upon their reaching

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "upon their reaching" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to indicate an action that occurs when a certain point is achieved or a condition is met, often in a formal or literary context. Example: "Upon their reaching the summit, the climbers celebrated their hard-earned victory."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Formal & Business

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

60 human-written examples

For the Herero it is traditional for sons, especially the youngest, to 'break with their father' upon reaching adulthood and seek to establish their own cattlepost (Twyman et al. 2001).

Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice

Children may be apprehended in transit or upon reaching their destinations, only to be separated from their families, detained and returned to their countries of origin.

UNICEF

It is possible that cells are able to act also during their permanence in the bloodstream and completing their action upon reaching the liver.

BMC Gastroenterology

Through the nineteen-sixties, however, attendants faced a range of discriminatory practices, including mandatory retirement upon reaching their early thirties or upon getting married, in addition to the predictable workplace hazards of long hours, drunken passengers, and "unofficial girdle checks" from pilots and crew members.

The New Yorker

This data would travel across the structure in tiny chunks, called "packets," that would self-­assemble into coherent wholes upon reaching their destinations.

The New York Times - Books

"Reports of riders weeping with relief upon reaching their intended destination abound," said an op-ed piece in the student paper, Washington Square News, last Wednesday.

The New York Times

This post-competence SED tactic appeals to persons who view the prospective demented status as intolerably demeaning and wish to hasten their demise upon reaching that state.

Harvard University

Monolithic cuff connections of moderate thickness were capable of developing the flexural capacity of a pultruded FRP box beam (with proper detailing), and the cuffs themselves exhibited somewhat ductile failure modes upon reaching their maximum load.

Composite Structures

As in such codes the charge does not appear explicitly, the injection of new particles into the computational volume and their removal upon reaching the boundaries requires some cautiousness.

Journal of Computational Physics

Amazon's CloudWatch also utilizes target metrics specified by its users to trigger actions upon reaching their thresholds.

Journal of Cloud Computing

Eric said each kid would get the chance to change their name upon reaching adulthood in order to give them a fresh start on the Internet.

TechCrunch

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "upon their reaching" in formal writing where you want to emphasize the immediacy of an action following the completion of reaching a destination or goal. For instance, "Upon their reaching the agreement, both parties signed the contract immediately."

Common error

Avoid using "upon their reaching" in informal contexts. It can sound overly stilted or pretentious in casual conversation or less formal writing. Opt for simpler alternatives like "when they reached" or "after they arrived" in those situations.

Linguistic Context

Prepositional phrase indicating timing: The phrase "upon their reaching" functions as an adverbial phrase, modifying a verb or clause to specify when an action occurs. It establishes a temporal relationship, indicating that something happens at or immediately after the point of reaching a destination or goal. Ludwig AI confirms this is a correct phrase.

Expression frequency: Missing

Frequent in

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Less common in

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Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "upon their reaching" is a grammatically correct prepositional phrase that indicates an action occurring immediately after a point of arrival or attainment. While the phrase isn't especially frequent, Ludwig AI indicates it is generally suitable for formal or professional contexts. Simpler alternatives such as "when they reached" or "on their arrival" may be preferred in more casual settings. Keep in mind, "upon their reaching" is primarily used to express a close temporal sequence between arriving and a subsequent action.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

when they reached

This alternative directly replaces the prepositional phrase with a more straightforward conjunction and verb, simplifying the structure.

on their arrival

This phrase replaces the verb "reaching" with the noun "arrival", maintaining a formal tone but with a slightly different emphasis.

as they arrived

Similar to "when they reached", this option uses "as" to indicate the timing of the event, offering a slightly more casual tone.

upon arrival

This reduces the phrase to a more concise form, suitable for situations where the subject is clear from context.

after reaching

Uses "after" to indicate a sequence of events, rather than the immediate timing implied by "upon".

once they had reached

This alternative emphasizes the completion of the action of reaching before the subsequent event occurs.

the moment they reached

This phrase adds emphasis to the immediacy of the action following their reaching.

at the point of reaching

This is a more verbose way of expressing the same concept, suitable for formal contexts where precision is important.

subsequent to their arrival

This alternative uses more formal vocabulary to describe the sequence of events.

following their attainment of

This is the most formal and complex alternative, suitable for highly technical or legal contexts.

FAQs

How can I use "upon their reaching" in a sentence?

"Upon their reaching" is often used to indicate an action that immediately follows the act of reaching a specific point or destination. For example: "Upon their reaching the summit, the climbers celebrated their success."

What are some alternatives to "upon their reaching"?

Alternatives include phrases like "when they reached", "on their arrival", or "after reaching" depending on the context and desired level of formality.

Is "upon their reaching" formal or informal?

"Upon their reaching" tends to be more formal. In less formal contexts, simpler alternatives like "when they got to" or "as they arrived" may be more appropriate.

What is the difference between "upon their reaching" and "after they reached"?

"Upon their reaching" implies a more immediate sequence of events than "after they reached". "Upon" suggests that the subsequent action happened almost instantaneously, whereas "after" simply indicates a later time.