5 exercises — practise warning against unwanted outcomes with the formal conjunction "lest".
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
Which sentence correctly uses "lest" with the bare subjunctive verb form, without an additional negative?
"The team documented every workaround lest a future engineer repeat the same mistake" is correct: "lest" already carries the meaning "so that ... not", so it takes the bare subjunctive "repeat" with no extra negative. Option B wrongly inflects the verb with "-s". Option C adds a redundant "not", reversing the intended meaning. Option D adds an unneeded auxiliary and negative.
2 / 5
Which sentence correctly uses "lest" followed by "should" plus the base verb, the more common pattern in modern formal writing?
"The reviewer flagged the missing test lest the regression should slip into production unnoticed" correctly follows "lest" with "should" plus the base form "slip". Option B wrongly inflects "slip" after "should". Option C incorrectly inverts "should" before the subject. Option D misplaces "not" between the subject and "should".
3 / 5
Which sentence correctly distinguishes "lest" (a cautionary conjunction of its own) from "for fear that", avoiding a mixed or redundant connector?
"The team rotated the credentials lest the leaked key be used to access production data" correctly uses "lest" alone, with the bare subjunctive "be", as a complete cautionary connector. Option B wrongly combines "lest" with "for fear that". Option C wrongly combines "for fear" and "lest". Option D wrongly adds "that" after "lest", which "lest" does not take.
4 / 5
Which sentence correctly uses "lest" in a formal warning within API documentation?
"Always validate the input length lest the buffer overflow corrupt adjacent memory" correctly keeps the bare subjunctive "corrupt" after "lest". Option B wrongly adds "-s". Option C wrongly uses the past tense. Option D wrongly inserts the modal "will", which "lest" does not take alongside the subjunctive.
5 / 5
Which sentence correctly places a "lest" clause at the end of a sentence describing a defensive coding practice?
"The function checks for null references first, lest a downstream call throw an unhandled exception" correctly uses the bare subjunctive "throw" after "lest". Option B wrongly uses the infinitive "to throw". Option C wrongly uses the gerund "throwing". Option D wrongly uses the past tense "threw".