1. Although he looks reserved, he has a marked sense of humour.

→ Reserved though he
looks, he has a marked sense of humour.
2. People will only become aware of the problem if you increase the publicity. → Only if
you increase the publicity will people become aware of the problem.
3. He swore he was a long way from her house on the night it was broken into. → He swore
he was nowhere near her house on the night it was broken into.
4. The rumours of bombings in the northern part of the country are false. → There are false
rumours of bombings in the northern part of the country.
5. They thought there could be another explanation for the inscription. → There was
thought to be another explanation for the inscription.
6. They persuaded me to buy a stock, or indeed, sell it. → I was persuaded to buy a stock,
or indeed, sell it.
7. Every student will try very hard to get good marks to express their gratitude towards
teachers. (LENGTHS) → Every student will go to great lengths to get good marks to
express their gratitude towards teachers.
8. She didn’t try to hide her anger at her son’s disobedience. (ATTEMPT) → She made no
attempt to hide her anger at her son’s disobedience.
9. The new manager blames me for everything that goes wrong. (PICKING) → The new
manager is always picking on me for everything that goes wrong.
10. Members with young children often find it impossible to attend evening meetings.
(QUESTION) → Attending evening meetings is often out of the question for
members with young children.
11. People believe that he won a lot of money on lottery. → He is believed to have won a
lot of money on the lottery.
12. The only thing that prevented the passing the bill was the sudden death of the Prime
Minister. → Had it not been for the sudden death of the Prime Minister, the bill
would have passed.
13. She started to clean up the house right after the last guests had left. → No sooner had the
last guests left than she started to clean up the house.
14. My father is very busy, but he doesn’t mind lending us a hand with house chores. → No
matter how busy my father is, he doesn’t mind lending us a hand with house chores.
15. Nobody expected her to lose the game but she did. → Against all expectations, she lost
the game.
16. Graham has spent all his time doing research. (DEVOTED) → Graham has devoted all
his time to doing research.
17. You should think about the maintenance cost before you decide to buy a second-hand car.
(TAKE) → You should take the maintenance cost into account before you decide to
buy a second-hand car.
18. My friend took no notice of my warnings. (DEAF) → My friend turned a deaf ear to
my warnings.
19. Students in this school are not allowed to go into the RainsBow disco. (BOUNDS) →
Students in this school are out of bounds at the RainsBow disco.
20. It would be easy to make a film adaption of Danielle Steel’s latest novel. (ROUGH) →
Danielle Steel’s latest novel would be easy to make a rough film adaptation of.
 21. She performed well on the stage last month and earned a place on the talent show. →
Had it not been for her good performance on the stage last month, she would not
have earned a place on the talent show.
22. Jason said that he hadn’t copied his essay from the Internet. → Jason denied having
copied his essay from the Internet.
23. There is rumour that the famous spy escaped to Russia. → The famous spy is rumoured
to have escaped to Russia.
24. Our science teacher never remembers to correct our homework. → Our science teacher
is always forgetting to correct our homework.
25. My brother likes watching football. He even likes playing it more. → My brother
prefers playing football to watching it.
26. Her promotion to Sales Manager made her parents extremely happy. (CLOUD) → Sales
Manager promotion put her parents on cloud nine.
27. I finally managed to persuade Simon to tell me his big secret - he’s getting married!
(BEANS) → I finally got Simon to spill the beans about his big secret - he’s getting
married!
28. That the prices of almost goods increased forced people to spend less money. (BELT) →
The increase in the price of almost goods forced people to tighten their belt.
29. The marketing manager suggested not appointing any new staff. (FREEZE) → The
marketing manager suggested a freeze on appointing any new staff.
30. His song is catchy, but we find it a let-down. (COME) → Our expectations about his
catchy song did not come true.
31. “I must have made a mistake in the calculations,” Ann said. → Ann admitted having
made a mistake in the calculations.
32. John is exhausted today because he didn’t sleep last night. → If John had slept last
night, he wouldn't be exhausted today.
33. Tim was suspected of selling stolen goods. The police have investigated him for days. →
Suspected of selling stolen goods, Tim has been investigated by the police for days.
34. Immediately after his arrival, things went wrong. → Hardly had he arrived when
things went wrong.

Page 5

30. Jack doesn’t know all the answers, though he pretends to.

 Correction: Jack acts as if he knows all the answers. (PRETEND)

31. Laura's teacher says she doesn't have a serious enough attitude to her work.

 Correction: Laura doesn’t take her work seriously enough, according to her teacher.
(SERIOUSLY)

33. The collision didn’t damage his car much.

 Correction: Not a great deal of damage was done to his car in the collision. (DONE)
34. Because he was injured, he couldn’t play in the next game.

 Correction: His injury prevented him from playing in the next game. (PREVENTED)

35. He was not given details of the company's new plans.

 Correction: David tried to remain in the dark about details of the company’s new plans.
(DARK)

36. David tried to remain impartial in the quarrel between his two sisters.

 Correction: David tried not to take sides in the quarrel between his two sisters. (SIDES)

37. "Why don’t you invest more money in my company?” my friend said to me.

 Correction: My friend persuaded me to invest more money in his company.

38. We cannot see animals in a vast area after the forest fire.

 Correction: There is an extinction of animals in a vast area after the forest fire.
(EXTINCT)

39. I was annoyed by his refusal to listen to reason.

 Correction: What annoyed me was his refusal to listen to reason. (ANNOY)

40. We cannot make any comparison with her sacrifice.

 Correction: Nothing can compare with her sacrifice. (COMPARE)

41. If Tom hadn’t acted promptly to extinguish the fire, there might have been more
damage to the house.

 Correction: But for Tom's prompt action, there might have been more damage to the
house. (EXTINGUISH)

42. It’s optional for first-year students to attend this workshop.

 Correction: First-year students don’t have to attend this workshop. (HAVE)

43. "Why don’t we collect those empty bottles for recycling?” said Robert.

 Correction: Robert suggested that those empty bottles be collected for recycling.
(COLLECT)
44. That dress is a third of the cost of the blue one.

 Correction: The blue dress is three times more expensive than that dress. (EXPENSIVE)

45. The soap opera was so exciting that I forgot to do my exercises.

 Correction: Such was the excitement of the soap opera that I forgot to do my exercises.
(EXCITE)

46. Christ would only eat a pizza if he could have a mushroom topping.

 Correction: Christ insisted on having a mushroom topping on his pizza. (HAVE)

47. The police have to verify the details of everyone taking part in the event today.

 Correction: The police must verify the details of everyone taking part in the event today.
(MUST)

. They were taking part in the event today.

 Correction: They were involved with the police in the event today. (INVOLVE)

49. They helped us a lot when we were in trouble.

 Correction: Their assistance was invaluable when we were in trouble. (ASSISTANCE)

50. No one listened to what the politician was saying last night.

 Correction: What the politician said last night fell on deaf ears. (EARS)

51. Mary ... going to the party.

 Correction: Mary was not in the mood for going to the party. (MOOD)

52. He has changed his opinion on the house.

 Correction: He has had a change of heart about the house. (HEART)

53. In spite of searching high and low, we couldn’t find Jack anywhere.

 Correction: Jack was nowhere to be seen despite our searching high and low. (SEE)

54. It was only his full cooperation that led to the burglar’s arrest.

 Correction: Had he not cooperated fully, the burglar would not have been arrested.
(COOPERATE)
55. It wasn’t necessary to book tickets for the show in advance.

 Correction: You need not have booked tickets for the show in advance. (NEED)

56. The audience didn’t laugh at any point during the show.

 Correction: At no time did the audience laugh during the show. (TIME)

57. "You should have finished the report by now,” John told his secretary.

 Correction: John reproached his secretary for not finishing the report by now. (FINISH)

58. I wasn’t surprised to hear that Harry had failed his driving test.

 Correction: I was not taken aback to hear that Harry had failed his driving test.
(ABACK)

59. Thomas was not given details of the company’s new project.

 Correction: Thomas was kept in the dark about the company’s new project. (DARK)

60. He assumed that the tribe wouldn’t understand him.

 Correction: He was under the impression that the tribe wouldn’t understand him.
(IMPRESSION)

61. You must concentrate on your work more.

 Correction: You must apply yourself more to your work. (APPLY)

62. What he told me made me very curious to hear the rest of the story.

 Correction: What he told me whetted my appetite to hear the rest of the story.
(WHETTED)

63. As the plane landed on the narrow runway, all the passengers began to cheer.

 Correction: Scarcely had the plane landed on the narrow runway when all the passengers
began to cheer. (LAND)

64. Maybe the package was delivered to the wrong address.

 Correction: The package could have been delivered to the wrong address. (DELIVER)

65. As Taylor Swift becomes more famous, it is more difficult for her to avoid reporters.
  Correction: The more famous Taylor Swift becomes, the more difficult it is for her to
avoid reporters. (FAME)

66. She worked hard because she wanted to be promoted.

 Correction: She worked hard with a view to being promoted. (PROMOTE)

67. It is thought that the treasure was hidden in the old castle.

 Correction: The treasure is thought to have been hidden in the old castle. (HIDE)

Page 6

70. It doesn’t matter how badly he behaved, you shouldn’t have been so rude. (HOWEVER)
→ You shouldn’t have been so rude, however badly he behaved.
71. “That’s a lovely new dress!” Lan’s mother said to her. → Lan’s mother complimented
her on her lovely new dress.
72. The trousers were cheap; however, she couldn’t afford them. → Cheap though the
trousers were, she couldn’t afford them.
73. The heavy snow stopped the students from going to the mountain. → The heavy snow
made it impossible for the students to go to the mountain.
74. What time does the gym open tomorrow morning? → Do you have any idea what time
the gym opens tomorrow morning?
75. They said that the criminal had been arrested a few days earlier. → The criminal was
said to have been arrested a few days earlier.
76. Flooding in this region was the result of the heavy rain. → The heavy rain resulted in
flooding in this region.
77. The town was so small that they had to leave it immediately. → It was such a small
town that they had to leave it immediately.
78. Persuading Sarah to change her mind is a waste of time. → It’s not worth persuading
Sarah to change her mind.
79. The only reason she got promoted is that she’s competent. → Were it not for her
competence, she wouldn’t have got promoted.
80. As he gets older, he seems to become more sensible. → The older he gets, the more
sensible he seems to become.
81. I hope they will think of a cheaper solution. (COME) → I hope they will be able to
come up with a cheaper solution.
82. Nancy was surprised to be offered a pay rise by the company. (SURPRISE) → Much to
Nancy’s surprise, she was offered a pay rise by the company.
83. The film was difficult to follow, but it was enjoyable. (DESPITE) → The film was
enjoyable despite being difficult to follow.
84. Sarah’s daughter has sufficient talent to become a successful actress. (ENOUGH) →
Sarah’s daughter is talented enough to become a successful actress.
85. Rob soon recovered from the shock of losing his job. (GET) → It didn’t take Rob much
time to get over the shock of losing his job.
 86. The company rejected his offer. (DOWN) → His offer was turned down by the
company.
87. Are you saying that I’m lying about what happened? (TRUTH) → Are you implying
that I’m not telling the truth about what happened?
88. I don’t think you should watch that TV programme, children. (RATHER) → I would
rather you didn’t watch that TV programme, children.
89. You don’t have to participate in the activity if you don’t want to. (OBLIGATION) →
You are under no obligation to participate in the activity if you don’t want to.
90. Entry is prohibited to those without a valid ticket. (POSSESSION) → Unless you are in
possession of a valid ticket, you will not be allowed in.
91. It has been arranged for all of us to attend the conference on Saturday. → We are all
arranged to attend the conference on Saturday.
92. Her salary is half what she would receive in the job she was offered four months ago. →
If she had accepted the job she was offered four months ago, her salary would be
double.
93. It is thought that the company will launch a new advertising campaign soon. → A new
advertising campaign is thought to be launched by the company soon.
94. Most of the problems of the committee arose because there was no leadership. → It was
the lack of leadership that caused most of the problems of the committee.
95. “Please don’t run so fast. I can’t catch up with you,” Daisy said to David. → Daisy
pleaded with David not to run so fast because she couldn’t catch up with him.
96. You couldn’t wish to meet a nicer fellow than Martin. → Martin is as nice a fellow as
you could wish to meet.
97. Mark is a passionate skier and he also takes part in skateboarding tournaments. → Apart
from being a passionate skier, Mark also takes part in skateboarding tournaments.
98. You shouldn’t have told everyone about my plan. → I would rather you hadn’t told
everyone about my plan.
99. It is not certain that the new situation will be an improvement. → It is open to doubt
whether the new situation will be an improvement.
100. Please do not disturb the contestants during the exam under any circumstances. →
On no account should you disturb the contestants during the exam.
101. James was nominated for the post of treasurer by two committee members.
(FORWARD) → James was put forward for the post of treasurer by two committee
members.
102. You needn’t make that simple task so challenging. (HEAVY) → You needn’t
make such a heavy task of that simple task.
103. She was very relieved when she realized that her bag hadn’t been stolen.
(BREATHED) → She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that her bag hadn’t
been stolen.

If you have any more questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask! 😊