Even though they are both adverbs, 'first' and 'firstly' are hardly interchangeable in all situations: we never say “I firstly noticed it yesterday." One might say "firstly, what are you doing in my home?" or "firstly, I hope you have insurance"—but if you want to avoid criticism, 'first' is the best bet for most ...

Can you use firstly in a sentence?

Firstly it was rather uncanny as the engine drifted past the signalbox almost silently. Her diving career began in 1992, firstly with PADI before crossing over to BSAC, where she spent every possible weekend underwater. Firstly , the rather unseemly mess concerning the means of electing a leader.

Is it firstly or first of all?

Both "firstly" and "first of all" are used when there is a list or subsequent events. "First" is used like that as well.