Hedging language — interactive lesson covering grammatical and lexical hedging tools, with browse, gap-fill, transformation, matching, and paraphrasing activities.

Interactive lesson
Hedging language in English
Grammatical and lexical tools to express uncertainty, caution, and tentativeness
What is hedging?

Hedging is the use of linguistic devices to signal caution, uncertainty, or tentativeness. Hedges protect speakers and writers from being wrong, allow them to be polite, and mark claims as personal or tentative rather than absolute. Hedging is essential in academic writing, professional communication, and everyday speech.

Epistemic
Express degree of certainty: "This may indicate…"
Approximation
Soften exact claims: "approximately", "around"
Attribution
Attribute to source: "According to…", "It is claimed…"
Limitation
Restrict scope: "in some cases", "to some extent"
This lesson covers 50 hedging tools across 7 categories: modal verbs, semi-modals, adverbs, verbs, adjectives/nouns, approximators, and attribution phrases.
Browse
Explore all hedging tools
Gap fill
Choose the right hedge
Matching
Match hedge to function
Transformation
Rewrite with a different hedge
Paraphrasing
Hedge unhedged sentences
Hedging language
Browse & search
Explore all hedging tools by category or keyword
Filter by category
Hedging language
Gap fill
Choose the most appropriate hedging word or phrase to complete each sentence
Hedging language
Matching
Match each hedging expression to its function or meaning
Hedging language
Transformation
Rewrite each sentence using the hedging tool given — keep the meaning as close as possible
Hedging language
Paraphrasing
Add hedging language to make each direct claim more tentative — many correct answers are possible
Hedging language
My glossary
Saved hedging tools for review