Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one.
1The legal team ............... the regulator's interpretation twice since March, so we should not cite it as settled guidance.
Wrong!
"has challenged" is correct because "since March" links the challenges to the present, and the present perfect presents them as relevant to the current decision; the past simple cannot be used with "since March" here.
2Management ............... customer feedback as a public-relations inconvenience for years, which is why the latest criticism sounds so familiar.
Wrong!
"has treated" is correct because "for years" describes a period continuing up to now, supporting the speaker's stance that the habit is still relevant.
3His strongest objection ............... at yesterday's hearing, not in the written submission.
Wrong!
"was" is correct because "at yesterday's hearing" is a finished-time anchor, so the past simple is required.
4By the time the committee reconvenes, the auditors ............... addressed the discrepancy, so a postponement would be hard to justify.
Wrong!
"will have" is correct because "by the time" sets a future deadline before which the action is expected to be complete.
5By the time of Monday's vote, the chair ............... the revised agenda to all members, so objections about surprise will be difficult to sustain.
Wrong!
"will have circulated" is correct because "by the time of Monday's vote" presents the circulation as complete before a future point; "will circulate" does not show that the action is finished before then.
6By the time she revised the policy overnight, the minister ............... a full consultation several times, so the opposition accused her of bad faith.
Wrong!
"had promised" is correct because "by the time" marks the promises as completed before the later revision, and the perfect marks that earlier stance as relevant to judging the reversal.
7The risk ............... again and again, and the new data do not support the alarmist reading.
Wrong!
"has been overstated" is correct because it evaluates a repeated or accumulated pattern up to now, not just a present condition.
8The market ............... rewarded companies that cut research spending too aggressively, but that does not mean the strategy is wise.
Wrong!
"has often" is correct because the speaker is using repeated past experience up to now as evidence for a present judgement.
9She ............... drafting a compromise for weeks when the chief executive's call abruptly changed the negotiation, which explains her frustration.
Wrong!
"had been" is correct because the ongoing activity began before the sudden interruption and explains the speaker's interpretation of that interruption.
10We ............... losing senior engineers since the merger, so calling the problem temporary is no longer credible.
Wrong!
"have been" is correct because "since the merger" marks an activity continuing from a past point to the present.
11The director must ............... aware of the confidentiality clause when he signed the letter; otherwise the warning makes no sense.
Wrong!
"have been" is correct because after "must," the perfect infinitive expresses a confident inference about a past situation.
12The company ............... the related-party loan before investors bought shares, and the omission now looks deliberate.
Wrong!
"should have disclosed" is correct because the sentence criticises a past failure before a completed purchase.
Exercise complete
0 out of 12
correct answers
Answers
- The legal team has challenged the regulator’s interpretation twice since March, so we should not cite it as settled guidance.
- Management has treated customer feedback as a public-relations inconvenience for years, which is why the latest criticism sounds so familiar.
- His strongest objection was at yesterday’s hearing, not in the written submission.
- By the time the committee reconvenes, the auditors will have addressed the discrepancy, so a postponement would be hard to justify.
- By the time of Monday’s vote, the chair will have circulated the revised agenda to all members, so objections about surprise will be difficult to sustain.
- By the time she revised the policy overnight, the minister had promised a full consultation several times, so the opposition accused her of bad faith.
- The risk has been overstated again and again, and the new data do not support the alarmist reading.
- The market has often rewarded companies that cut research spending too aggressively, but that does not mean the strategy is wise.
- She had been drafting a compromise for weeks when the chief executive’s call abruptly changed the negotiation, which explains her frustration.
- We have been losing senior engineers since the merger, so calling the problem temporary is no longer credible.
- The director must have been aware of the confidentiality clause when he signed the letter; otherwise the warning makes no sense.
- The company should have disclosed the related-party loan before investors bought shares, and the omission now looks deliberate.