'First', 'firstly'; 'second', 'secondly';
'third', 'thirdly'; etc. are all equal pairs given they are
used as enumerative conjuncts. Thus, the difference between the pairs in this
context is, rather than a semantic one, a morphological one.
By conjunct is meant a kind of adverbial that is
usually at the initial position of a sentence and which, rather than modifies
the main verb, connects the sentence
with another one. Examples of this are:
1. IN ADDITION, there should be a sentence
before this sentence.
2. ALTERNATIVELY, instead of 'first' you can use 'firstly'
3. EQUALLY, you can provide your own examples.
On the other hand (note that this is also a
CONJUNCT), enumerative conjuncts are such conjuncts that are used in listings ideas or points in a
chronological manner.
In summary, ‘first’
and firstly are both correct and so are the others like ‘second’, ‘secondly’,
etc. However one should be consistent with whichever one is making use of: ‘Firstly….
Secondly… Thirdly…’ or ‘First… Second… Third…’ and not Firstly… Second… Thirdly…’
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