We investigate the amplification mechanism in a four-level system by both the density-matrix and quantum-jump approaches. We show that the asymmetry between three-photon stimulated emission and one-photon absorption process is responsible for the inversionless amplification of the probe field. We also investigate the effects of spontaneously generated coherence (SGC) on the probe gain, and find that due to the SGC, the probe gain can be greatly enhanced and can be modulated by changing the relative phase between the applied fields.