Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one.
1..............., the pilot impressed investors, but the sample was too small to justify a national rollout.
Wrong!
"Admittedly" concedes a point before the main argument turns on the evidence still being inconclusive.
2The committee may have followed the letter of the rules; ..............., the process still looked opaque.
Wrong!
"Be that as it may" is the fixed formula for conceding a previous point while moving back to the speaker’s main position.
3............... their objections, the board approved the budget unchanged.
Wrong!
"For all" means “despite” here, conceding the force of the objections while saying they did not change the vote.
4............... elegant the model may be, it cannot explain the outliers.
Wrong!
"However" before an adjective means “no matter how,” conceding the degree of merit without yielding the conclusion.
5..............., the dataset still reveals a pattern the ministry cannot ignore.
Wrong!
"Limited as it is" uses fronted adjective + as to concede a weakness before presenting a remaining use.
6Her endorsement, ............... brief, gave the proposal unexpected credibility.
Wrong!
"Albeit" can introduce the reduced phrase “brief” after a noun phrase, conceding a limitation without a full clause; "despite" must be followed by a noun phrase or -ing form.
7............... the policy is legal, it may still be politically disastrous.
Wrong!
"Even if" introduces a hypothetical concession: the policy could be legal and still be unwise.
8The merger would cut administrative costs; ..............., it would leave the company dangerously exposed to one supplier.
Wrong!
"Even so" refers back to the conceded point in the first clause and introduces a contrasting judgement.
9No matter ............... the testimony sounds, it cannot substitute for documentary proof.
Wrong!
"how persuasive" completes “no matter how,” forming a concessive clause meaning the evidence will not be enough regardless of degree.
10............... sympathy the tribunal felt for the claimant, the statute left it no discretion.
Wrong!
"Whatever" directly modifies the noun “sympathy,” conceding any amount of it while denying relevance to the legal test; "however" on its own must be followed by an adjective or adverb, not a noun.
11It is ............... the figures improved, but the baseline was artificially low.
Wrong!
"true that" completes the concessive frame “It is true that ..., but ...,” acknowledging a point before rebutting its significance.
12The criticism may ............... be fair, but it does not invalidate the entire programme.
Wrong!
"may well" concedes that the criticism is probably fair while preserving the following counterpoint.
Exercise complete
0 out of 12
correct answers
Answers
- Admittedly, the pilot impressed investors, but the sample was too small to justify a national rollout.
- The committee may have followed the letter of the rules; be that as it may, the process still looked opaque.
- For all their objections, the board approved the budget unchanged.
- However elegant the model may be, it cannot explain the outliers.
- Limited as it is, the dataset still reveals a pattern the ministry cannot ignore.
- Her endorsement, albeit brief, gave the proposal unexpected credibility.
- Even if the policy is legal, it may still be politically disastrous.
- The merger would cut administrative costs; Even so, it would leave the company dangerously exposed to one supplier.
- No matter how persuasive the testimony sounds, it cannot substitute for documentary proof.
- Whatever sympathy the tribunal felt for the claimant, the statute left it no discretion.
- It is true that the figures improved, but the baseline was artificially low.
- The criticism may well be fair, but it does not invalidate the entire programme.