When you combine 20 ml sugar to 50 ml water, initially, you may think that this will result to a greater volume through simple addition.
However, considering the atoms which make up these two substances, the resulting mixture will have a lesser volume than the sum of the volumes of the unmixed substances.
Why? This is because water is a liquid. It is composed of tiny particles which are arranged in such a way that spaces can be found between them. When you mix sugar with water, it will be dissolved. Those dissolved sugar particles will be able to fit in the spaces between the particles of water, making the mixture of lesser volume.
However, please take note that these conditions cannot be observed with an unaided eye.