The language of change and comparison
Verbs, nouns and prepositions for trends — used accurately.
15 minutes · A free lesson from Writing
Describing change
Prepositions carry the numbers
- rose to 70% (the new level) · rose by 20 percentage points (the size of the change)
- from 28% to 83% · stood at 62% · peaked at 97%
Percentage or percentage points?
If a figure goes from 40% to 50%, it rose by 10 percentage points — but by 25 per cent of its original value. Use "percentage points" when comparing two percentages.
Comparing
- the highest / the lowest proportion · twice as high as · almost three times · slightly more than · considerably lower than
- the number of people (countable) · the amount of money (uncountable) · the proportion / percentage of households
Quick check: Access rose from 28% to 83%. Which sentence is accurate?
- Access rose by 83%.
- Access rose to 83%, almost trebling.
- Access rose at 55 percentage points.
Show the answer
B: Access rose to 83%, almost trebling. — "Rose to" gives the new level. 28 × 3 = 84, so "almost trebling" is accurate. The rise was 55 percentage points — "by", not "at".
Lesson quiz
Check what you have learned. Choose an answer to see whether it is right, and why.
Quick check: A figure goes from 40% to 50%. Which is accurate?
- It rose by 10 percentage points.
- It rose by 10 per cent.
- It rose at 10 percentage points.
Show the answer
A: It rose by 10 percentage points. — The rise is 10 percentage points, which is 25 per cent of the original value.
Quick check: Which word means “to reach the highest point”?
- fluctuate
- level off
- peak
Show the answer
C: peak — Visitor numbers peaked at 2 million in 2015.
Quick check: Which is correct?
- the amount of people
- the number of people
- the number of money
Show the answer
B: the number of people — number goes with countable nouns, amount with uncountable ones: the amount of money.
Quick check: Which form do you use for a projection about 2030?
- rose
- has risen
- is expected to rise
Show the answer
C: is expected to rise — Past years take the past simple, and projections take future forms.