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Noraaaaah
The difference between "extend" and " stretch"?
Could you give an example? Thanks!
Mar 13, 2016 11:34 AM
Answers · 2
Sometimes these words mean the same thing, and can be used interchangeably e.g. 'The land extends as far as the river, several kilometres to the north-west' or 'The land stretches as far as the river, several kilometres to the north-west'
'Extended' is more formal, so is more appropriate for a presentation. 'The idea of this proposal could be extended/[stretched] to include the situation in which . . '
'Stretched' tends to be more of a physical description, as when you stretch an elastic object to make it longer. We can talk about 'stretching' the meaning or purpose of something e.g. 'We can stretch the budget [financial allocation] to include this proposal'. In this case, 'extend' would not be appropriate, as it would imply that the budget could be increased.
The expression 'at a stretch' means that something 'can just be managed' : 'We can do it at a stretch, if we have no other problems'.
March 13, 2016
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Noraaaaah
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), Chinese (Other), English, Korean
Learning Language
English
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