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Justyna Jupowicz-Kozak
CEO of Professional Science Editing for Scientists @ prosciediting.com
update earlier in
Grammar usage guide and real-world examplesUSAGE SUMMARY
The phrase "update earlier in" is not correct and cannot be used in written English.
If you want to refer to something that was previously mentioned, you could use a phrase like "as mentioned earlier" or "as previously mentioned". For example, "The project has been delayed; as mentioned earlier, the timeline for completion has been pushed back."
⚠ May contain grammatical issues
News & Media
Science
Formal & Business
Alternative expressions(5)
Table of contents
Usage summary
Human-verified examples
Expert writing tips
Linguistic context
Ludwig's wrap-up
Alternative expressions
FAQs
Human-verified examples from authoritative sources
Exact Expressions
4 human-written examples
InterContinental Hotels fell 50p to £19.25 as Credit Suisse moved from neutral to underperform after a trading update earlier in the week disappointed investors.
News & Media
Housebuilders were in demand after a positive trading update earlier in the week from Persimmon, up 80p at £13.54 as HSBC raised its profit estimates for 2013 to 2016 by 5%-17% and its target price from £13.95 to £15.
News & Media
The update earlier in the month was largely aimed at improving Brewster's search, making it, in Greenwood's words, "smarter, faster and more beautiful".
News & Media
Giving an update earlier in the session, Milner told the committee that Facebook now employs over 7,500 people to review content — having announced a 3,000 bump in headcount earlier this year — and said that overall it has "around 10,000 people working in safety and security" — a figure he said it will be doubling by the end of 2018.
News & Media
Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources
Similar Expressions
56 human-written examples
The group behind the Superdry brand jumped 34p to 580p as analysts made positive noises ahead of an expected update early in February.
News & Media
By nature, Manuel is an optimist, which is why in daily updates earlier in the season he remained hopeful that Jose Reyes and Delgado, who have not played since May, would recuperate in time for a late-season surge.
News & Media
The company says it's ready to offer the new update earlier than previously planned in order to ride on the current 3D boom.
News & Media
Update: Early reports are coming in that available DRM stripping software is working on Unbox content.
News & Media
However, in a recent trial of cognitive therapy for social phobia (Clark et al., 2006), an imagery with rescripting technique was used to contextualize and update early memories of unpleasant social experiences in a subset of patients whose response to the standard, present-focused techniques was relatively modest.
Science
The DxO One add-on camera accessory for iPhone really does get better with age; first, it gained remote Wi-Fi control, and now it's announcing support for Facebook Live streaming directly within its companion iOS app through an update arriving early in 2017.
News & Media
"I would like to say very clearly that the EU made a mistake in not updating earlier the rules for confidentiality for electronic communications at the same time as general data protection," he told us during an interview this week, about GDPR enforcement, datas ethics and the future of EU privacy regulation.
News & Media
Expert writing Tips
Best practice
When referring to a prior point, use more common and grammatically sound phrases such as "as mentioned earlier" or "previously updated".
Common error
Avoid combining "update" directly with "earlier in" as it often leads to awkward phrasing. Instead, restructure your sentence for clarity, such as "updated earlier this year".
Source & Trust
84%
Authority and reliability
2.8/5
Expert rating
Real-world application tested
Linguistic Context
The phrase "update earlier in" functions as a prepositional phrase, attempting to specify a point in time relative to a prior action. However, the construction is not grammatically sound. Ludwig AI indicates that the phrase is incorrect.
Frequent in
News & Media
33%
Science
33%
Formal & Business
33%
Less common in
Wiki
0%
Encyclopedias
0%
Social Media
0%
Ludwig's WRAP-UP
In summary, the phrase "update earlier in" is not considered grammatically correct in standard English. Ludwig AI confirms this assessment, suggesting it should be avoided in formal writing. While it appears in some contexts, mainly in news and scientific articles, it's best to opt for clearer and more conventional phrases such as "as mentioned earlier" or "previously updated" to maintain grammatical accuracy and clarity. Using such alternatives enhances the professional tone and readability of your writing.
More alternative expressions(6)
Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:
revise previously in
Changes "update" to "revise" and "earlier" to "previously", maintaining the temporal reference.
amend sooner in
Replaces "update" with "amend" and "earlier" with "sooner", implying a slight change in timing.
modify prior to in
Uses "modify" instead of "update" and "prior to" to emphasize the sequence.
enhance previous in
Uses "enhance" instead of "update" and "previous" instead of "earlier", emphasizing an increase in quality.
correct beforehand in
Substitutes "update" with "correct" and "earlier" with "beforehand", focusing on rectification.
improve former in
Substitutes "update" with "improve" and "earlier" with "former", indicating betterment.
refine initial in
Substitutes "update" with "refine" and "earlier" with "initial", indicating a process of improvement.
adjust antecedent to in
Replaces "update" with "adjust" and "earlier" with "antecedent to", making it more formal.
polish preliminary in
Replaces "update" with "polish" and "earlier" with "preliminary", suggesting refinement.
rectify precedent in
Uses "rectify" instead of "update" and "precedent" in place of "earlier", focusing on correctness.
FAQs
What can I say instead of "update earlier in"?
You can use alternatives like "as mentioned earlier", "previously updated", or "updated previously" depending on the context.
Is the phrase "update earlier in" grammatically correct?
No, the phrase "update earlier in" is not considered grammatically correct in standard English. It's better to use phrases like "updated previously" or "as stated before".
How can I correctly use "update" to refer to something that happened before?
You can rephrase your sentence to use constructions such as "the previously updated version" or "as mentioned earlier, we updated the system".
What is a more formal way to say "update earlier in"?
For a more formal tone, consider using phrases like "previously revised", "formerly amended", or "as previously indicated".
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Table of contents
Usage summary
Human-verified examples
Expert writing tips
Linguistic context
Ludwig's wrap-up
Alternative expressions
FAQs
Source & Trust
84%
Authority and reliability
2.8/5
Expert rating
Real-world application tested