就该买个新球了。
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．你不能去游泳。第一，水太冷；第二，晚饭前没有足够的时间。
In the first place，students should study hard．首先，学生应该努力读书。