decrease/go down

GandalfMB

GandalfMB

Senior Member
Yellow Beach, Bulgaria
Bulgarian - Yellow Beach
Hello,
Are the following sentences grammatical: "Crude oil prices are expected to decrease to/go down to $50 a barrel by the end of December"? I think that "go down" might work here, but I am not sure about "decrease". What do you think?
 
    • You are correct: 'go down' is better here.

    We usually use 'decrease' with the quantity of the reduction: decrease by $50; decrease by 30%, not the figure it goes down to.
     
    GandalfMB said:
    Hello,
    Are the following sentences grammatical: "Crude oil prices are expected to decrease to/go down to $50 a barrel by the end of December"? I think that "go down" might work here, but I am not sure about "decrease". What do you think?
    Click to expand...
    I see nothing wrong with "...decrease from...", "...decrease to..." and "...decrease from...to...".

    I would prefer to use decrease in most cases, especially if the context is formal or academic. Your sentence suggests some kind of business report or serious article, so I would use "decrease to".
     
    Last edited:
    I'm inclined to agree with Chez. "Rise" and "fall" are often used when we talk about prices going up or down: "Oil prices are expected to fall to $50 a barrel."
     
    velisarius said:
    I'm inclined to agree with Chez. "Rise" and "fall" are often used when we talk about prices going up or down: "Oil prices are expected to fall to $50 a barrel."
    Click to expand...

    Yes, I am familiar with "fall". I just didn't want to go off -topic. "Fall" puts a different light on it, in my opinion. It would suggest to me that the oil prices were a lot higher than they are now. Of course, that's a personal thing and I think it has nothing to do with the language. That's what "fall" would suggest to me regardless of the language. :)

    "Fall" would be the word of choice in my native language.
     
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