5 exercises on the language of meeting accountability: action items, blockers, status updates, and follow-up. These phrases are essential for daily stand-ups, retrospectives, and async communication.
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
Alice ___ an action item to update the runbook by end of week.
Owns — the current best-practice verb for action item ownership:
In modern project management and Agile language, own an action item has become the preferred collocation. "Own" implies ongoing responsibility and accountability — not just that you picked it up, but that you are responsible for it until it is complete.
Register comparison:
owns → modern, Agile/product management vocabulary. "Alice owns this action item." Implies full accountability. Used in JIRA, Linear, Notion, and similar tools.
took → more traditional, still common. "Alice took an action item from the meeting." Implies she picked it up voluntarily. Common in meeting minutes.
has / is assigned → neutral assignment language: "Alice has the action item to update the runbook." / "The action item is assigned to Alice."
Action item lifecycle:
assign / take / own an action item → responsibility phase
update on an action item → progress reporting
complete / close an action item → done
carry over an action item → move to the next meeting
Common usage: "Who owns this?" is a standard Agile question when no clear owner is identified.
2 / 5
Let's ___ the action items from last week's meeting.
Review, check, and go through — all natural for opening action item discussion:
All three collocations are used regularly at the start of a meeting when the team revisits the previous week's action items. Each has a slightly different emphasis:
Review the action items: The most formal and structured option. Implies systematic examination. Common in formal minutes and project management language. "We'll begin by reviewing the action items from last session."
Check the action items: Informal and very common in tech team communication. "Let's quickly check the action items — who's done what?" Implies a quick status verification rather than a deep discussion.
Go through the action items: Conversational and neutral. Implies working through each item in sequence. "Let's go through the action items one by one." Very natural in stand-ups and retrospectives.
Related expressions:
run through the action items → informal synonym of "go through": "Can we run through the action items quickly?"
revisit the action items → implies returning to something previously discussed
"Any updates on the action items?" → common meeting opener
3 / 5
The blocker was ___ during the retrospective.
Addressed — the most professional verb for meeting outcomes:
In a meeting context, addressed is the most appropriate and professional choice for describing what happened to a blocker during a retrospective or discussion. However, "resolved" is also fully correct and widely used.
The vocabulary spectrum:
addressed → the blocker was raised, discussed, and steps were taken. Does not necessarily mean fully solved — "the concern was addressed" = it was acknowledged and acted upon. Common in formal meeting minutes and retrospective notes.
resolved → the blocker is fully removed. Used in project management tools, Jira tickets, and incident language. "The blocker was resolved after the platform team added the missing dependency."
fixed → usually for technical problems: code bugs, broken configurations. "The build blocker was fixed by updating the Dockerfile."
solved → general-purpose problem resolution. Correct but slightly less professional in formal meeting write-ups.
Blocker vocabulary:
raise / flag / identify a blocker → discovery
escalate a blocker → bring to management when a team cannot resolve it
remove / clear / unblock → resolve it: "Can someone unblock me on this?"
4 / 5
Could you ___ on the status of the API migration?
Update us, share an update, give us an update — all standard request forms:
Requesting a status update is a very common meeting and communication act, and English provides several equally natural ways to do it:
Update us on X: The most concise form. "Could you update us on the API migration?" Common in stand-ups and quick check-ins. The verb "update" is used transitively: "update the team."
Share an update on X: Slightly more collaborative in tone — implies the person is sharing information with the group. "Could you share an update with the team?" Common in async communication (Slack, email) and meeting contexts.
Give us an update on X: Very natural and widely used. "Can you give us a quick update on where things stand?" Common in all registers — spoken and written, formal and informal.
Additional update request patterns:
"Where do things stand with the API migration?" → open-ended status question
"Any updates on X?" → informal, common Slack opener
"What's the status of X?" → direct and professional
"Can you walk us through the current state of X?" → more detailed briefing request
Giving an update:
"Here's a quick update…"
"To bring everyone up to speed…"
"Status update: we're on track / slightly behind / blocked."
5 / 5
We'll ___ on this next week to check progress.
Follow up, check in, and touch base — three standard professional expressions:
All three are natural and widely used in English-speaking professional environments, particularly in tech teams. They all mean "meet or communicate again to assess progress":
Follow up: The most formal and broadly professional term. Used in emails, meeting notes, and project management. "I'll follow up with you next week." Also a noun: "This is a follow-up to our conversation." Very common in written communication.
Check in: Slightly more personal and informal. Often used for both team and individual check-ins. "Let's check in on Monday morning." Also used for 1-on-1 meetings: "I have a check-in with my manager on Wednesday."
Touch base: American English business idiom, now widely used globally in tech. Means a brief, informal contact to exchange status information. "Let's touch base later this week." Common in startup and tech culture. Some find it overused — but it is understood everywhere.
Related expressions:
"Circle back on this" → return to a topic: "Let's circle back on this next sprint"
"Sync up on this" → have a brief alignment meeting: "Can we sync up on the API design tomorrow?"
"Ping me when it's done" → very informal: "Ping me on Slack when you're ready"
What does the "Action Items & Follow-Up Collocations" exercise practise?
5 exercises on the language of meeting accountability: action items, blockers, status updates, and follow-up. These phrases are essential for daily stand-ups, retrospectives, and async communication.
How many questions are in this exercise?
This exercise has 5 questions, each multiple-choice with an explanation shown after you answer.
What English level is this exercise for?
This exercise is tagged Beginner. If the vocabulary feels difficult, browse Meetings Communication for a related exercise to start with instead.
Is this exercise free to use?
Yes. Every exercise on CoderSlingo, including this one, is free with no account, sign-up, or paywall.
Do I get feedback if I answer incorrectly?
Yes — whichever option you choose, right or wrong, you'll immediately see an explanation clarifying the correct collocation and why the other options don't fit.
Can I retry this exercise?
Yes — once you finish all the questions, a "Try again" button on the results screen resets the exercise so you can practise as many times as you like.
Do I need an account to track my progress?
No account is required. Your progress and score for this session are tracked in the browser as you go, but nothing is saved once you leave the page.
Is "Action Items & Follow-Up Collocations" part of a larger series?
Yes — it's one exercise in Meetings Communication. See that category page for the full list of related collocation exercises.
Can I link directly to this exercise?
Yes — this exercise has its own permanent URL, so you can bookmark it or share the link directly with a colleague or study partner.
Where can I find more exercises like this one?
See Meetings Communication for related exercises, or browse the main Collocations hub for other IT English word pairings.