In part one of this blogpost series we looked at Business English phrases about positive data trends in charts and graphs. Today, in part two, we will look at three common adjective + noun phrases that express negative trends.
These phrases are multi-words that you can use to present data in meetings at work, and they will help you better understand financial reports in English.
Sharp Decrease
The first common phrase that is used to describe negative trends on charts and graphs is ‘sharp decrease’. This phrase is often used in Business English to talk about a steep decline in a graph over a short period of time.
For example, you might hear or see this phrase in a sentence like, “The company had a sharp decrease in net profit last month,” or, “The advertising campaign was not successful so there was a sharp decrease in total sales this quarter.”
Steady Decrease
The second multi-word that’s often used to express negative trends in a data set is ‘steady decrease’. This English phrase refers to a consistent drop in a graph’s line.
People use this term in financial reports, such as “There was a steady decrease in sales this quarter due to the economic recession,” or, “Many companies are seeing a steady decrease in revenues because of high unemployment.”
Significant Decrease
The final phrase referring to negative trends in charts and graphs is ‘significant decrease’. This Business English phrase refers to a large decrease in amount or quantity over any period of time.
Example sentences in financial reports could be, “Many stores saw a significant decrease in sales immediately after the holiday season ended,” or, “A significant decrease in net profit last quarter caused problems for the retail sector.”
In this blog post you learned how to use three common Business English phrases that are often used to express a negative trend in graphs or charts in financial reports. But please remember, there is other common multi-word vocabulary to describe negative data trends.
So the next time you are listening to a financial report in English, try to recognize terms that use the word ‘decrease’. Also, the next time you have to present data in a chart or graph at work, try to use the ones you learned today.
Key multi-words vocabulary in this article:
- sharp decrease (adjective + noun)
- steep decline (adjective + noun)
- steady decrease (adjective + noun)
- data set (noun + noun)
- significant decrease (adjective + noun)
To learn more about how multi-words help Thai professionals like you to speak English better (พูดภาษาอังกฤษ) or how ECSC’s corporate English courses help Human Resources departments improve their employees’ Business English skills, contact us today.
