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Gene93 Posted 10 years ago
Vocabulary

expand/add to a collection

Hello,
I came across this sentence: "You can find me playing tennis or adding to my collection of candles". I found it in an old notebook. Is it true that "expand" doesn't collocate as well? I don't think I'd use "add to" here. What do you think? I'd be more likely to expand my collection and according to ngram that's not impossible.

Thank you.
  

Top answer

I think you could say you were expanding your collection of candles. That sounds very natural to me. I don't think I would say that.

— Englishmaven

  • I think you could say you were expanding your collection of candles.
  • That sounds very natural to me.
  • I don't think I would say that.
  • I would probably use "add to," but not because "expand" is strange.
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6 Answers
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I think you could say you were expanding your collection of candles. That sounds very natural to me. I don't think I would say that. I would probably use "add to," but not because "expand" is strange.
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Thank you. Is there a significant difference in meaning? Expand could suggest adding a lot of candles to my collection, but "add to" can be rather vague as well. The number of candles added to the collection is not made mention of.
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Gene93. Is there a significant difference in meaning?
I see none, really. If I used 'expand', it would be a bit more pompous, so perhaps I already have an impressive collection.
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Can we add several/a few new items to a collection and still use expand? I think one could expand his collection by adding several new cards, candles, etc to it, or add two hundred new items to the already accumulated collection. What do you think, Mr Micawber? Are they different with respect to amount, numbers, etc?

Thank you.
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Gene93What do you think, Mr Micawber? Are they different with respect to amount, numbers, etc?
I think the number added is irrelevant. Of course, if you've only expanded your collection by one item, you probably would not be tempted to mention it at all...unless you are collecting antique automobiles.
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Neither word ("add" or "expand") indicates the extent or manner of increasing the number of candles in the collection.
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