earliest

earliest — noun

1. the earliest possible time, day, or moment at which an event can happen or a tas

1.名詞B2
釋義

the earliest possible time, day, or moment at which an event can happen or a task can be completed, often used after stating a minimum deadline

例句

Bao told the team that the report would be ready by Friday at the earliest.

at the earliest — sets minimum deadline

The earliest Hiro can arrive at the airport is 6:30 in the morning.

the earliest + can + verb + is + time

同義詞
反義詞
  • latest

    used in the same pattern — 'at the latest' shows the latest acceptable time

文法句型

the earliest + [someone] + can + [verb]

at the earliest

the earliest possible + [noun]

用法筆記

Almost always used with the definite article 'the'. Commonly appears in two patterns: (1) 'at the earliest' after a time expression to indicate a minimum possible time, and (2) 'the earliest + subject + can + verb' as the subject of a clause. The noun cannot be used without a preceding determiner.

常見錯誤

❌Earliest we can meet is Tuesday.
✅The earliest we can meet is Tuesday.
💡'earliest' as a noun always needs the definite article 'the' before it.
❌I will finish it at my earliest.
✅I will finish it at the earliest possible time.
💡'my earliest' is not a standard noun phrase; use 'at the earliest' or 'as soon as possible' instead.