At first / first

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1
  1. “I first met her at a restaurant.”
  2. “I met her at first at a restaurant.”
    Are these two sentences fine?
    If not, please point me the mistake.
    Thanks a lot for your guidance.
    Mrs. Alli Fathima
2

Hi,

Both sentences make sense but they have different meanings. ‘I met her first’ suggests this was the first meeting of others which followed later. ‘I met her at first at a restaurant’ suggests that was the first place where I met her and possibly I met her in other places.

Alan

3

If I say like below: “At first I met her at a restaurant.”,
in what way it differs from the first two sentences?
I want a little more explanation.
Thanks a lot.
Mrs. Alli.

4

It implies that you met her somewhere else on a later occasion.