How are 〜上, 〜上は and 〜上に different?


I'm wondering about these, mainly because I don't see how they change the
meaning.

> これほど確かな証拠がある **上は** 、Ａが犯人だと認めないわけにはいかない。  
>  Since there's such solid evidence, there's no denying that A's the culprit.
> [?]

Could I replace 上は with 上 or 上に, if so how would the meaning change?

How about in these cases?

> 彼の姉は成績優秀な **上** 、スポーツもよくできる。  
>  彼の姉は美人の **上に** 性格も良い。

In reading them I think "in addition to" but if I were to use them I might
stutter because I don't get how they differ.

Thank you!




**1\. Simple Adverbial**

`上(に)` means 'on top of'.

> これほど確かな証拠がある上(に)、Ａが犯人だと認めないわけにはいかない。  
>  (1) 'On top of having such solid evidence, there is no denying that A is
> the culprit.'
>
> 彼の姉は成績優秀な上(に)、スポーツもよくできる。  
>  'On top of having high academic achievements, his sister plays sports
> well.'
>
> 彼の姉は美人の上(に)性格も良い。  
>  'On top of being beautiful, his sister also has good personality.'

**2\. Topicalization**

When you topicalize the `上(に)` phrase using `は`, it will be interpreted as
contrastive topic. That is, while:

> これほど確かな証拠がある上は、Ａが犯人だと認めないわけにはいかない

**denotes** the same (1) as with the non-topicalized sentence, it further
**implies** the converse:

> (2) 'If it were not on top of having such solid evidence, it would not have
> been the case that there is no denying that A is the culprit.'

So, by combining the denotation (1) and the implicature (2), the actual
(informal) meaning of the topicalized sentence becomes:

> (1) and (2), that is:  
>  'Since I have such solid evidence, there is no denying that A is the
> culprit.'

By the way, the combination `上は` is a bit archaic or formal. You can use
`以上(は)` to avoid that and mean the same thing.




**1\. Simple Adverbial**

`上(に)` means 'on top of'.

> これほど確かな証拠がある上(に)、Ａが犯人だと認めないわけにはいかない。  
>  (1) 'On top of having such solid evidence, there is no denying that A is
> the culprit.'
>
> 彼の姉は成績優秀な上(に)、スポーツもよくできる。  
>  'On top of having high academic achievements, his sister plays sports
> well.'
>
> 彼の姉は美人の上(に)性格も良い。  
>  'On top of being beautiful, his sister also has good personality.'

**2\. Topicalization**

When you topicalize the `上(に)` phrase using `は`, it will be interpreted as
contrastive topic. That is, while:

> これほど確かな証拠がある上は、Ａが犯人だと認めないわけにはいかない

**denotes** the same (1) as with the non-topicalized sentence, it further
**implies** the converse:

> (2) 'If it were not on top of having such solid evidence, it would not have
> been the case that there is no denying that A is the culprit.'

So, by combining the denotation (1) and the implicature (2), the actual
(informal) meaning of the topicalized sentence becomes:

> (1) and (2), that is:  
>  'Since I have such solid evidence, there is no denying that A is the
> culprit.'

By the way, the combination `上は` is a bit archaic or formal. You can use
`以上(は)` to avoid that and mean the same thing.

