在一定程度上 / 在很大程度上【zài yídìng chéngdù shang / zài hěn dà chéngdù shang】

在一定程度上 makes a claim partial: true, but not the whole story. 一定 here means "a certain", not "definitely". The phrase goes after the subject and before the verb, like other adverbials, and belongs to essays, reports and papers.

It can also open the sentence, followed by a comma.

在很大程度上 raises the degree, "to a large extent", "largely".

In writing 在 is often dropped: 一定程度上, 很大程度上.

Word order

English puts "to some extent" at the end of the clause. Chinese keeps it in front of the verb.

• × 这个方法有效在一定程度上 → 这个方法在一定程度上有效
• × 他同意了在很大程度上 → 他在很大程度上同意了