extend upon

USAGE SUMMARY

"extend upon" is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
It is used to describe when one elaborates on something they have said or written before. Example: In my previous essay, I discussed the effects of climate change on the polar bears. I would like to extend upon that in this essay by exploring how global warming is impacting other Arctic species.

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Academia

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

48 human-written examples

It could extend upon this whole Rorschach thing.

The New York Times - Arts

>> point here within functor to extend upon in this direction.

Harvard University

Conspiracy theories extend upon that and tap into these assumptions and fears we have about the world.

The Guardian

A TWSME extension spring that could extend upon heating and contract upon cooling was obtained by constrained annealing and thermomechanical training.

Materials Science and Engineering: A

Utilising the behavioural framework, we extend upon the standard hierarchical control refinement for ordinary systems and allow for algebraic couplings inherent to descriptor systems.

IFAC-PapersOnLine

In this work, we extend upon the concept of the Multi-output Gaussian Process (MGP) to effectively deal with all of these difficulties simultaneously.

Journal of Computational Physics

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

12 human-written examples

We extended upon the Kill A Watt by developing a computer interface to provide real time graphs and remote switching.

Cornell University

A section of wing from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 shows evidence it was extended upon landing, suggesting a rogue pilot brought it down, an air crash expert says.

The Guardian

The work presented here extends upon the work of previous researchers to include non-linearly coupled multi-modal response.

Journal of Sound and Vibration

Extending upon this finding, we found reduced IRF8 expression in circulating pre-DCs also correlates with reduced overall and recurrence-free survival in pancreatic cancer patients.

Nature

He said he was "optimistic towards the visit and noted that the three-day stay of the inspectors could be extended upon their request," the news agency said.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "extend upon" when you want to indicate that you are adding new information or perspectives to an existing topic or idea. It implies a continuation and expansion of previous work or thoughts.

Common error

Avoid using "extend upon" when you are merely restating or summarizing previous information. The phrase should be reserved for instances where you are genuinely adding new insights, analysis, or developments.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "extend upon" functions as a verb phrase + preposition indicating an action of further developing, elaborating, or building upon an existing idea, concept, or piece of work. It's frequently used to show that the speaker or writer is adding new information or perspectives to a previously mentioned topic, as demonstrated by the many examples in Ludwig.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

Science

58%

News & Media

22%

Academia

15%

Less common in

Wiki

2%

Formal & Business

1%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "extend upon" is a common and grammatically correct expression used to indicate the act of expanding or elaborating on a previously mentioned topic or idea. As Ludwig AI indicates, it signals the intent to provide more detail, offer new insights, or further develop a subject. While its register is generally neutral, it is more frequently found in scientific, academic, and news contexts. Alternative phrases include "elaborate on", "expand on", and "build upon". When using "extend upon", ensure you are adding genuinely new information, not just restating what has already been said. The high frequency of this phrase across various authoritative sources reinforces its reliability and versatility in both formal and informal writing.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

elaborate on

Focuses more on providing additional details and clarification.

expand on

Emphasizes broadening the scope or range of a topic.

build upon

Suggests using an existing foundation to create something more complex.

amplify

Implies increasing the intensity or impact of something.

develop further

Highlights the process of growth and refinement.

augment

Focuses on adding something to enhance or improve.

supplement

Indicates providing something extra to complete or enhance.

continue from

Implies a sequential progression from a previous point.

take further

Suggests advancing or progressing an idea or action.

go into more detail

Focuses on providing a more thorough explanation.

FAQs

How can I use "extend upon" in a sentence?

Use "extend upon" when you want to elaborate or add more information to a previously mentioned topic. For example, "I will "extend upon" the research in the next chapter".

What is an alternative to "extend upon"?

Alternatives to "extend upon" include "elaborate on", "expand on", or "build upon". The best choice depends on the specific context.

When is it appropriate to use "extend upon" instead of "continue"?

"Extend upon" implies adding to something, while "continue" simply means to keep going. Use "extend upon" when you're not just continuing but also enhancing or developing the original idea. Use "continue" if you want to keep the exact same idea going without enhancements.

How does "extend upon" differ from "elaborate"?

While both phrases mean to give more detail, "extend upon" suggests a broader scope of addition, perhaps including new related ideas, while "elaborate" focuses on providing more detail to the existing idea. Think of "extend upon" as adding new branches to a tree and "elaborate" as decorating the existing branches.