First of All, Second of All – What comes after First of All?

Vocabulary / By

We use “First of all” when we want to emphasize the first point and also to let someone know that there are more points to come. “Second of all” is not common in English but some people use it when they also want to emphasize a second point. 

First of All

We use “first of all” when we want to introduce a list of things and we want to emphasize that the first item is very important. 

We often use “first of all” when the other person makes multiple mistakes: 

That person from Sweden supports Communism.

First of all, I am not from Sweden, I am from Switzerland, and I never said that I was a communist.  

Another context when we use “first of all” is when there are a number of steps to complete something and the first step is very important. When we use ”first of all” we also want to draw the person’s attention to the fact that there will be more steps involved.

How do you clean a car?

First of all, you need to get soap and water and wash the outside.

Next, you should vacuum the inside. 

What comes after “First of All”?

You can use, ”second”, “second of all” when there is a clear need to number each point. 

Personally, I would not use any number if you do not need to number each point such as in situations when you need to use “third”, “fourth” etc. 

When you use “first of all”, you are emphasizing that the first point is the most important point and you are often implying that there are plenty of other points but you may not go into those points. 

Second of All, Second or Secondly 

“Second” is the most common and grammatically correct out of “second of all”, “second” and “secondly”. 

If you have a list with numbered points, you should use second, third, fourth….

Example:

First of all…..

Second….

Third…..

Fourth….

Fifth….

In spoken English, it is just as common to use “first of all” followed by “and then”, “next” without needing a full numbered list.

Example:

First of all, there needs to be more commitment from the team,

And then, we need to get the tactics right. 

Conor
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