LANGUAGE BANK

Describing trends
A number of nouns and verbs are used to describe a change in something over time. TO
describe the size or speed of the change, you can use an adjective (with the noun) or an
adverb (with a verb).

Increase  growth/grow  rise  decrease  decline  drop  fall

 (a/an) increase/growth/rise/decrease/decline/drop/fall in something
 (a) dramatic/rapid/significant/sharp/appreciable/exponential/considerable/
substantial increase/growth/rise/decrease/decline/drop/fall
 (a) steady increase/growth/rise/decrease/decline
 a gradual/slight/ marginal/ minimal increase/rise/decrease/decline
 (a) 50% increase/growth/rise/decrease/decline/drop/fall
 (a) tenfold increase/decrease
 To increase/grow/rise/decrease/decline/drop/fall steadily
 To increase/grow/rise/decrease/decline/fall
significantly/substantially/dramatically/ rapidly/ sharply/ exponentially/
considerably/ considerably
 To increase/decrease markedly
- The steady increase in seabird numbers has been attributed to…
- The last 30 years has seen/ witnessed/ experienced a tenfold increase in the number
of people with access to high caloric diets.
- Life expectancy increased dramatically as a result of improvements in health and
living condition.  be on the increase/ decrease
 Increase significantly = soar/ skyrocket
 Decrease significantly = plunge/ plummet
 Peak (v)  reach a peak (reach the highest point) ≠ hit a bottom (reach
the lowest point)
 Remain the same/ stable/ constant/ unchanged/ static = plateau/ stabilize
(v)
 Fluctuate (v) = vary  experience a wild/ considerable/ marked
fluctuation
 You can also use the preposition of following the noun, or the preposition by
following the verb to describe the size of the change:
 (a/an) increase/growth/rise/decrease/decline/drop/fall of 10%/ 6 dB/ 1 million
 to increase/grow/rise/decrease/decline/drop/fall by 50%/ >5 mm/ 500 g
- A 3% drop in air pressure is associated with a fall of just under 1% in absolute
temperature.
- Oil demand declined by 0.6 percent, driven by the recession and the oil price spike.
MORE SENTENCE PATTERNS
1/ Sales figures for this year increased sharply. (= There was a sharp increase in sales
figures for this year.) (= This year experienced/ witnessed/ saw a sharp increase in
sales figures.)
2/ Sales figures for this year were just above/ well under/ nearly twice as high as
(higher than) those for last year. (= There was a twofold increase in this year’s sales
figures compared to/ with – in comparison with last year’s.)
3/ This year, Bada became the market leader (took the dominant role/ took the lead) in
the Southeast Asia, far outstripping its rivals (leaving its rivals far behind).
4/ Sales figures for 2015, 2016, and 2017 were $120,000, $125,000 and $135,000
respectively.
5/ (Ellipsis) While Vietnam had the largest number of IELTS test takers, Cambodia
accounted for the smallest proportion.
= Vietnam had the largest number of IELTS test takers and Cambodia the smallest.