Business English C1 · Lesson 3B

Grammar Bank

The rules behind this lesson — form, use, model sentences and the mistakes to avoid.

← Back to the lesson

Grammar focus of this lesson

hedging & tentative language

1 structure

Hedging & tentative language
Making claims defensible and diplomatic.
I've got this
Rules & form
- ›Modals: may, might, could, would tend to.
- ›Lexical hedges: somewhat, arguably, broadly, in most cases.
- ›Impersonal frames: It could be argued that… / There is some evidence that…
- ›Softened negatives: not entirely convinced, less than ideal.
Examples
- “The data would suggest a seasonal effect.”
- “That approach may prove somewhat costly.”
- “I'm not entirely convinced by the timeline.”
Watch out · One hedge per claim; stacking them destroys credibility.
Your own example