Describing Graphs & Statistics
Describing Graphs & Statistics
Describing figures in Dutch turns on two prepositions: stijgen met is a rise by an amount, stijgen tot is a rise to a level. Confusing them turns a three percent increase into a total of three percent.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
met for the size of the change, tot for the endpoint
De prijzen stegen met 3 procent. De prijzen stegen tot 120 euro.
Prices rose by 3 percent. Prices rose to 120 euros.
met answers 'by how much', tot answers 'to what level'. English marks the same distinction with 'by' and 'to', so the logic transfers — but because met is the everyday word for 'with', English speakers tend to reach for it in both roles. van ... tot gives the full range: van 100 tot 120 euro.
procent stays singular; procentpunt is a different unit
een stijging van tien procent / een stijging van tien procentpunt
an increase of ten percent / an increase of ten percentage points
procent takes no plural after a number, like other units of measurement. Dutch distinguishes procent from procentpunt as carefully as careful English distinguishes 'percent' from 'percentage points', and financial writing depends on the difference. Note that the noun form is een stijging van, using van where English says 'of'.
ten opzichte van for comparisons across periods
De omzet steeg met 5 procent ten opzichte van vorig jaar.
Turnover rose by 5 percent compared with last year.
ten opzichte van — often abbreviated t.o.v. — is the standard phrase for 'compared with' or 'relative to' in statistical prose. It is one of the ten/ter fossilized phrases, so its shape is fixed. Alongside it, vergeleken met is slightly less formal and in vergelijking met is the most neutral of the three.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
- English
- to rise
- English
- to fall
- English
- the increase
- English
- the decrease
- English
- percent
- English
- the percentage point
- English
- compared with
- English
- the average
- English
- the peak
- English
- to remain the same
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