Hedging & Softening — The 73% Rule: Softening Bad News
Grammar: Hedging language and diplomatic modal structures
Free ESL grammar exercise on hedging & softening themed around the 73% rule: softening bad news. Printable worksheet from classplan.ai.
What's on this worksheet
A Business English ESL grammar exercise on business, practising hedging language and diplomatic modal structures. The worksheet has a short reading excerpt, a grammar reference and graded practice items.
From the reading
Instead of "we can't approve this budget," a trained manager writes "it might be worth revisiting the budget once Q3 figures are confirmed." The second move is the distancing question: "I wonder if there's a version of this proposal that fits within the current limit?"
Grammar
- Modal softener
- It might be worth revisiting the budget. — hedges a refusal gently
- Distancing question
- I wonder if there's a version that fits. — invites without demanding
Sample items
- We ______ approve this request as it stands.
- ______ there's a smaller version of the proposal we could accept?
- ______, the delay may actually give us more preparation time.
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