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   Tutor Welcome to MicroEnglish. In this B2 lesson,
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   Tutor an application arrives just after the deadline. Should the
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   Tutor office accept it? We'll use that decision to explore
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   Tutor bend the rules, compare it with breaking a rule, and practise
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   Tutor the verb forms you'll need.
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   Tutor Maya wants to join a photography course, but her application
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   Tutor is an hour late. She asks, could you bend the rules
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   Tutor just this once? She wants the office to apply its deadline
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   Tutor less strictly for her. She isn't asking it to remove the deadline
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    Tutor for everyone.
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    Tutor Start here: does the policy already allow extra
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    Tutor time? If so, accepting Maya isn't necessarily
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    Tutor bending the rules. If it doesn't, accepting her as a
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    Tutor special case could be. If the deadline must be strict,
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    Tutor the office can say, sorry, we can't bend the rules.
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    Tutor Bend the rules presents a departure from a rule as limited
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    Tutor or flexible. Break a rule directly says that someone
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    Tutor acted against it. These can describe the same event from different
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    Tutor viewpoints. Calling something bending doesn't prove it's
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    Tutor allowed, fair, or harmless.
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    Tutor Could you bend the rules just this once? Could you makes
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    Tutor the request polite, while just this once limits it to one occasion.
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    Tutor The person may still refuse. You can add a reason,
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    Tutor but the phrase itself doesn't give you a right to special treatment.
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    Tutor Bend is irregular: bend, bent,
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    Tutor bent. Yesterday, they bent the rules. They've bent the
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    Tutor rules before. After a modal verb, use bend:
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    Tutor they might bend the rules. For an action happening now, you
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    Tutor can say, we're bending the rules for this applicant.
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    Tutor At a community studio, a regular member forgets her entry
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    Tutor card. A staff member offers a spare as an exception.
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    Tutor Bend the rules sounds natural in conversation here. In
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    Tutor a formal message, make an exception may be a more neutral choice.
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    Tutor A common mistake is bended the rules. Use bent
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    Tutor instead. Learn bend the rules as a whole phrase,
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    Tutor including the. You can also say bend a rule, or
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    Tutor bend the rule about something, when you mean one particular
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    Tutor requirement.
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    Tutor Back to Maya. Other late applicants were refused,
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    Tutor so the office decides to keep the deadline. I'm afraid we
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    Tutor can't make an exception is a clear response. Our decision tree
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    Tutor helps us choose language; it doesn't decide whether an exception
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    Tutor would be fair.
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    Tutor Now listen to four conversations, two British and two American.
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    Tutor Choose what the speakers' words suggest about the decision.
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    Tutor Try without captions first. After each answer,
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    Tutor hear the same conversation again and check the clue.
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    Tutor George is borrowing books at a library. Listen
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    Tutor for what Alice agrees to.
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    George I've got seven books, but the limit's six.
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    George I'll bend the rules today. Next time, please choose
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    Alice six.
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    Alice Thanks. This last one's for my research.
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    Tutor She allows one extra book this time. The limit stays
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    Tutor at six; her words today and next time mark the exception.
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    George I've got seven books, but the limit's six.
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    George I'll bend the rules today. Next time, please choose
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    Alice six.
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    Alice Thanks. This last one's for my research.
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    Tutor Roger asks about leaving his hotel room later. What
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    Tutor explains Jessica's response?
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    Roger Could you bend the rules and let me check out at two?
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    Roger No need. Your booking includes checkout at two.
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    Jessica Great, I hadn't noticed that.
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    Tutor His booking includes the later checkout. Jessica says
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    Tutor there's no need to bend the rules because the arrangement is
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    Tutor already allowed.
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    Roger Could you bend the rules and let me check out at two?
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    Roger No need. Your booking includes checkout at two.
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    Jessica Great, I hadn't noticed that.
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    Tutor Alice calls a competition organiser about her entry. What will
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    Tutor happen to it?
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    Alice My entry was only ten minutes late. Could you still
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    Alice accept it?
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    Alice I'm sorry. The deadline applies to everyone.
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    George We can't bend the rules.
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    George All right. I'll try next year.
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    Tutor The entry won't be accepted. George says the deadline applies
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    Tutor to everyone, then explicitly refuses to bend the rules.
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    Alice My entry was only ten minutes late. Could you still
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    Alice accept it?
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    Alice I'm sorry. The deadline applies to everyone.
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    George We can't bend the rules.
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    George All right. I'll try next year.
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    Tutor Two colleagues discuss an expense claim. What should Roger
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    Tutor understand from Jessica's reply?
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    Roger Will they pay this claim without a receipt?
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    Roger They bent the rules last month. Don't assume they'll
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    Jessica do it again.
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    Jessica I'd better ask the restaurant for a copy.
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    Tutor The earlier exception isn't a promise. Last month
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    Tutor describes a past decision, and don't assume warns that this
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    Tutor claim may be refused.
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    Roger Will they pay this claim without a receipt?
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    Roger They bent the rules last month. Don't assume they'll
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    Jessica do it again.
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    Jessica I'd better ask the restaurant for a copy.
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    Tutor Say, they bent the rules for me yesterday. Now change
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    Tutor it to a possibility: they might bend the rules for me tomorrow.
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     Tutor Try both aloud.
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     Tutor Does it mean a permanent change? Usually no. Is it
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     Tutor always acceptable? No; consider the actual action.
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     Tutor Can it sound critical? Yes. They always bend the rules
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     Tutor for their friends suggests unfair special treatment.
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     Tutor After have, use bent. The singular is possible when
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     Tutor you mean one rule. For a more formal request, try,
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     Tutor would you consider making an exception? That asks about
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     Tutor the same possibility without suggesting quite so strongly
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     Tutor that someone should stretch a rule.
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     Tutor Visit this lesson on MicroEnglish dot com for interactive dictation:
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     Tutor listen, type what you hear, and check your answers. You
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     Tutor can also ask the AI tutor about a sentence. The first dictation
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     Tutor is free; further practice and tutor access depend on membership
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     Tutor and available credits.
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     Tutor Would you accept Maya's late application? Write
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     Tutor your decision in the comments using would or wouldn't bend
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     Tutor the rules, and give a reason. You can ask questions there too.
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     Tutor Thanks for joining me, and see you in another lesson.

Choose an answer for each question, then check it.

1. Question 1

   Why does a speaker choose the phrase bend the rules instead of follow the rules?

   A To show that someone relaxed a requirement for a specific case instead of enforcing it strictly. B To announce that an official organization has rewritten its entire rulebook permanently. C To prove that no rules ever existed in that workplace or institution.
   Check my answer Chat with the tutor
2. Question 2

   In the pottery workshop dialogue, what action shows that the organizer bent the rules?

   A The organizer bought ten new aprons for the entire class to use next month. B The organizer allowed a student to work at the wheel without the mandatory apron just this once. C The organizer canceled the pottery session because two participants were ten minutes late.
   Check my answer Chat with the tutor
3. Question 3

   Which sentence shows that the speaker views an action as a direct, serious violation rather than a flexible adjustment?

   A The team leader bent the rules so we could submit our draft after lunch. B The cashier bent the rules by accepting my digital coupon two minutes after closing. C The auditor stated clearly that the accounting team broke the rules by hiding missing invoices.
   Check my answer Chat with the tutor