Decrease or Reduce?

2022-12-03

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1
  • This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about the words "reduce" and "decrease."
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  • Dear Teacher,
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  • Would you please explain to me when to use "decrease" and "reduce?"
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  • Thanks for giving us such valuable points.
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  • Kind regards,
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  • Mahmoud in Saudi Arabia
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  • Hello Mahmoud! Thank you for writing to us!
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  • The words "decrease" and "reduce" are often thought of as having the same meaning.
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  • However, there are some differences, especially in the uses of "reduce."
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  • Let's look at each word more closely!
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  • "Decrease" is a verb that can take a direct object, meaning it is transitive.
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  • It can also be intransitive which means that it does not take a direct object.
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  • "Decrease" means to grow less in amount, size or strength over time, or to cause to be less.
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  • Online shopping and big stores like Target have helped to decrease shopping malls in the US from 2,500 in the 1980s to around 700 malls now.
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  • Voter turnout numbers decreased during the midterm election in some states like West Virginia and Virginia.
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  • Decrease can also be a noun.
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  • It is the process of growing less over time.
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  • It is a countable noun.
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  • For example:
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  • There has been a decrease in newspaper reading over many years, possibly because of the internet.
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  • Now let's move on to "reduce."
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  • "Reduce" is a verb and has many more meanings.
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  • It is most often used as a transitive verb that takes a direct object, but sometimes, we can use it without a direct object.
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  • The general meaning is to make something smaller.
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  • This meaning is most closely related to "decrease."
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  • Electric cars could reduce our need for gasoline-powered cars.
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  • Reduce can also mean to bring together into one and to narrow down.
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  • Every year, I reduce my clothes by going through my closet and giving away some pieces.
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  • We can also reduce a liquid by boiling it.
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  • This makes the taste stronger and there is less liquid.
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  • If you bring sugar to a boil and then reduce it, you are left with a thick caramel sauce.
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  • Reduce can also mean to bring to a certain state or condition, usually a negative one.
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  • We can use "reduce" with the preposition "to" to create a phrasal verb.
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  • The concert reduced her to tears.
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  • This sentence is in the active voice.
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  • This means that the concert moved the woman emotionally to such an extent that she cried.
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  • We can also use the passive voice to mean that someone is reduced to a state or condition.
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  • She was reduced to uncontrollable laughter after seeing the funny movie.
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  • The forest was reduced to ashes by the wildfire.
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  • Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you!
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  • What question do you have about American English? Send us an email at learningenglish@voanews.com
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  • And that's Ask a Teacher.
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  • I'm Faith Pirlo.