decrease vs increase

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piggy94

Banned
Korean&English
I am a little bit confused if there is any differnce becuase of ' by' or 'to'. For example,

Sales increased/ climbed/ raised by 20 percent
Sales increased / climbed/ raised to 20 percent
Sales increaed/ clmbed/ raised 20 percent.

Sales fell/ declined / plunged/ dropped to 20 percent
Sales fell / declined/plunged/ dropped by 20 percent.
Sales fell/ declined/ plunged/ dropped 20 percent.
 
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    • Hi piggy94! There is a difference. If sales started out at 30% and ended up at 50%, you would say sales increased to 50% and sales increased by 20%. If you just said sales increased 20%, that would mean the same thing as sales increased by 20%.
     
    piggy94 said:
    I am a little bit confused if there is any difference [not "differnce"] because [not "becuase"] of 'by' or 'to'. For example,

    (1) Sales increased / climbed / raised by 20 percent
    (2) Sales increased / climbed / raised to 20 percent
    (3) Sales increased / climbed / raised 20 percent.

    (4) Sales fell / declined / plunged / dropped to 20 percent
    (5) Sales fell / declined / plunged / dropped by 20 percent.
    (6) Sales fell / declined / plunged / dropped 20 percent.
    Click to expand...

    I added the numbers for easy reference.

    First, a comment on the verbs you chose: Raised is incorrect. It's the past tense of "raise," a transitive verb. You need rose, the past tense of the intransitive verb "rise".

    As to your question: You need "by"; it is also fine to have no preposition at all. Sentences (1), (3), (5), and (6) are correct, except for "raised". But (2) and (4) are incorrect, because you can't have a percentage without saying--or implying--20 percent of what, and "to" has to be followed by a quantity, a sales figure.

    Let's say that last month's sales of something, just to pick a round figure, were $1000. If sales rose (by) 20 percent this month, they rose to $1200; if they dropped (by) 20 percent, they dropped to $800.

    But if they rose to 20 percent, that wouldn't make sense, because "20 percent" is not a quantity to which they could rise.


     
    I think the problem with “increased to…” is really more of a math issue than a language issue. So I think I might avoid some confusion by changing my original example from percentage to dollars:

    If the price of tea started out at $30 and ended up at $50, you would say the price increased to $50 and the price increased by $20.


    I think the important thing to know is that “increased to 20%” does not mean the same thing as “increased by 20%”. In other words, if you say “sales increased to 20%” when they started at 30% and went to 50%, that’s definitely wrong.
     
    L. T. Gray said:
    Hi piggy94! If sales started out at 30% and ended up at 50%, you would say ... sales increased by 20%. If you just said sales increased 20%, that would mean the same thing as sales increased by 20%.
    Click to expand...
    The usual bone of contention here. I have come to the decision that the phrase is hopelessly ambiguous. For me, if sales were 30% and they rose by 20% then they would become 36% (a rise of 20% of 30%). However I fully realise that others are equally sure of L.T.Gray's version.
     
    Uncle Bob said:
    The usual bone of contention here. I have come to the decision that the phrase is hopelessly ambiguous. For me, if sales were 30% and they rose by 20% then they would become 36% (a rise of 20% of 30%). However I fully realise that others are equally sure of L.T.Gray's version.
    Click to expand...

    The sales started out at 30% (of what?).
    I think you're talking about "absolute percentages", percentages that simply refer to a rate. It doesn't work for sales amounts, but it does work, for example, for a discount...

    The discount on new releases increased to 30% Off!

    or...

    Global headline inflation rose to 2%.

    Unemployment rose to 5%.

    Not sales....but maybe "sales rate" or those sorts of "absolute" ratios.

    Hope it helps and sounds fine to native speakers out there.
     
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