Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one.
1The panel's reluctance to publish the raw data ............... its claim to transparency.
Wrong!
The subject is the singular noun phrase 'The panel's reluctance', so the present-tense verb needs third-person singular -s: "undermines".
2Because the only ............... decision was leaked, the chair postponed the vote.
Wrong!
Only one committee is being referred to, so the singular possessive form is "committee's".
3Such rare atmospheric phenomena ............... careful interpretation rather than dramatic headlines.
Wrong!
The subject 'phenomena' is plural, so the present-tense verb takes the plural/base form "require".
4The mediator insisted that the confidential memorandum remain between ............... until the inquiry ended.
Wrong!
After the preposition 'between', the coordinated pronoun must be object case: "you and me".
5The revised monograph includes several ............... documenting the provenance of each manuscript.
Wrong!
The determiner 'several' requires a plural noun, and the standard plural in this formal context is "appendices".
6Her reading of the clause is ............... than the one proposed in the original commentary.
Wrong!
The word 'than' signals a comparison between two analyses, so the comparative form "subtler" is required.
7Of the three objections, the statistical one is the ............... because it ignores the sampling frame.
Wrong!
With 'of the three', the sentence identifies one member at the bottom of a set, so the superlative form is "least convincing".
8During the hearing, a dispute ............... over whether the archive had been properly anonymised.
Wrong!
With no auxiliary before the blank, a simple past finite verb is needed: "arose".
9By the time the auditors arrived, most of the temporary staff had ............... home.
Wrong!
After 'had', the verb must be the past participle, so the correct form is "gone".
10The ministry ............... has acknowledged that the guidance was internally inconsistent.
Wrong!
The subject 'The ministry' is grammatically singular, so the reflexive intensifier is "itself".
11Few ............... expose institutional priorities as starkly as a sudden failure of public infrastructure.
Wrong!
The quantifier 'few' requires a plural noun, and the plural of 'crisis' is "crises".
12Revising the protocols overnight ............... a realistic response only if the legal team approves the changes.
Wrong!
A gerund clause such as 'Revising the protocols overnight' functions as a singular subject, so the verb is "is".
Answers
- The panel’s reluctance to publish the raw data undermines its claim to transparency.
- Because the only committee’s decision was leaked, the chair postponed the vote.
- Such rare atmospheric phenomena require careful interpretation rather than dramatic headlines.
- The mediator insisted that the confidential memorandum remain between you and me until the inquiry ended.
- The revised monograph includes several appendices documenting the provenance of each manuscript.
- Her reading of the clause is subtler than the one proposed in the original commentary.
- Of the three objections, the statistical one is the least convincing because it ignores the sampling frame.
- During the hearing, a dispute arose over whether the archive had been properly anonymised.
- By the time the auditors arrived, most of the temporary staff had gone home.
- The ministry itself has acknowledged that the guidance was internally inconsistent.
- Few crises expose institutional priorities as starkly as a sudden failure of public infrastructure.
- Revising the protocols overnight is a realistic response only if the legal team approves the changes.
