PE-97: Describing Charts, Trends and Numbers
The language of data — rise, fall, peak, remain stable — plus the prepositions that decide whether something increased BY or TO a number.
PE-97: Describing Charts, Trends and Numbers
Every serious English exam contains a chart, and every serious subject — economics, geography, biology — needs you to describe numbers. The good news is that this is one of the most learnable topics in the language: a fixed set of verbs, a fixed set of adverbs, and three prepositions that do all the work.
In this lesson you will learn
- The verbs of change: rise, fall, peak, remain stable
- The adverbs of degree: sharply, slightly, gradually
- The three prepositions: from … to, by, of
- How to structure a description: overview first, detail second
1. The verbs
| Direction | Verbs | Noun form |
|---|---|---|
| up | increase, rise, grow, go up, climb | an increase, a rise, growth |
| down | decrease, fall, drop, decline, go down | a decrease, a fall, a drop, a decline |
| no change | remain stable, stay the same, level off | — |
| up and down | fluctuate | a fluctuation |
| highest point | peak, reach a peak | a peak |
| lowest point | hit a low, bottom out | a low |
The number of tourists rose steadily until 2019, when it peaked at four million. It then fell sharply.
Turistlar soni 2019-yilgacha barqaror oshdi va toʻrt million bilan eng yuqori choʻqqiga chiqdi. Keyin keskin tushdi.
Note peak at a number — that preposition is fixed.
2. The adverbs — how much and how fast
A lot
- sharply · dramatically
- significantly · considerably
- rapidly · steeply
A little / slowly
- slightly · marginally
- gradually · steadily
- slowly
You can also use the adjective + noun version, which is very common in writing:
Prices rose sharply. = There was a sharp rise in prices.
Sales fell slightly. = There was a slight fall in sales.
Narxlar keskin oshdi. = Narxlarda keskin oʻsish boʻldi.
Alternating between the two versions makes your writing less repetitive.
3. The three prepositions
Production increased from 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes — an increase of 50%. It grew by 5,000 tonnes.
Ishlab chiqarish 10 000 dan 15 000 tonnaga oshdi — 50 foizga oʻsish. U 5 000 tonnaga koʻpaydi.
Sales increased of 20%. · It rose from 20 until 50.
Sales increased by 20%. · It rose from 20 to 50.
4. Time and approximation
- in 2020 · between 2010 and 2020 · from 2010 to 2020 · over the last decade
- about, around, roughly, approximately · just over / just under · nearly, almost
- a quarter, a third, half, two thirds · twice as many as
Between 2015 and 2020, the figure remained at around 30% — just under a third of the total.
2015 va 2020 yillar orasida koʻrsatkich 30 foiz atrofida qoldi — bu umumiy miqdorning uchdan biridan bir oz kamrogʻi.
5. How to structure it
- Say what the chart shows (one sentence, your own words): The graph shows the number of visitors to three museums between 2010 and 2020.
- Give the overview — the biggest pattern, no numbers yet: Overall, visitor numbers increased at all three museums.
- Give the details with numbers, comparing where useful.
- Do not give your opinion — a chart description reports, it does not argue.
6. Common mistakes
The number of students was increased.
The number of students increased. (not passive)
Prices raised sharply.
Prices rose sharply. (rise = go up by itself; raise = lift something)
There was a sharply increase.
There was a sharp increase. (adjective before a noun)
It increased with 20%.
It increased by 20%.
The amount of tourists grew.
The number of tourists grew. (countable → number)
Practice
1 Fill in: Sales rose ? 100 ? 150, an increase ? 50%.
Show answer
from 100 to 150, an increase of 50%. And you could also say rose by 50.
2 Rewrite with a noun: Prices fell slightly in June.
Show answer
There was a slight fall in prices in June.
Adverb → adjective, verb → noun, and in before the thing that changed.
3 rise or raise: The government ___ taxes, so prices ___ .
Show answer
raised taxes … prices rose. Raise needs an object; rise happens by itself.
4 Write the overview: All three cities grew, but Tashkent grew fastest.
Show answer
Model: Overall, the population increased in all three cities, with the sharpest growth in Tashkent.
5 number or amount: the ___ of students · the ___ of water
Show answer
the number of students (countable) · the amount of water (uncountable) — PE-2 again.
Key words — Kalit soʻzlar
- To increase / riseoshmoq
- To decrease / fallkamaymoq
- To peakeng yuqori choʻqqiga chiqmoq
- To remain stablebarqaror qolmoq
- To fluctuateoʻzgarib turmoq
- Sharplykeskin
- Graduallyasta-sekin
- Slightlybir oz
- Overviewumumiy manzara
- Figurekoʻrsatkich, raqam
🎯 Remember this
- Verbs: rise / fall / peak / remain stable / fluctuate.
- Two versions: rose sharply = a sharp rise. Alternate them.
- from … to = end points · by = size of change · of = after a noun.
- rise happens by itself; raise needs an object.
- Structure: what it shows → overview → details. No opinions.