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Section 3 — The Truth Grammar focus

Session 10 Grammar: Expressing approximation and qualification with numbers

News writers rarely deal in certainties — the language of approximation, estimation, and qualification is essential for reading and producing honest, precise journalism about data.

Grammar Focus
[Approximator / qualifier] + [number / figure] OR [number] + [qualification phrase]
Numbers in news rarely arrive with perfect precision. Journalists use a set of grammatical qualifiers to signal degrees of certainty, the source of a figure, or the limits of the data. Learning these patterns helps you both produce qualified, accurate writing and read numbers critically — spotting when a qualifier is hiding a weak claim.

Key approximators: approximately, roughly, around, about, nearly, up to, as many as, as few as, estimated at, in the region of
Key source qualifiers: according to figures from, based on data from, official statistics suggest, estimates indicate
Key limitation phrases: the figure does not include, this number may undercount, the margin of error is, the true figure is likely higher/lower
"Approximately 2.4 million people were displaced by the flooding." (close but not exact — the figure is an estimate)
"Up to 40% of workers in the sector could lose their jobs within a decade." ("up to" = the maximum possible; the real figure could be much lower)
"As many as 500 civilians may have been killed, according to independent monitors." (upper estimate, with source attribution)
"The cost is estimated at roughly €3 billion, though the final figure will depend on negotiations." (two qualifiers combined: estimated + roughly)
"According to official figures, inflation fell to 3.2% — though critics argue the methodology undercounts housing costs." (attribution + challenge to the number)
"In the region of 10,000 people attended the protest, police said, though organizers put the figure closer to 50,000." (competing approximations reveal contested facts)
Variations to practice
the figure stands at roughly... some estimates put this as high as... the number is believed to be in excess of... figures vary widely, ranging from X to Y... the official tally, which is likely an undercount, suggests... at least X, and possibly as many as Y...