on the wane/decrease

J

jesusguime

Banned
Chinese
The king's power is on the wane?



Hi,
Is it the same to say "on the decrease" instead of "on the wane" in the above? Thanks.
 
    • 'The king's power is decreasing' would sound more natural to me.

    The word 'wane' and the phrase 'on the wane' are a little old fashioned and are not used much, except when referring to the 'waxing and waning' of the moon - i.e. its increasing and decreasing size during the month.

    M.
     
    Suspishio said:
    "... is on the increasing" is grammatically incorrect. "..., is on the increase" would be correct using "increase" as a noun.
    Click to expand...

    I see. it is a typo.

    Shall use "sth is increasing" instead of "sth is on the increase" the same way as you said in post 2, probably to be concise and cogent?
     
    To my native English ear, there are subtleties of use when choosing between "is increasing" and "on the increase".

    The former, to my mind at least, imparts no sense of when the increase started to occur. The latter imparts to me that the increase is somewhat recent. The native English speaker often chooses words on the fly when there is a choice, based on nuance/context developed over the years. This subconscious approach to the precise choice of words is difficult for non-native English speakers to grasp quickly.

    Hope that helps.
     
    Suspishio said:
    To my native English ear, there are subtleties of use when choosing between "is increasing" and "on the increase".

    The former, to my mind at least, imparts no sense of when the increase started to occur. The latter imparts to me that the increase is somewhat recent. The native English speaker often chooses words on the fly when there is a choice, based on nuance/context developed over the years. This subconscious approach to the precise choice of words is difficult for non-native English speakers to grasp quickly.

    Hope that helps.
    Click to expand...

    I see. How about "on the decrease" "in decline" and "on the decline"? Are they the used the same way as "on the increase", While I don't fine a entry in a dictionary about "on the decrease". I made up myself.
     
    Sun14 said:
    I see. How about "on the decrease" "in decline" and "on the decline"? Are they the used the same way as "on the increase", While I don't fine a entry in a dictionary about "on the decrease". I made up myself.
    Click to expand...

    Good questions. Again, usage, nuance and so on play a part in native English constructs. I would use:

    "In decline" but never "on the decrease". Others may use "on the decrease" but it sounds clumsy to me. "Decreasing" would impart a sense of constancy.

    There was a recent debate about the construct "... the above diagram shows ..." versus "... the below diagram shows..." and it was clearly shown that the latter construct is not acceptable English whilst the former is. These illogical gotchas throw the non-native English student. Likewise the case of "on the decrease". It should be fine, but just isn't - at least to my mind.
     
    Suspishio said:
    Good questions. Again, usage, nuance and so on play a part in native English constructs. I would use:

    "In decline" but never "on the decrease". Others may use "on the decrease" but it sounds clumsy to me. "Decreasing" would impart a sense of constancy.

    There was a recent debate about the construct "... the above diagram shows ..." versus "... the below diagram shows..." and it was clearly shown that the latter construct is not acceptable English whilst the former is. These illogical gotchas throw the non-native English student. Likewise the case of "on the decrease". It should be fine, but just isn't - at least to my mind.
    Click to expand...

    Thank you very much. How about "on the decline"? Is it unacceptable too?
     
    Last edited:
    "..on the decline" is acceptable to my ears.

    I wonder what argument/debate this will stir when the rest of the UK and USA wake up! ".. on the wane .." is synonymous, by the way.

    I disagree with MJSinLondon (above) who said words to the effect that use of "on the wane" is on the wane! It's a normal construct for me.
     
    Suspishio said:
    "..on the decline" is acceptable to my ears.

    I wonder what argument/debate this will stir when the rest of the UK and USA wake up! ".. on the wane .." is synonymous, by the way.

    I disagree with MJSinLondon (above) who said words to the effect that use of "on the wane" is on the wane! It's a normal construct for me.
    Click to expand...

    Thank you very much. Actually I am no clear about the difference between the two you mentioned in diagram.:D
     
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