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Section 3 — The Global Financial Order
Grammar focus
Session 10 Grammar: Describing trade flows and proportions
Trade analysis uses specific language for quantities, flows, and proportions. These structures appear constantly in economic reporting — master them and financial news becomes much easier to read and discuss.
Grammar Focus
accounts for / represents / makes up / amounts to / is equivalent to
When discussing trade, economic data, and financial proportions, English uses a specific set of verbs to express "how much of the whole" something represents. These verbs are not interchangeable — each carries a slightly different emphasis. Using them correctly sounds natural and professional.
accounts for (share of a total) · represents (what something equals or signifies) · makes up (composition) · amounts to (totals; often with negative connotation) · is equivalent to (equal in value or size)
China accounts for approximately 15% of global GDP and over 13% of world merchandise exports — making it the world's largest trading nation.
The services sector makes up roughly 80% of the UK economy — manufacturing, once dominant, now represents less than 10%.
The trade deficit amounts to $900 billion annually — a figure critics argue represents a structural weakness in the domestic manufacturing base.
The tariff revenue is equivalent to a 2% tax on every household in the country — because import costs are ultimately passed to consumers.
Exports to the EU account for 42% of the country's total export revenue, making the bloc by far the single most important trading partner.
The logistics and shipping sector makes up a small share of GDP but represents a critical dependency — when it fails, everything else fails with it.
Proportion phrases to practice
a third / quarter / half of
the majority of
a significant share of
less than X% of
disproportionately large/small