5 exercises on the specific verbs used in pull request workflows — submit, merge, split, block, resolve. These choices are not interchangeable in professional code review communication.
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
After the code review, the reviewer was satisfied with the changes. She clicked the Approve button and ___ the PR to merge it into main.
Which verb completes this sentence most naturally?
Merged the PR is the correct answer here. The sentence describes the final act: integrating the branch into main after approval.
The PR lifecycle verb sequence:
open / create a PR — submit code for review
review a PR — read the changes and leave feedback
approve a PR — formally mark it ready (clicking "Approve" in GitHub)
merge a PR — integrate the branch into the target branch (main/develop)
Why not "approved"? The sentence says she clicked Approve (that's the approval action) and then merged. Two separate steps. "Merged" completes the action sequence.
Common usages:
"The PR is approved — merge it when ready."
"She merged the PR after two approvals."
"Can you merge after CI passes?"
2 / 5
He ___ the PR with a detailed description of the changes, including a link to the related Jira ticket.
Which verb is most natural?
Submitted the PR is the most natural and idiomatic choice for sending a pull request for review — especially in formal or professional contexts.
Verb choices for creating a PR:
submit a PR — the most formal; implies sending for review and approval. Very common in engineering communication.
open a PR — the most common informal term; "I opened a PR" is heard constantly in standups
create a PR — neutral and correct; slightly more mechanical-sounding
raise a PR — British English variant; common in UK tech companies ("I've raised a PR")
Why not "described"? "Described" is not a verb that collocates with "PR" — you describe the changes, but you submit/open/create the PR.
Example sentences:
"I've submitted the PR — it's ready for review."
"Please open a PR against the develop branch."
"She raised a PR with a clean refactor of the auth module."
3 / 5
The reviewer ___ the PR after identifying a critical security vulnerability in the authentication layer.
Which verb best describes a reviewer formally stopping a PR from merging?
Blocked the PR is the most precise term here — the reviewer is preventing the merge due to a critical issue, but the PR is still open and can be fixed.
Verb distinctions:
block a PR — prevent it from merging due to an issue; the PR remains open. In GitHub, the mechanism is "Request changes", which formally blocks the merge.
reject a PR — reject implies a more final refusal; less common in GitHub vocabulary, more common in general English
close a PR — close it without merging (abandoning it); implies it won't be pursued further
revert a PR — undo a merge that has already happened; cannot be used before a merge
Security context: A critical security issue is a blocker — the reviewer would "request changes" (formal action) and write a blocking comment like: "Blocker: SQL injection vulnerability — must fix before merge."
4 / 5
The tech lead asked the developer to ___ the large PR into smaller, independently reviewable chunks before requesting review.
Which verb is most natural?
Split the PR is the standard, idiomatic expression for dividing a large pull request into smaller ones.
Why smaller PRs? Large PRs (400+ lines) are harder to review thoroughly, slow down the review cycle, and carry higher risk. Breaking them into focused, smaller PRs is a widely recommended engineering practice.
Verb comparison:
split a PR — the standard engineering term: "Can you split this into two PRs?"
break up a PR — also natural and common: "Let's break this up into smaller pieces."
divide a PR — grammatically correct but less idiomatic in engineering conversations
separate a PR — similarly correct but less natural; "separate the changes" is more typical than "separate the PR"
Related patterns:
"Split the PR by feature / by layer / by service."
"This PR is too large — can you break it up?"
"Smaller PRs are easier to review and merge."
5 / 5
After fixing the issue raised in the review and pushing a new commit, she ___ the comment thread to show it had been handled.
Which verb is most natural?
Resolved the thread is the standard GitHub/GitLab term for marking a review comment thread as handled.
How it works: When a reviewer leaves a comment, it opens a "conversation thread". After the developer makes the requested change, they (or the reviewer) click "Resolve conversation" in GitHub — this collapses and marks the thread as done.
Vocabulary:
resolve a thread / comment / conversation — the standard action after addressing feedback
address feedback — the general verb for responding to review comments: "I've addressed all the feedback"
close — used for PRs and issues, not comment threads
mark as done / mark as resolved — informal alternatives
Common workflow phrases:
"I've resolved all threads — ready for re-review."
"Can you resolve the comment once you've made the change?"
"There are 3 unresolved threads blocking the merge."