Describing a Graph or Chart
Describing a Graph or Chart
A core B2 exam skill: describing how a value changed over time using verbs of change paired with fixed prepositions for the amount and the resulting value.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
um + accusative for the amount of change, auf + accusative for the resulting value
Die Zahl stieg um 10 Prozent auf 500. (The number rose by 10 percent to 500.)
The number rose by 10 percent to 500.
German pairs the verb of change with two fixed prepositional chunks that always appear in this order: um + accusative states how much the value changed by, and auf + accusative states what value it ended up at. English 'rose by...to...' has a roughly parallel structure, but treat um and auf here as fixed collocations to memorize with the verb rather than prepositions you reason out from their usual meanings — von...auf works the same way for stating a full range ('von 400 auf 500', 'from 400 to 500').
Verbs of change take sein in the Perfekt, since they describe a change of state
Die Preise sind gestiegen. (Prices have risen.)
Prices have risen.
steigen, sinken, and similar verbs describing movement or a change of state use sein rather than haben as their Perfekt auxiliary — a rule you met back when learning the Perfekt tense, worth actively recalling here since graph-description writing uses these verbs constantly.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
| German | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| steigen | SHTY-gen | to rise/increase |
| sinken | ZIN-ken | to fall/decrease |
| sich verändern | zikh fair-EN-dern | to change |
| zunehmen | TSOO-nay-men | to increase |
| abnehmen | AHP-nay-men | to decrease |
| stagnieren | shtahg-NEE-ren | to stagnate/level off |
| der Anstieg | dair AHN-shteek | the rise/increase |
| der Rückgang | dair REWK-gahng | the decline/decrease |
| die Grafik | dee GRAH-fik | the graph |
| das Diagramm | dahs dee-ah-GRAHM | the chart/diagram |
| die x-Achse / die y-Achse | dee IKS-ahk-seh / dee EWP-see-lon-ahk-seh | the x-axis / the y-axis |
| um ... Prozent | oom ... proh-TSENT | by ... percent |
| im Vergleich zu | im fair-GLYKH tsoo | compared to |
| deutlich | DOYT-likh | noticeably/clearly |
| leicht | lykht | slightly |