5 exercises — practising correct article use (a, an, the, or zero article) with technical nouns like server, API, memory, data, and traffic.
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
Which sentence correctly uses the article with "API"?
Context: introducing an endpoint for the first time in documentation.
When you mention a countable noun for the first time without specifying which one, use the indefinite article. "API" begins with a vowel sound (/eɪ/), so use "an", not "a". "Connect to an API" means any API in general. Once you have established which specific API you mean, you switch to "the" on subsequent mentions. Zero article (no article) is wrong here because "API" is countable and singular.
2 / 5
The documentation says: "Set _____ memory limit in the container configuration." Which article is correct here?
Use "the" when referring to something unique or already known to the reader. "The memory limit" implies there is one specific memory limit in the container configuration — both writer and reader know which one is meant. "A memory limit" would suggest one of several possible limits, implying ambiguity. "Memory" as an uncountable mass noun takes no article on its own, but "memory limit" is a countable noun phrase, so it requires an article.
3 / 5
Which sentence is correct in a performance report?
"High _____ traffic is causing latency spikes on the CDN."
Uncountable nouns used in a general sense take no article (zero article). "Traffic" in networking is an uncountable mass noun — you cannot say "a traffic" or "traffics". When referring to traffic in general (not a specific, identified traffic event), use zero article: "High traffic is causing...". Similarly, nouns like "data", "memory", "bandwidth", and "latency" are uncountable in technical English and typically take no article in general statements.
4 / 5
A junior developer writes: "We need to restart a server." The tech lead corrects it. In context, the team has only one production server. What should the sentence be?
Use "the" when there is only one of something in the relevant context, or when the listener/reader already knows which specific thing is meant. If the team has one production server and everyone knows which server is being discussed, "the server" is the only correct choice. "A server" would imply one of many unspecified servers, introducing ambiguity where none exists. Always use "the" for unique or contextually established referents.
5 / 5
Choose the correct sentence from a developer's comment in code review:
"This function handles _____ data from _____ external API."
"Data" is uncountable in technical English, so it takes no article in a general statement about what a function handles. "An external API" uses the indefinite article because "API" starts with a vowel sound (/eɪ/) and this is a general first mention — any external API, not a specific one already identified. The combination "— (no article) / an" correctly applies zero article to uncountable "data" and the indefinite "an" to the countable singular noun "API".