Ⅰ. at last “最后”表经过一定曲折之后某事才发生，强调努力的结果，带有较强的感情色彩。须用一般过去时。如：
Did the man in the shop understand him at last?
Ⅱ. finally 表动作的发生顺序是在“最后”，无感情色彩，只用于过去时。它居句首时较多。
① Finally he went to see the famous man himself.
Ⅲ. in the end 表事物发展的自然顺序的“终结”，有时可与finally相互替换。但用于将来的预测时，则只能用in the end 如：
① I hope that everything will turn out all right in the end.
，我们将会及时处理。
