Choose the single best completion for each sentence.
1Entry required Leila's personal badge, and the tamper-proof log records neither its use nor any manual override, so she ............... the laboratory that evening.
Wrong!
Because entry required Leila's badge and the log excludes both its use and an override, "cannot have entered" expresses a practically unavoidable negative deduction.
2Because the supplier had already dispatched a replacement, we ............... another unit; the procurement records confirm that no order was placed.
Wrong!
The procurement records show that no order was placed, so "didn't need to order" indicates an unnecessary action that was not performed.
3Until the independent review is complete, the protocol classifies the preliminary findings as confidential, so they ............... outside the inquiry team.
Wrong!
The confidentiality rule imposes a prohibition, which "are not to be disclosed" expresses; absence of necessity would be too weak.
4The raw-data alert had already identified the discrepancy, yet your presentation repeated it unchanged; you ............... the figures more carefully.
Wrong!
The unchanged error shows a neglected past responsibility, so "should have checked" expresses retrospective criticism rather than deduction.
5If the proposal ............... more thoroughly costed before yesterday's meeting, the board might view it differently now.
Wrong!
The unreal condition concerns a completed time before yesterday's meeting, so the past perfect passive "had been" is required.
6Had the warning been acted on when it was issued, the evacuation ............... at such short notice; the order to leave has only just been given.
Wrong!
The unreal past condition has a present consequence, signalled by the evacuation still being required, so "would not now need to be conducted" forms a mixed conditional.
7The live voice-recognition display currently identifies Arun as the speaker, so he ............... to the client at this moment.
Wrong!
The live display and "at this moment" require the progressive present deduction "must be speaking".
8Three teams used independently written code and reproduced the same anomaly from the verified raw data, so it ............... an error confined to one team's pipeline.
Wrong!
Independent pipelines reproduce the anomaly, so "cannot be due to" rules out an error confined to only one pipeline.
9Neither side has signed a text, but both describe broad convergence and say the remaining differences are procedural; the negotiators ............... agreement on the main principles.
Wrong!
Broad convergence makes agreement plausible, but the unsigned text leaves uncertainty; "may well have reached" expresses strong possibility without claiming certainty.
10Following its investigation, the regulator recommended that the firm ............... affected customers before issuing any public statement.
Wrong!
After a recommendation, "should notify" expresses the proposed action in a mandative that-clause; "would" would report an expected future action instead.
11Given a choice, the consultant would rather the data ............... anonymised before any external sharing took place.
Wrong!
After "would rather", the remote preference about a present or future arrangement takes the irrealis form "were".
12The statute makes the restrictions expire automatically at midnight unless renewed, and the renewal deadline has passed without an application, so they ............... lapse tonight.
Wrong!
Automatic expiry and the missed renewal deadline make the outcome virtually certain, so "are bound to" has the required modal force.
Exercise complete
0 out of 12
correct answers
Answers
- Entry required Leila’s personal badge, and the tamper-proof log records neither its use nor any manual override, so she cannot have entered the laboratory that evening.
- Because the supplier had already dispatched a replacement, we didn’t need to order another unit; the procurement records confirm that no order was placed.
- Until the independent review is complete, the protocol classifies the preliminary findings as confidential, so they are not to be disclosed outside the inquiry team.
- The raw-data alert had already identified the discrepancy, yet your presentation repeated it unchanged; you should have checked the figures more carefully.
- If the proposal had been more thoroughly costed before yesterday’s meeting, the board might view it differently now.
- Had the warning been acted on when it was issued, the evacuation would not now need to be conducted at such short notice; the order to leave has only just been given.
- The live voice-recognition display currently identifies Arun as the speaker, so he must be speaking to the client at this moment.
- Three teams used independently written code and reproduced the same anomaly from the verified raw data, so it cannot be due to an error confined to one team’s pipeline.
- Neither side has signed a text, but both describe broad convergence and say the remaining differences are procedural; the negotiators may well have reached agreement on the main principles.
- Following its investigation, the regulator recommended that the firm should notify affected customers before issuing any public statement.
- Given a choice, the consultant would rather the data were anonymised before any external sharing took place.
- The statute makes the restrictions expire automatically at midnight unless renewed, and the renewal deadline has passed without an application, so they are bound to lapse tonight.