5 exercises on the verb collocations used with different types of software tests: regression, smoke, code review, penetration, and test suite execution.
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
QA is ___ regression tests to make sure the new feature didn't break existing functionality.
Run — the dominant verb for executing a test suite:
Run regression tests is the standard, idiomatic collocation in QA and development. "Run" is the go-to verb whenever tests are being executed, regardless of type.
Why "run"? The verb "run" maps directly to how tests are invoked in practice: you "run" a command in the terminal, you "run" a pipeline, you "run" a test suite. The mental model is consistent: run = execute.
Regression testing vocabulary:
run regression tests → execute the full test suite against the existing codebase
introduce a regression → accidentally break something that worked before
catch a regression → a test detects the accidental breakage
prevent regressions → the purpose of regression tests
"Make" and "do" do not collocate with "regression tests" — they are the wrong grammatical category here. "Execute" is grammatically correct and used in formal QA documentation, but in daily team communication, "run" is the natural choice.
Note on "executing": You may see "execute" in formal test management tools (TestRail uses "execute a test case"), but in spoken English among developers, "run" dominates.
2 / 5
We ___ a smoke test after each deployment to verify the critical paths work.
Perform, run, and do — all three collocate with "smoke test":
Unlike some test types, "smoke test" is flexible enough to collocate naturally with three different verbs. All are heard in real teams:
Run a smoke test: The most informal and common in developer conversation. "CI runs a smoke test on every deploy." Natural in Slack messages and stand-ups.
Perform a smoke test: More formal register. Used in runbooks, test plans, and documentation. "The deployment script performs a smoke test against the health endpoint."
Do a smoke test: Informal but widely used, especially in spoken English. "Let's do a quick smoke test before we call it done."
What is a smoke test? The name comes from hardware testing — power on a circuit board and see if anything "smokes" (catches fire). In software, it means: run the most critical tests first to check the system hasn't fundamentally broken. Also called a sanity check or build verification test (BVT).
Related phrases:
"The smoke tests are green." → basic functionality confirmed
"It failed the smoke test." → a critical path is broken
"Just do a smoke test — no need for the full suite." → quick verification
3 / 5
The new hire ___ a code review on Alice's PR before it was merged.
Conduct and do — two valid registers for "code review":
Both conduct a code review and do a code review are correct, and you will encounter both in English-speaking tech teams. The choice depends on formality:
Conduct a code review: The formal, professional register. Used in documentation, performance reviews, and written reports. "Each PR must have at least two engineers conduct a code review before merging." "Conducted" implies a structured, deliberate process.
Do a code review: The informal, everyday register. Used in Slack, stand-ups, and casual team conversation. "Can you do a quick code review on my PR?" Very natural in spoken English.
Also acceptable:
review a PR / review the code → shortest form, most common on GitHub/GitLab: "Could you review my PR?"
perform a code review → formal, similar to "conduct"
"Made a code review" is not a standard English collocation — avoid it.
Code review collocations to know:
leave / add a comment → "She left a comment on line 42"
request changes → "He requested changes on the PR"
approve the PR → "Two approvals required before merge"
4 / 5
The security team ___ a penetration test on the new API endpoints.
Perform, run, and conduct — all collocate with "penetration test":
Penetration testing (pen testing) is a formal security activity, and it collocates naturally with multiple verbs depending on context:
Conduct a penetration test: The most formal register. Used in security audit reports, compliance documents, and SOC 2 evidence packages. "The organisation conducts an annual penetration test." This is the most common choice in written professional contexts.
Perform a penetration test: Also formal and widely used in security documentation. Nearly interchangeable with "conduct" in this context.
Run a penetration test: Less formal, more natural in spoken conversation and team Slack. "The security team ran a pen test last week."
Penetration testing vocabulary:
commission a pen test → hire an external party to do it
scope a pen test → define what is in and out of scope
carry out a pen test → British English alternative to "perform"
exploit a vulnerability → the pen tester actively takes advantage of a weakness
report the findings → document the vulnerabilities found
remediate the findings → fix the identified issues
Abbreviations: "pen test" or "pentest" (noun/verb) are standard short forms.
5 / 5
___ the test suite takes about 12 minutes on the CI server.
Running and executing — both correct for describing test suite execution time:
Both running the test suite and executing the test suite are grammatically correct and used in engineering contexts.
Running (most natural): The everyday, idiomatic choice. "Running the full test suite takes 20 minutes" — this is what you would say in a stand-up, a Slack message, or a team discussion.
Executing (formal): Used in technical documentation, performance benchmarks, and CI/CD pipeline descriptions. "Executing the test suite on a 4-core runner completes in approximately 12 minutes."
Why "making" is wrong: "Make" does not collocate with "test suite" in the sense of running it. "Make" is used to create or build things — "make a test" means write a test. You never say "making the test suite" to mean running it.
CI/CD timing vocabulary:
"The pipeline takes / runs in / completes in 12 minutes."
"Build time is 12 minutes." → nominal form, common in discussions about pipeline speed
"The tests are slow / fast / flaky." → adjective collocations for test quality
optimise / speed up / parallelise the test suite → common engineering goals