Phrasal verbs · Free lesson
Marked down: understand the lower price
A fictional jacket label shows £80 crossed out and £60 underneath. You want to describe the change accurately, not confuse the new price with the discount amount.
Professor Scott MendozaMeaning in this lesson
mark down
To reduce the selling price of an item.
Example
“The shop marked the jacket down to £60.”
The jacket’s selling price is now £60, lower than before.
The short answer
In a shop, mark down means reduce the price. If a jacket goes from £80 to £60, it is marked down to £60 or by £20. To gives the new price; by gives the reduction.
The new price is what you pay; the reduction is what was taken off.
You can mark down the jacket or mark the jacket down. Replace the known item with it in the middle: mark it down. In the example, £80 minus £20 leaves £60. That is why down by £20 and down to £60 describe the same change.
Read the old and new labels
The shop marked down the jacket.
The shop marked the jacket down to £60.
It was £80. They marked it down by £20.
Marked down by £60 would describe a £60 reduction, not a new price of £60.
Check which number you mean
Identify old and new prices
from £80 to £60
State the new price
down to £60
State the difference
down by £20
Try it now
Read the price change carefully.
Read all answers and explanations
A shop marked a jacket down from £80 to £60. What happened?
The shop reduced its selling price.The selling price went down. This context is a price reduction, not simply recording a number or raising a price.
The old price was £80 and the new price is £60. Which statement describes that exact change?
They marked it down by £20.The reduction is £20: £80 − £20 = £60. Down by £60 or down to £20 would leave a different new price.
Replace the jacket with it. Choose the correct past-tense order.
They marked it down to £60.Use marked for the past and place it between marked and down. The ending belongs on mark, not down.
Build it yourself
Build the price update.
The jacket was £80 and is now £60. Start with They and use it for the jacket to state the new price.
Choose every piece in order. Select a piece again to move it back.
Your price update
0 of 5 piecesYour chosen pieces will appear here.
See a model answer
They marked it down to £60.
It replaces the jacket and goes in the middle. To £60 names the new price, not the amount of the reduction.
A little more clarity
Common questions
A few useful details before you move on.
Can an item be marked down?
Yes. The passive form focuses on the item and its lower price rather than naming the seller.
The jacket was marked down to £60.
Must I always say the amount?
No. You can say the shop marked an item down without specifying either the old or new price. Add an amount when the listener needs it.
The shop marked the jacket down.
Take it into your day
From £80 to £60: marked down to £60, or marked down by £20.
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