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Challenging Ellipsis and Substitution in Formal Writing Exercise

March 25, 2026 C1pdf

Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one. Some sentences have two correct answers. Choose both.

Progress 0 of 12 answered
1The committee endorsed the revised policy, and the board ............... as well, though with minor reservations.
Wrong!
"Did so" replaces the verb phrase "endorsed the revised policy" in a formal way.
2Several departments submitted their reports on time, but the legal team ...............
Wrong!
"Did not" uses auxiliary ellipsis to mean "did not submit their report on time."
3The first draft was concise; the second was even more ...............
Wrong!
"So" substitutes for the adjective "concise" in the phrase "even more so".
4The auditors requested additional documentation, and the finance director agreed to ............... immediately.
Wrong!
"Do so" replaces the action "provide additional documentation" in a formal style.
5The chair asked whether the annex should be included, and the secretary said ...............
Wrong!
"It should" avoids repeating "the annex should be included."
6The report cites three studies, two of ............... were published in peer-reviewed journals.
Wrong!
"Which" is the correct relative pronoun after "two of" in this formal sentence.
7The policy is intended to reduce risk, and it has ............... in several comparable organisations.
Wrong!
"Done so" means "reduced risk" without repeating the full verb phrase.
8The minister promised to address the issue, but ............... has yet to do so.
Wrong!
"He" refers back to "the minister" and keeps the subject of "has yet to do so" clear.
9Most of the guidelines are clear, and those ............... not should be revised before publication.
Wrong!
"That are" correctly refers to the plural noun "guidelines" and stands for "that are not clear".
10Some reviewers found the methodology robust; others found it ...............
Wrong!
"Less so" means "less robust" without repeating the adjective.
11The proposal was approved in principle, and the budget was approved ...............
Select 2 answers.
Wrong!
"Likewise" and "similarly" both show that the budget was approved in a comparable way.
12The author claims the data were anonymised, but the appendix suggests ...............
Wrong!
"Otherwise" means that the appendix suggests the data were not anonymised.

Exercise complete

0/ out of 12 correct answers
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Answers

  1. The committee endorsed the revised policy, and the board did so as well, though with minor reservations.
  2. Several departments submitted their reports on time, but the legal team did not.
  3. The first draft was concise; the second was even more so.
  4. The auditors requested additional documentation, and the finance director agreed to do so immediately.
  5. The chair asked whether the annex should be included, and the secretary said it should.
  6. The report cites three studies, two of which were published in peer-reviewed journals.
  7. The policy is intended to reduce risk, and it has done so in several comparable organisations.
  8. The minister promised to address the issue, but he has yet to do so.
  9. Most of the guidelines are clear, and those that are not should be revised before publication.
  10. Some reviewers found the methodology robust; others found it less so.
  11. The proposal was approved in principle, and the budget was approved likewise / similarly.
  12. The author claims the data were anonymised, but the appendix suggests otherwise.

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Related lesson in the course Ellipsis and substitution without ambiguity Module 10: Precision & emphasis · Lesson 3

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