Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one.
1The flat’s tiny—..............., cosy, if you’re being generous.
Wrong!
"I mean" is the natural colloquial marker for softening or correcting what you have just said; "that is to say" is much more formal and explanatory.
2Don’t overthink the form; it’s ............... easy once you’ve found the right page.
Wrong!
"dead" is a colloquial British-style intensifier in expressions like "dead easy"; "very" is neutral rather than distinctly colloquial.
3I ............... the report five minutes before the portal closed.
Wrong!
"chucked in" colloquially means handed in or submitted, with a casual attitude; "submitted" is standard formal wording.
4Maya was ............... when the client moved the deadline to Friday night.
Wrong!
"not exactly thrilled" is the idiomatic colloquial understatement; "not precisely thrilled" is not the normal fixed wording here.
5..............., I see why you cancelled, but a quick text would have helped.
Wrong!
"Fair enough" is the colloquial response accepting a point or concession; "Sufficiently fair" is not a natural conversational response.
6The hotel was miles from the station; the breakfast was excellent, ...............
Wrong!
"though" works naturally at the end of a colloquial contrastive comment; "however" is not normally used as a casual clause-final tag here.
7I’d borrow Nina’s laptop; mine’s been a bit ............... since the update.
Wrong!
"dodgy" is colloquial for unreliable, suspicious, or not working properly; "defective" is technical and formal.
8We spent ............... hours trying to get the printer back online.
Wrong!
"a good few" is a colloquial quantifier meaning quite a few; "several" is neutral and more formal.
9..............., you know I didn’t eat the last slice.
Wrong!
"Give over" is a colloquial British imperative meaning stop it or stop teasing; "Cease" is formal and not a natural bantering retort.
10............... you could send me the slides before lunch?
Wrong!
"Any chance" is a colloquial elliptical opener for a polite request; "Is there any probability" is literal, formal, and unnatural for asking a favour.
11If the train’s late, it’s ...............; we’ve got plenty of time.
Wrong!
"no big deal" is the idiomatic colloquial minimiser; "not a substantial issue" is formal and bureaucratic.
12..............., the venue looks great online but only seats forty people.
Wrong!
"Thing is" is a colloquial way to introduce the real point or problem; "The matter is" is not the idiomatic spoken frame here.
Answers
- The flat’s tiny—I mean , cosy, if you’re being generous.
- Don’t overthink the form; it’s dead easy once you’ve found the right page.
- I chucked in the report five minutes before the portal closed.
- Maya was not exactly thrilled when the client moved the deadline to Friday night.
- Fair enough , I see why you cancelled, but a quick text would have helped.
- The hotel was miles from the station; the breakfast was excellent, though.
- I’d borrow Nina’s laptop; mine’s been a bit dodgy since the update.
- We spent a good few hours trying to get the printer back online.
- Give over , you know I didn’t eat the last slice.
- Any chance you could send me the slides before lunch?
- If the train’s late, it’s no big deal ; we’ve got plenty of time.
- Thing is , the venue looks great online but only seats forty people.