progressing to the finals

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "progressing to the finals" is correct and usable in written English. You can use it when describing a team or individual advancing to the final stage of a competition. For example, "The team is progressing to the finals after a series of impressive victories." Alternative expressions include "advancing to the finals" and "moving on to the finals."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Wiki

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

The County Down man went on to score a record 13 goals in the following European Championship qualifying campaign as Northern Ireland narrowly missed progressing to the finals in Austria and Switzerland after wins over Spain, Sweden and Denmark.

BBC

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

58 human-written examples

They want to fiddle with the system to facilitate New Zealand's chance of progressing to the final.

The Guardian - Sport

The 26-year-old from the Isle of Man qualified third fastest before progressing to the final with a second place finish in her semi-final.

BBC

In the other women's pair heat, Australian duo Kate Hornsey and Sarah Tait eased to victory over world champions New Zealand, with both duos progressing to the final.

BBC

City tried to score an equaliser but to no avail, and the match finished 2 2, with Liverpool progressing to the final courtesy of a 3 2 aggregate victory.

Wikipedia

The winner will progress to the finals at the Emirates Arena on Friday, 28 March.

BBC

Four British crews must compete in Saturday's repechage races to progress to the finals.

BBC

The 32-year-old and her partner Marjolein Buis did progress to the finals of the women's doubles.

BBC

Hope Powell's side are favourites to win their Euro 2013 qualifying group and progress to the finals in Sweden.

BBC

The Google-owned firm will now progress to the finals, which will be held towards the end of 2014.

BBC

As it was, Argentina progressed to the final, where they beat the Netherlands 3-1 and lifted the World Cup for the first time.

Vice

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Employ the gerund form "progressing to the finals" to describe the ongoing state or process of a team's journey during a season.

Common error

Avoid omitting the preposition 'to'. Saying 'progressing the finals' changes the meaning to imply that one is managing or moving the finals themselves, rather than advancing toward them.

Linguistic Context

This phrase acts as a gerund-participle phrase that functions as the object of a verb or preposition. It describes a continuous or completed process of movement toward a specific goal. According to Ludwig, the structure is highly standard in sports and competitive contexts.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

75%

Wiki

15%

Science

5%

Less common in

Academia

2%

Business

2%

Social Media

1%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "progressing to the finals" is a robust and grammatically sound expression used to describe a successful transition to the final stage of a competition. Data from Ludwig and Ludwig AI confirm its prevalence in high-quality journalism, particularly when discussing multi-match tournaments or Olympic events where the plural 'finals' is preferred over the singular 'final'. While the specific gerund form appears less frequently in the provided dataset than the simple verb 'progress', it remains a natural and professional choice for writers aiming to emphasize the process or journey of a competitor. It is essentially interchangeable with "<a href="/s/advancing+to+the+finals" target="_blank" rel="alternative">advancing to the finals" and is consistently recognized as correct in formal English.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

advancing to the finals

Uses a more formal verb for movement toward a later stage.

progressing to the final

Uses the singular form, typically for a single championship match rather than a tournament stage.

moving on to the finals

A slightly more informal, idiomatic way to describe progression.

reaching the finals

Emphasizes the achievement of arriving at the final stage.

qualifying for the finals

Focuses on meeting the necessary criteria or winning trials to participate.

getting through to the finals

Often used when the process was difficult or required navigating hurdles.

making it to the finals

A common conversational expression for successful advancement.

earning a spot in the finals

Accentuates the merit and effort required to advance.

securing a place in the finals

Highlights the certainty and official nature of the advancement.

heading to the finals

Suggests the start of the journey toward the final venue or stage.

FAQs

How to use "progressing to the finals" in a sentence?

You can use it to describe a team's advancement, such as: "The young squad surprised everyone by "progressing to the finals" after a series of upsets."

What can I say instead of "progressing to the finals"?

Depending on the context, you can use alternatives like "<a href="/s/advancing+to+the+finals" target="_blank" rel="alternative">advancing to the finals", "<a href="/s/reaching+the+finals" target="_blank" rel="alternative">reaching the finals" or "<a href="/s/qualifying+for+the+finals" target="_blank" rel="alternative">qualifying for the finals".

Which is correct, "progressing to the finals" or "progressing to the final"?

Both are correct. Use "<a href="/s/progressing+to+the+final" target="_blank" rel="alternative">progressing to the final" for a single championship game, and "progressing to the finals" for a tournament stage involving multiple games or events.

Is "progressing to the finals" formal enough for news reports?

Yes, it is a neutral to professional phrase frequently used by authoritative sources such as the BBC and The New York Times.