continue decrease

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "continue decrease" is not correct in standard written English. It should be used in contexts where you want to express an ongoing reduction, but it needs to be modified for grammatical accuracy. An example would be: "We expect to see a continued decrease in sales." Alternative expressions include "ongoing decline" and "sustained reduction."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

Science

News & Media

Wiki

Formal & Business

Encyclopedias

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

59 human-written examples

According to Dr. Garfield, Magic has and would likely continue decreasing its degree of luck as the game matured.

Wikipedia

The smartphones we purchased all cost around 100 USD, and prices are likely to continue decreasing.

Global Health Action

A snapshot, of course, but it does imply a continuing decrease in court coverage.

The Guardian

Navarre warned that a continuing decrease in volume for exports was a real "weakness" of the industry.

Independent

Indeed, a surge in profits has enabled many large companies to go on a spending spree using their own cash, as reflected in a continuing decrease in bank lending in this country.

The New York Times

The continued decrease of the concentration is due to the growth of the particles.

Nanoscale Research Letters

This problem has been exacerbated by a continuing decrease in cost-per-thousand rates.

Forbes

These actions are substantial and have resulted in a continuing decrease in the number and the severity of LX accidents.

European Transport Research Review

A major concern of many aerospace industries and space agencies worldwide is the continuing decrease in undergraduate student enrollment and graduation from aerospace and closely related degree programs.

Advances in Space Research

The continuing decrease in enzyme cost and improvements in enzyme engineering techniques will make in vitro biosystems a comparable biomanufacturing platform for microbial fermentation in the near future.

Process Biochemistry

With the ever-increasing diesel price and continued decrease in solar PV module prices, RE-based systems are becoming more competitive.

International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "continued decrease" when you need a noun phrase to serve as the subject of your sentence, such as "A continued decrease in profits was noted."

Common error

Writers often mistakenly use "continue decrease" by treating decrease as a bare infinitive. In English, the verb continue requires a connector. Writing "Prices will continue decrease" is incorrect; it must be "Prices will "continue to decrease"."

Linguistic Context

The phrase "continue decrease" is an intended verb-complement structure that fails to meet standard English requirements. According to Ludwig, the verb continue must be followed by a prepositional marker (to) or a gerund suffix (-ing). Without these, the phrase lacks the structural integrity to function as a predicate.

Expression frequency: Missing

Frequent in

Science

55%

News & Media

30%

Formal & Business

10%

Less common in

Wiki

3%

Encyclopedias

1%

Social Media

1%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The search results from Ludwig AI clearly demonstrate that "continue decrease" is not a standard English construction. While the database contains numerous examples of high-quality sources reporting on declining trends, they all utilize correct grammatical connectors such as ""continue to decrease"" or "continued decrease". If you are writing for a professional, academic or scientific audience, you must avoid the bare form and include the necessary infinitive or gerund markers. This ensures your writing remains clear, authoritative and free of common syntax errors.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

continue to decrease

Adds the necessary infinitive marker to make the phrase grammatically sound

continue decreasing

Uses the gerund form to describe an ongoing action or trend

continued decrease

Shifts the phrase into a noun phrase, often used as a subject or object

ongoing decline

Provides a more sophisticated and descriptive alternative to decrease

sustained reduction

Emphasizes a long-term or intentional lowering of a value

keep falling

Offers a less formal but highly common way to describe a drop

persist in declining

Suggests a formal or technical context where a trend refuses to reverse

further decrease

Focuses on the additional reduction that follows an existing one

remain on a downward trend

Describes the statistical pattern rather than just the action

continue to diminish

Uses a more formal synonym for decrease often applied to abstract qualities

FAQs

Which is correct, "continue decrease" or "continue to decrease"?

The phrase ""continue to decrease"" is the correct grammatical form. The verb continue requires an infinitive or a gerund like "continue decreasing" to be valid.

What can I say instead of "continue decrease" in a professional email?

In professional contexts, you should use "sustained decrease" or "ongoing reduction" to describe a trend that is still moving downward.

Is "continued decrease" a good alternative?

Yes, "continued decrease" is excellent when used as a noun phrase, such as in "We are seeing a continued decrease in volume."

Can I use "continue falling" as a synonym?

Absolutely. "continue falling" is a natural and common way to express the same idea in both speech and writing.