Learn English – What are the differences between ‘grow’ and ‘increase’

meaning

  1. With a growing population, many canals and ponds are getting filled in with soil and sand.
  2. With the increasing population, many canals and ponds are getting filled in with soil and sand.

Please say, which one from above is correct? If both of them are correct, please say the differences of meaning between them.

Best Answer

Choice (2) is better. The use of "grow" in this context, while not technically wrong, is suspect since growing implies some sort of organic process that applies to individuals' adding more material to themselves. Vegetables grow, germinating from seeds in the earth. Children grow as they continue to eat. In this context, we're talking about a mere hike in numbers that applies to a collective, a "population," so the more neutral "increase" would be sufficient.

As a side note, I'm also not particularly fond of that hazy use of "with" and might recommend replacing with a clearer substitute, possibly "because of."