Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one.
1I know you think I forgot, but I ............... send the client the revised figures yesterday.
Wrong!
Use "did" before a base verb to emphasise that the action really happened in the past.
2The way she handled that hostile question was ............... fantastic.
Wrong!
With an extreme adjective like “fantastic”, "absolutely" is the natural emphatic intensifier.
3After three delayed flights and no sleep, we were ............... tired by the time we got home.
Wrong!
With a gradable adjective like “tired”, "really" is a natural spoken intensifier.
4............... seen the team react so quickly to bad news.
Wrong!
After fronted negative emphasis, use inversion: "never have I".
5It was the receptionist ............... noticed the mistake before anyone else.
Wrong!
In a cleft sentence focusing on a person, use "who".
6When the backup file finally opened, it was ............... a relief.
Wrong!
Use "such" before a noun phrase like “a relief” for emphasis.
7Just as the director asked for evidence, ............... the missing report from the bottom drawer.
Wrong!
With a fronted direction phrase and a noun subject, inversion is natural for dramatic spoken emphasis: "out came".
8It was ............... who left the parcel at reception, not the courier.
Wrong!
In informal spoken emphasis after “It was”, the object form is normally used: "me".
9The instructions were so confusing that the five-year-old ............... corrected him.
Wrong!
Use "even" to emphasise something surprising: a sleepy five-year-old corrected an adult.
10The keys were ............... in front of us the whole time.
Wrong!
Before a place phrase, "right" gives spoken emphasis to exact location.
11To show how serious the complaint was, the manager ............... called the customer back.
Wrong!
Use the reflexive "himself" to emphasise that the manager personally did it.
12I know I don’t always say this, but I ............... appreciate everything you’ve done for us.
Wrong!
For strong spoken reassurance in the present, use emphatic "do" before the base verb.
Answers
- I know you think I forgot, but I did send the client the revised figures yesterday.
- The way she handled that hostile question was absolutely fantastic.
- After three delayed flights and no sleep, we were really tired by the time we got home.
- never have I seen the team react so quickly to bad news.
- It was the receptionist who noticed the mistake before anyone else.
- When the backup file finally opened, it was such a relief.
- Just as the director asked for evidence, out came the missing report from the bottom drawer.
- It was me who left the parcel at reception, not the courier.
- The instructions were so confusing that the five-year-old even corrected him.
- The keys were right in front of us the whole time.
- To show how serious the complaint was, the manager himself called the customer back.
- I know I don’t always say this, but I do appreciate everything you’ve done for us.
