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REFERENCE

at this stage

prep. phr..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

prep. phr.. at the current point in a process or situation. You use this to talk about what is happening now compared to what might happen later.

prep. phr.. a temporal prepositional phrase indicating the current phase of a developing process or sequence of events; often used to qualify a statement as being subject to future change.


SIMPLE

At this stage, we don't need any more help.

CONTEXTUAL

It is difficult to predict the final cost of the project at this stage because the plans are still changing.

COMPLEX

While the initial results are promising, it would be premature at this stage to conclude that the treatment is a complete success.

Usage

often appears at the beginning or end of a sentence to provide temporal context for a decision or observation.

Teaching tip

contrast with 'at the moment' (general time) and 'at this point' (synonymous but often more specific to a sequence); 'stage' emphasizes that this is one part of a longer journey or project.

Pitfall

in this stageat this stagethe preposition 'at' is the standard choice when referring to a specific point in a timeline or process.

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