Business English vocabulary exercise, intermediate / upper-intermediate level.
This exercise gives you practice with words used for describing sales trends: reach, remain, increase, a rise, a fall.
Instructions:
1. Study the vocabulary, including ‘how to use’ and the example sentences.
2. Do the exercise below and check your answers.
reach |
reach |
reach |
| verb | to get to, to arrive at | |
| how to use | reach a target; reach an amount; reach a (sales) plan | |
| examples | 1. We didn’t reach the sales plan last month. We were $10,000 under. 2. Sales reached a record level in December. |
|
a rise |
rise |
rise |
| noun | an increase in number, amount, price, value, taxes, etc. | |
| how to use | a rise in something, prices, sales synonyms: an increase |
|
| examples | 1. There was a dramatic rise in sales of the product. 2. There was a rise in the price of petrol in March. |
|
remain |
re.main |
remain |
| verb | to stay or still exist after everything else has gone |
|
| how to use | intransitive verb: the verb doesn’t have an object something remains; sales remain strong, steady, the same; remain at a level |
|
| examples | 1. Sales remained at the same level in February. 2. Sales of swimwear remained strong in July, despite the cold weather. |
|
a fall |
fall |
fall |
| noun | an decrease in number, amount, price, value, taxes, etc. | |
| how to use | a fall in something, prices, sales synonyms: a decrease |
|
| examples | 1. We saw a slight fall in sales last month. 2. There was a fall in sales last year. |
|
increase |
in.crease |
increase_verb |
| verb | to become bigger in size; opposite: fall, drop, decrease |
|
| how to use | intransitive verb: the verb doesn’t have an object something increases; increase by an amount, number opposite: drop, decrease |
|
| examples | 1. The good news is that sales are still increasing. 2. Our transport costs have increased because of the rising price of petrol. |
|
Now try this exercise. Choose a word from the box for each gap in the text. Use each word once:
