Use Modifiers to Qualify Claims Practice Test

A workplace memo proposes optional meeting-free mornings: “We have added new tools for collaboration, yet calendars are more crowded than ever. In the last quarter, employees averaged 14 hours of meetings per week, and project timelines still slipped. That mismatch suggests meetings are not always the work; they are sometimes the substitute for it. Meeting-free mornings would give teams uninterrupted time for writing, coding, designing, or analyzing—tasks that require concentration. This policy wouldn’t ban urgent check-ins, but it would reset the default. If we want higher-quality output, we should protect the conditions that make deep work possible.”

The use of the word sometimes serves to…

A letter to the editor supports community college funding: “State leaders call community colleges ‘backup plans,’ but that label ignores who actually relies on them. Many students are the first in their families to pursue a degree, and they choose programs that connect directly to local jobs. Graduation rates can look lower, but those numbers often count students who transfer, stop out to work, or attend part-time. More advising and childcare support would not magically fix every barrier, yet it would remove obstacles that are administrative rather than academic. If we want an economy with skilled workers, we should invest where the training happens.”

The use of the word yet in “would not magically fix every barrier, yet it would remove obstacles…” serves to…