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Vocabulary: Describing Changes

I can summarize the document in 3 sentences: The document describes how to discuss changes in a company or organization using different verbs and adverbs to describe the direction and degree of change. It also provides examples of using adjectives and nouns to describe changes, such as "a dramatic decrease" or "a steady increase". The document aims to teach the learner how to concisely describe changes that have occurred using appropriate vocabulary.

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nguyenle thien
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184 views4 pages

Vocabulary: Describing Changes

I can summarize the document in 3 sentences: The document describes how to discuss changes in a company or organization using different verbs and adverbs to describe the direction and degree of change. It also provides examples of using adjectives and nouns to describe changes, such as "a dramatic decrease" or "a steady increase". The document aims to teach the learner how to concisely describe changes that have occurred using appropriate vocabulary.

Uploaded by

nguyenle thien
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Describing changes I can describe changes in my company or organization.

1 VOCABULARY
A. Complete the table with the verbs from the box.
go up go down increase drop stay the same
remain steady rise fall decrease climb

go up go down stay the same

B. Match the words/ phrases in the box with the meanings. Then cover the words/ phrases
and test your partner.
market share raw materials debt distributor
productivity turnover contract agreement

Which one means:


1. the percentage that a company has of the total sales for a particular product or
service?
2. a decision or arrangement, often formal and written, between two or more groups
or people?
3. a person or company that supplies stores or businesses with goods?
4. an amount of money that you owe to a person, bank, company, etc.?
5. the rate at which people leave a company and are replaced by others?
6. a legal agreement between people, companies, etc.?
7. the rate at which goods are produced or work is completed?
8. the basic material from which a product is made?

2 PRESENTATION
A. Complete the table below.

Adjective (describes a noun) Adverb (describes a verb)


slight slightly
sharp
dramatic
steady

B. Which adjective/ adverb describes


1. a sudden, very large change? __________/__________
2. a sudden, large change? __________/__________
3. a very small change? __________/__________
4. a gradual change (not sudden)? __________/__________

iTalk 2021 > Level 3 > 3D19.3 > 3C7 online | Student’s Copy 1
C. Use each adverb and adjective in A1 once to complete the description below.

Sales in the U.S. rose 1 __________ between 2007 and 2009. There was a 2

__________ decrease in 2010 when our main distributor went out of business. Sales
rose 3 __________ in 2011, and the 4__________ improvement in 2012 brought us back
to the 2007 level. There was a 5 __________ rise in exports in 2008. They went up 6
__________ in 2009 when we began to break into Chinese market. They rose 7
__________ in 2010 when we signed the new distributor agreements and there was a 8
__________ increase in 2011 and 2012.

D. Language to learn

Describing changes using verbs and adverbs


Sales rose sharply in 2011.
Sales went up slightly in 2009.
Sales rose dramatically in 2010.
Sales in the U.S. rose steadily between 2007 and 2009.

Describing changes using adjectives and nouns


There was a dramatic decrease in 2010.
There was a sharp rise in exports in 2008.
There was a steady increase in 2011 and 2012.

3 PRACTICE

Practice 1: Discuss these figures with a partner. One should use the information in the left-hand
column and the other should use the information in the right-hand column. Use these verbs and
connectors. Look at the example.

Verbs Connectors
 increase, rise, go up, jump but, although
 decrease, fall, go down, drop however, on the other hand

Example:
A: Our market share fell by 1% last year.
B: Yes, but on the other hand, our gross revenues increased by 8%.

2 iTalk 2021 > Level 3 > 3D19.3 > 3C7 online | Student’s Copy
Our gross revenues +8% Our market share -1%
Prices of raw materials -4% Distribution costs +18%
Spending on research and development +9% The number of new contracts -6%
Debts to our suppliers -4% Earnings from investments +3%
Productivity +6% The number of employees -4%
Sales to South America +5% Sales to the EU -2%
Our staff turnover -20% Salaries +8%
Customer complaints -16% Spending on training +15%

Practice 2: Which part of the table do these sentences describe?


1. There was a dramatic increase in this.
2. This decreased slightly.
3. There was a sharp rise in this.

Practice 3: Complete the table below.

Verb Noun
increase increase
rise
decrease
fall
drop
decline

Practice 4: Work in pairs. Practice describing changes using ADJECTIVE + NOUN and VERB +
ADVERB. Then, switch roles. Look at the example.

Example: A: Sales increased dramatically in 2017.


B: There was a dramatic increase in sales in 2017.

1. Spending dropped gradually last year.


2. Productivity rose slightly between 2016 and 2017.
3. Costs fell sharply last quarter.
4. Customer complaints declined significantly in 2016
5. The number of employees increased dramatically in 2014 and 2015.
6. Revenues declined steadily from 2010 to 2015.
7. Salaries increased slightly in the second quarter.
8. Factory accidents decreased minimally between 2012 and 2013.

Practice 5: Think of an aspect of your company, school or country where there have been
changes over the last year or two. (Use the Internet or make up the information if you need to.)
Draw a bar chart for the last 12 months – one bar per month.

Practice 6: Now work with a partner and describe your bar chart to your partner using VERB +
ADVERB and ADJECTIVE + NOUN. Your partner must draw a new graph from your description.
At the end, compare your graphs.

iTalk 2021 > Level 3 > 3D19.3 > 3C7 online | Student’s Copy 3
4 PROGRESS CHECK
1. How do you describe changes using verbs and adverbs?
2. How do you describe changes using adjectives and nouns?

Today I can …
 describe changes in my company or organization.

4 iTalk 2021 > Level 3 > 3D19.3 > 3C7 online | Student’s Copy

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