Business English Vocabulary Challenge: Bend the Rules, Enforce the Rules, Relax the Rules

Welcome to the Business English Vocabulary Challenge! Today, we’ll learn another important phrase used in the workplace.

Today's Challenge:

Choose the correct word to complete each sentence.

1.Employees must _____ with the rules to stay safe.

A. follow

B. comply

C. bend

The phrase comply with the rules means to follow the rules. If employees comply with the rules, they are doing what is required to maintain safety and follow guidelines.

All employees must comply with the safety rules at the factory.

The company made sure everyone complied with the new regulations.

To avoid penalties, all employees must comply with the company’s security rules.

Bend the rules, on the other hand, means to make exceptions or be flexible with the rules.

As you might have guessed, option A is incorrect because the correct expression is follow the rules, not follow with the rules.

So, the correct answer to the first quiz is B. comply.

2. They _____ the rules to give her more time on the project.

A. bent

B. broken

C. folded

In the second sentence, the phrase bent the rules is the best fit. Bent is the past simple form of the verb to bend.

Sometimes, you need to bend the rules to accommodate special situations.

The new employees needed time to adjust to the schedule, so they bent the rules for them.

So, the correct answer to the second quiz is A. bent.

3. The manager ______the rules because people were coming in late.

A. ignored

B. enforced

C. relaxed

To enforce the rules means to make sure that people are following them. If the manager enforced the rules, they made sure everyone came to work on time.

They enforced these new rules to keep everything running smoothly.

They are going to enforce the rules to prevent misuse of the resources.

The correct answer to the third quiz is B. enforced.

Did You Know?

To relax the rules means to make the rules less strict. For example, during a busy season, a company might relax the rules on dress code.

A similar phrase is to loosen the rules, which also means to make the rules less strict.

They relaxed the rules so employees could work from home.

They decided to loosen the rules on deadlines to reduce stress during the busy period.