Increase By vs Increase To:改變條數嘅細細個介詞

有個學生喺商業英文堂報告一張季度圖表。「Sales increased to twenty thousand dollars,」佢自豪噉講,「from twenty thousand to forty thousand.」老師停咗一停,笑笑口問:「So the new total is twenty thousand, or forty thousand?」學生僵住咗。佢本來想講個差距係兩萬 —— 但個 to 字已經悄悄噉同全場講咗完全唔同嘅嘢。一個細細個介詞,條數就散晒。

點解咁緊要

每次有人讀圖表、報告加薪、描述價格變化或者講升緊嘅氣溫,你都會聽到 increase by 同 increase to。同樣嘅字眼亦都出現喺 rose、grew、climbed、dropped、fell、decreased 同 declined。喺會議裏面,一個錯嘅介詞可以將一個細小嘅變化變成一個巨大嘅,或者掉轉。喺寫作題目或者口試裏面,考官會聽住呢個分別,因為佢話畀考官知你識唔識準確噉描述數據。規則好短,但搞錯嘅後果好大。

如果你已經讀過 Percent、Percentage 同 Percentage Points:細細個字,大大個錯,你就見過一個漏咗嘅字點樣將一個數字由細小嘅變動掉轉成一個巨大嘅。By 對 to 嘅分別運作方式一樣,只係用絕對數量而唔係比率。

規律

Increase by 描述變化嘅幅度。佢係舊數值同新數值之間嘅差距。

• Sales were one hundred. They increased by twenty. New total: one hundred and twenty.
• Her salary rose by ten percent. If she was earning fifty thousand, she now earns fifty-five thousand.
• The temperature dropped by five degrees overnight.

Increase to 描述新數值本身。佢話畀你知個數字最後去到邊度,而唔係個跳幅有幾大。

• Sales increased to one hundred and twenty. (淨係靠呢句,我哋唔知舊數字。)
• Her salary rose to fifty-five thousand. (我哋知佢依家賺五萬五。)
• The temperature dropped to five degrees. (依家係五度,無論之前係幾多。)

同樣嘅邏輯適用於 decrease、fall、drop、decline、shrink、rise、climb 同 go up / down。

仲有一個好有用嘅第三句式:from X to Y。佢一口氣講埋兩個端點。

• Sales rose from one hundred to one hundred and twenty.
• The rate dropped from eight percent to five percent.

當你用 from … to … 嘅時候,你唔需要 by —— 個差距已經暗示咗。將 by 同 from / to 溝埋係最常見嘅失誤。

錯誤 / 自然 / 點解

常見情境

讀銷售圖表。「Revenue rose by about fifteen percent this quarter, from four million to roughly four point six million.」留意 rose by 點樣講出差距,而 from … to … 點樣講出端點。將佢哋配埋,你句話就一身兼兩職 —— 同一時間報告埋幅度同終點。

講人工。「I got a raise — my pay went up by eight percent.」呢句話畀你朋友知個加幅。如果你講「my pay went up to eighty thousand」,你就係話畀佢哋知個新數字。兩者可以同時成立,但佢哋答緊唔同嘅問題。

考試分數進度。一位導師講:「Your reading score improved by five points, from twenty-two to twenty-seven.」如果你淨係講「improved to twenty-seven」,你嘅學習夥伴就唔知你進步咗幾多。兩個數字一齊先講到成個故事。

天氣報告。「Overnight, temperatures dropped to about three degrees Celsius, a fall of roughly seven degrees from yesterday's high.」留意呢度嘅名詞形式竅門:a fall of seven degrees 用 of,因為 fall 係名詞,唔係動詞。作為動詞,你會講「fell by seven degrees」。

貨幣同價格變化。「The euro strengthened by two cents against the dollar, climbing to one point ten.」財經報道幾乎永遠將變動嘅幅度同新水平配埋。下次聽市場更新嘅時候,留意呢個 by … to … 句式。

常見錯誤

• 想表達變化幅度嘅時候用 to:「Sales increased to ten percent」,但實際上銷售係升咗之前總數嘅 ten percent。
• 將 by 同 to 疊埋:increased by to ten percent 永遠唔啱。
• 唔記得有 from … to … 呢個結構。你可以用一個利落嘅短語講埋兩個端點。
• 喺變化動詞用 of。「Increased of ten percent」係錯。要用 by。配名詞形式(an increase of ten percent),of 就冇問題。
• 喺差距裏面溝埋 percentage points 同 percent。如果失業率由 four percent 去到 six percent,佢係升咗 by two percentage points,唔係 by two percent。
• 唔覺意講咗 increased on 或者 increased in。In 用嚟講時段(「in the third quarter」),唔係變化嘅幅度。
• 完全去咗個介詞:「Sales increased ten percent」喺新聞報道可以接受,但喺謹慎嘅口語英文裏面,「increased by ten percent」清晰啲。

迷你練習

每格填 by、to 或者 from / to —— 並且檢查條數真係計得通。

1. The number of users grew ______ five hundred ______ eight hundred this month.
2. Our delivery time dropped ______ thirty minutes; it used to be ninety, and now it is sixty.
3. The temperature climbed ______ thirty-five degrees Celsius by noon, the highest reading of the week.
4. Inflation rose ______ half a percentage point, from two percent ______ two point five percent.
5. The rent on this apartment went up ______ a hundred and fifty dollars this year.

總結

Increase by 係變化嘅幅度。Increase to 係個數字最後落腳嘅地方。From X to Y 用一個優雅嘅短語講埋旅程嘅兩端。想講差距就揀 by,想講新數值就揀 to,想一口氣話聽者知晒就用 from … to …。一旦呢個變得自動化,你嘅數據句子就唔會再呃到你嘅聽眾 —— 亦唔會再喺每個叫你描述圖表嘅考試上面扣你分。

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