Practicing Hedging

Type of hedging Examples

Verbs for observation, opinion, or seem, tend, look like, appear to be, think, believe, indicate,
belief suggest, assume

Modal verbs may, might, could, should, would

often, usually, sometimes, hardly ever, almost always,

Adverbs of frequency
almost never

Adverbs showing possibility possibly, probably, perhaps, potentially

Adjectives showing possibility probable, possible, likely, unlikely

Nouns showing possibility possibility, assumption, probability

most, many, several, almost all, almost none, the majority

Quantifiers
of, the minority of, few, some

Circle the hedging statements in the sentences below

1. Students who took these classes were more likely to do better at the university.
2. Scientific studies suggest that climate change could have very serious consequences for the earth.
3. The news report indicates that green tea can potentially prevent cancer.
4. Most people in the United States are in favor of democracy.
5. Many people do not enjoy exercise, but it is perhaps the best thing you can do for your health.
Change the sentences below by adding some hedging statements. You can change the order of the
sentence if necessary.
1. Nobody enjoys doing household chores.
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2. Every American loves eating pizza.
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3. Strong leadership is the most important thing for companies.
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4. A person who is 5’3” (1.6m) cannot play basketball in the NBA.
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5. If you learn computer skills, you will get a good job.

From kriswingo.com
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From kriswingo.com