Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one. Some sentences have two correct answers. Choose both.
In the debrief, she spoke as though the deadline ............... negotiable, which irritated the client.
Wrong!
After as though, a remote/hypothetical form (subjunctive were) can show the idea is unreal or inappropriate.
If you ............... just lower your voice, we might actually get through this without security intervening.
Wrong!
For a polite but firm request, would softens the instruction in an if-clause.
I ............... ask whether the figures have been independently verified, before we circulate them to the board.
Wrong!
Would like to is a conventional, tentative way to introduce a potentially challenging question.
He kept saying he ............... have missed the email, but the read receipt tells a different story.
Wrong!
Could have expresses a claimed past possibility, which is then challenged by evidence.
I ............... be wrong, but your conclusion doesn’t follow from the data you’ve shown.
Wrong!
May be wrong is a standard hedge that softens disagreement.
It’s not that I doubt your expertise, but the method ............... to assume perfect compliance.
Wrong!
Would seem is a tentative way to criticise an assumption without stating it as a fact.
Had the regulator been informed earlier, the company ............... facing such a severe penalty now.
Wrong!
In a past unreal conditional, wouldn’t be shows the hypothetical present result.
I ............... appreciate it if you didn’t quote me in the minutes, given how sensitive this is.
Wrong!
Would appreciate is a polite, remote way to request discretion.
If the aim is transparency, you ............... to disclose the assumptions rather than bury them in an appendix.
Wrong!
Would be expected to expresses a cautious, impersonal criticism about what is normally required.
I ............... have thought a senior analyst would check the sources before presenting them as fact.
Wrong!
Would have thought is a restrained way to express surprise or criticism about a past action.
If you ............... to revisit the numbers, I can stay late and help you reconcile the totals.
Wrong!
Were to is a remote, tentative way to introduce a possibility without assuming it will happen.
He spoke to me as if I ............... personally sabotaged the project, which was completely unfair.
Wrong!
After as if, the past perfect (had) shows an unreal earlier action.
Done.
Score: 0/12
Answers
- In the debrief, she spoke as though the deadline were negotiable, which irritated the client.
- If you would just lower your voice, we might actually get through this without security intervening.
- I would like to ask whether the figures have been independently verified, before we circulate them to the board.
- He kept saying he could have missed the email, but the read receipt tells a different story.
- I may be wrong, but your conclusion doesn’t follow from the data you’ve shown.
- It’s not that I doubt your expertise, but the method would seem to assume perfect compliance.
- Had the regulator been informed earlier, the company wouldn’t be facing such a severe penalty now.
- I would appreciate it if you didn’t quote me in the minutes, given how sensitive this is.
- If the aim is transparency, you would be expected to disclose the assumptions rather than bury them in an appendix.
- I would have have thought a senior analyst would check the sources before presenting them as fact.
- If you were to revisit the numbers, I can stay late and help you reconcile the totals.
- He spoke to me as if I had personally sabotaged the project, which was completely unfair.
