At a preliminary stage vs In a preliminary stage

Both 'at a preliminary stage' and 'in a preliminary stage' are correct and commonly used phrases in English. They are interchangeable and can be used depending on personal preference or context.

Last updated: April 05, 2024 • 766 views

At a preliminary stage

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

This phrase is used to indicate that something is happening or existing at the beginning or initial phase of a process or project.

Examples:

We are still at a preliminary stage of the project, so we need more time to finalize the details.
The research is at a preliminary stage, and more data needs to be collected before any conclusions can be drawn.

Show examples from the web [+]

At a preliminary stage, between 2011 and 2012, lemmas started being digitalised and indexed based exclusively on toponymy.
The process of acquisition, which provides different steps managed by Banca Leonardo, is therefore still at a preliminary stage.
Parliament's services are negotiating the possible purchase of buildings currently rented, but these negotiations are still at a preliminary stage.
I would like to emphasise on the Council's behalf that the new framework for European cooperation in the youth field is still at a preliminary stage.
Member States communicated to the Commission the amounts that have been recorded in their debtors' ledger, and also amounts that still were at a preliminary stage of checking.
The most likely hypothesis is that it was not a matter of the whole painting deteriorating, but rather of a partially negative result at a preliminary stage.
Maritime Industrial Services has stated that the negotiation is at a preliminary stage.
The case remains at a preliminary stage of analysis and therefore the Commission is unable to provide further detailed information with regard to its development or scope at this point in time.
However, this exploratory survey is still very much at a preliminary stage and no proposal has been made or decision taken, especially as regards any possible delisting, nor has any such been submitted to the competent bodies, still less adopted by them.

Alternatives:

in the early stages
at the beginning phase
in the initial phase
at the outset
in the initial stages

In a preliminary stage

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

This phrase is used to indicate that something is happening or existing in the beginning or initial phase of a process or project.

Examples:

The project is still in a preliminary stage, so we are gathering information to move forward.
The company is in a preliminary stage of negotiations with potential partners.

Show examples from the web [+]

In a preliminary stage
These Season Tickets are reserved for Associations, Groups and Clubs, in a preliminary stage.
Our understanding of these patterns is still in a preliminary stage.
unstructured questions (e.g. in a preliminary stage of research)
I mean, of course, the whole idea is in a very preliminary stage.
Practical preparations in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland are in a very preliminary stage. Preparations in Sweden are stalled in practice since the negative outcome of the referendum of 14 September 2003.
Maritime Industrial Services has stated that the negotiation is at a preliminary stage.
In industrial wastewaters, the oxidation of cyanide tends to be a preliminary stage of metal insolubilisation.
Transposition is particularly effective when employed with fractionation - that is, a preliminary stage that divides each plaintext symbol into several ciphertext symbols.
The process of acquisition, which provides different steps managed by Banca Leonardo, is therefore still at a preliminary stage.
As a preliminary stage to the composing of this opera, Hindemith wrote a purely instrumental symphony also called Mathis der Maler, which is one of his most frequently performed works.
At a preliminary stage, between 2011 and 2012, lemmas started being digitalised and indexed based exclusively on toponymy.
Parliament's services are negotiating the possible purchase of buildings currently rented, but these negotiations are still at a preliminary stage.
I would like to emphasise on the Council's behalf that the new framework for European cooperation in the youth field is still at a preliminary stage.
Frequent non-melanocytic lesions are, for example, actinic keratosis or Morbus Bowen, a preliminary stage of the Squamous cell carcinoma.
Download Flash Rally - Portugal preliminary stage to your desktop.
Member States communicated to the Commission the amounts that have been recorded in their debtors' ledger, and also amounts that still were at a preliminary stage of checking.
The case remains at a preliminary stage of analysis and therefore the Commission is unable to provide further detailed information with regard to its development or scope at this point in time.
As a preliminary stage in developing a vehicle capable of bringing back samples from Mars, it was considered necessary to develop this re-entry capability and to demonstrate its maturity as part of the Aurora Programme.
The most likely hypothesis is that it was not a matter of the whole painting deteriorating, but rather of a partially negative result at a preliminary stage.
We're in the preliminary stages of our investigation.

Alternatives:

at the early stages
in the beginning phase
at the initial phase
at the outset
in the initial stages

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Amazing! I like that the editors are REAL people and not A.I., like some use. The editors actually see clients as real people and not just apart of their job, and it shows. 💖"
moggie April 2025
"TextRanch has been a great help to me, especially at work because I often email my boss."
Jhey April 2025
"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023