How to Use the French Adverb dAbord (First)

The  adverb dabord,  pronounced da bor, means first, at first, to begin with, in the first place, at the outset, anyway. It is a versatile, frequently used adverb that can fill many a role. Keep in mind that, as an adverb, the job of  dabord  is to modify the action, in other words, the verb. The Many Meanings of dAbord Here are some examples of each meaning: First: Nous irons dabord  Ãƒ   Rome.   Well go to Rome first.At first, initially, to begin with: Jai cru (tout) dabord quil sagissait dune blague.   At first, I thought it was a joke.To begin with:  Dabord, tu nes mà ªme pas prà ªt  !   To begin with, youre not even ready !Anyway:  Et puis dabord,  Il a fallu le terminer. And anyway, he had to finish it. Expressions and Usage Tout dabord First of all, first and foremost, first off, to begin withAu premier abord At first sight, initiallyDà ¨s labord From the outsetVoie dabord Surgical approachManià ¨re daborder Method of approachToi dabord.   You first.Pensez dabord a soi. Think of yourself first. / Look out for, look after number one.La sà ©curità © dabord ! Safety first!Je vais rentrer dabord chez moi. Ill go home first.à ªtre dun abord facile To be approachable, accessible, easy to reachà ªtre dun abord difficile Hard to approach, difficult to come to grips with, hard to reach, difficult to get toLes raisons en sont diverses: dabord... There are various reasons: first...Dabord, je dois trouver mon livre, et puis nous pourrons commencer. First I need to find my book, and then we can start.Il semblait dabord sympathique, puis il a commencà © à   crier. He seemed nice at first, then he started shouting.Tout dabord, le Conseil europà ©en de dà ©cembre se prononcera sur son approbati on. First of all, the December European Council will need to approve it.Il y a dabord la rà ©fà ©rence à   la perspective financià ¨re aprà ¨s 2006. Firstly, there is the reference to the financial prospects after 2006.Je tiens tout dabord à   prà ©senter les autres invità ©s dhonneur. To begin with, I would like to acknowledge my fellow honorees.