Students often misuse words like increase and decrease.
They often write sentences such as:
when it would be more appropriate to write:
This is often an over correction. They know that academic writing is impersonal and objective and they avoid the active voice and choose the passive, not knowing that there is a more appropriate alternative.
For example:
The annual rate of inflation increased to 1.7% in July, from 1.4% in June, in line with economists' expectations. Inflation was highest in Greece, at 5.5%, and lowest in Ireland, at -1.2%. Core inflation also increased to 1% from 0.9%, reflecting the impact of VAT increases in Greece, Spain, Portugal and Finland. (From the Daily Telegraph) |
The cost of living in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased in April for the first time in more than a year, reinforcing forecasts that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates near zero for much of 2010. (From Bloomberg Business Week) |
Compare these two groups of sentences:
In the first group (sentences 1-4) sentences 1-3 have the same meaning. By that I mean that they describe the same real-world situation, although they may have a different focus. In these cases, it is the student that is doing the writing and a report is being produced. Sentence 4 does that mean that. It is a strange sentence because it is the report that is doing the writing!
The second group (sentences 5-8) is different. Sentences 5, 7 & 8 have roughly the same meaning; it is the government (or some other institution) that is causing the increase and it is inflation that is changing. Sentence 6 does not have the same meaning. In sentence 6 it is the government that is changing!
Verbs such as increase are unusual verbs in everyday English but they are very common in academic language. Linguists often call them "ergative verbs" (Lock, 1996, pp. 89-90) or they are referred to as having a "middle" voice as opposed to an "active" or "passive" voice (Halliday, 1967a, pp. 38-46). See Collins COBUILD (1996) for more information and practice.
You could say there were three possibilities:
In academic writing, when the focus on what is happening, not who is causing it, sentences such as sentence 8 are used very often.They are, however, often combined with other forms:
UK inflation increased from 3% to 3.4% in March and market participants have been increasing their participation in the Index-linked sector. |
Here are some more pairs of sentences showing verbs used ergatively:
The following are common ergative verbs from the Academic Word List. See Academic Word List
Example
accumulate
... and very large debts accumulated in the form of sterling balances.
adapt
... consciousness adapts to the practical needs of society.
adjust
his eyes had adjusted to the semidarkness
alter
When it does so, the shape of the enzyme alters so that it no longer binds to S.
commence
The last Russian assault commenced on 31 January.
contract
As the liquid increased, the fabric contracted.
distort
Heat caused the plastic to distort
expand
As the family expands, the property it held before on an individual basis becomes communal property.
focus
This chapter focuses mainly on agricultural emissions of methane and nitrous oxide.
incline
The equipment inclined steeply.
reverse
The car reversed into the parking space.
shift
Media attention has shifted recently.
transform
The entertainment industry has transformed completely in recent years.
These are some other verbs that are commonly used in this way:
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accelerate, begin, bend, boil, break, broaden, bruise, build up, burn, burst, change, close, combine, connect, cool, condense, crack, decrease, deflate, develop, diminish, disperse, drop, dry, end, enrol, evaporate, expand, finish, float, flood, fracture, freeze, grow, harden, ignite, improve, increase, industrialise, inflate, join, lengthen, lock, loosen, lower, melt, mend, merge, move, multiply, open, plunge, reload, reunite, revolve, rewind, rock, roll, run, scatter, separate, shake, shut, spill, spin, split, stand, start, stiffen, stop, strengthen, stretch, swing, tear, terminate, tighten, toughen, transfer, turn, turn on, turn off, twist, vaporise, weaken, whiten |
Identify the ergative verbs in this text.
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Water, in its different forms, cycles continuously through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. Water evaporates into the atmosphere from the land and the sea. Plants and animals use and reuse water and release water vapor into the air. Once in the air, water vapor circulates and cools and can condense to form clouds and precipitation, which fall back to earth. At one time or another, all of the water molecules on earth have been in an ocean, a river, a plant, an animal, a cloud, a raindrop, a snowflake, or a glacier. |
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