Contrast: unlike "it is confirmed that," it leaves room for the speaker being wrong
Register: neutral, common in spoken debugging sessions and written code review comments
0 / 23 completed
1 / 23
A bug triage comment reads: "___ , this only reproduces on Safari, though I haven't tested every version." Which phrase best signals a conclusion limited by the speaker's own investigation?
As far as I can tell is a fixed idiom meaning "based on what I know or have checked." It requires "as" before "I can tell." "As far I can tell" drops the required "as," "as far as I can telling" wrongly uses a gerund, and "as far as I could tell it" adds an unnecessary object.
2 / 23
Which sentence uses "as far as I can tell" correctly?
"As far as I can tell, the memory leak is confined to the worker process, but I haven't profiled the main thread yet" correctly limits a technical claim to the scope of what the speaker has actually investigated. It cannot introduce a confident future plan, an instruction, or a scheduled event.
3 / 23
Fill the blank: "___ , the two services never call each other directly — all communication goes through the message queue."
As far as I can tell has a fixed word order: "as" + "far" + "as" + "I" + "can" + "tell." The other options scramble this into invalid, meaningless sequences.
4 / 23
Which pair correctly distinguishes "as far as I can tell" from "it is confirmed that"?
"As far as I can tell, the fix resolved the race condition" leaves room for the speaker being wrong or having missed something. "It is confirmed that the fix resolved the race condition" claims a verified, checked fact.
5 / 23
A code review comment reads: "___ , this function is only called from the admin panel, so the extra validation may be unnecessary." Which best completes the sentence?
As far as I can tell is the correct, fixed form. The other options scramble the required word order into invalid phrases.
6 / 23
Which sentence contains an error in the use of "as far as I can tell"?
"As far as I can tell that the linter reported yesterday, three files have unused imports" incorrectly attaches a relative clause to the fixed idiom, which cannot be modified this way. The other three sentences use it correctly as a standalone epistemic hedge.
7 / 23
Choose the sentence where "as far as I can tell" is best replaced by "from what I can see" without changing the meaning.
"From what I can see, none of the failing tests are related to my change" preserves the meaning exactly. The other options misuse the phrase as an urgency marker, an unrelated construction, or a pairing with a specific future date.
8 / 23
A design doc states: "___ , no other service depends on this internal API, so removing it should be safe." Which best fits?
As far as I can tell is the correct, standard form — the modal "can" and bare infinitive "tell" are fixed. Option A wrongly uses a gerund. Option B wrongly conjugates "tell" with an "-s." Option D scrambles the word order.
9 / 23
Which register note about "as far as I can tell" is accurate?
"As far as I can tell" works equally well in a spoken debugging session ("As far as I can tell, it's a timing issue") and a written code review comment. It always limits a claim to what the speaker has actually checked.
10 / 23
Which sentence best demonstrates "as far as I can tell" limiting a technical claim to the scope of the speaker's own investigation?
"As far as I can tell, the corrupted records all came from the batch import job... though I haven't ruled out the API path entirely" is the textbook use: a bounded claim with an explicit acknowledgment of the limits of the investigation. The other options misuse the phrase as a command intensifier, insert it awkwardly mid-clause, or pair it incorrectly with a future date.
11 / 23
During a Slack discussion about the new user onboarding flow, Sarah writes: 'As far as I can tell, the initial data validation is failing for users with hyphenated last names. It's only happening in Chrome on our test environment.' What does this statement primarily indicate?
'As far as I can tell' expresses an opinion based on current information. Sarah hasn't fully investigated the problem; she's only observed it in Chrome on one test environment. The phrase signals that her conclusion is provisional and requires further validation before being considered a confirmed fact – this is common when initial debugging steps are taken. Options A, C, and D all suggest certainty that isn't warranted given the limited information provided.
12 / 23
PR Description: "The new payment gateway integration is complete. As far as I can tell, the transaction success rate is consistently above 98% during our latest testing."
During a code review, John comments: 'That's good to hear, but could you run some load tests with simulated peak traffic to really validate that?' What does John's comment primarily highlight about the initial statement's reliability?
The question assesses understanding of the phrase 'as far as I can tell,' which implies a preliminary assessment based on limited information. John's comment correctly identifies that the initial statement lacks detail about *how* the success rate was measured (e.g., testing methodology, load conditions), thus making it potentially unreliable under more demanding circumstances. The key takeaway is that a high percentage doesn't automatically guarantee robustness – further, more rigorous validation is always needed.
13 / 23
During a Slack discussion about the new user onboarding flow, Sarah writes: 'As far as I can tell, the initial data validation is failing for users with hyphenated last names. It's only happening in Chrome on our test environment.' What does this statement primarily indicate?
'As far as I can tell' expresses an opinion based on current information. Sarah hasn't fully investigated the problem; she's only observed it in Chrome on one test environment. The phrase signals that her conclusion is provisional and requires further validation before being considered a confirmed fact – this is common when initial debugging steps are taken. Options A, C, and D all suggest certainty that isn't warranted given the limited information provided.
14 / 23
PR Description: "The new payment gateway integration is complete. As far as I can tell, the transaction success rate is consistently above 98% during our latest testing."
During a code review, John comments: 'That's good to hear, but could you run some load tests with simulated peak traffic to really validate that?' What does John's comment primarily highlight about the initial statement's reliability?
The question assesses understanding of the phrase 'as far as I can tell,' which implies a preliminary assessment based on limited information. John's comment correctly identifies that the initial statement lacks detail about *how* the success rate was measured (e.g., testing methodology, load conditions), thus making it potentially unreliable under more demanding circumstances. The key takeaway is that a high percentage doesn't automatically guarantee robustness – further, more rigorous validation is always needed.
15 / 23
During a Slack discussion about the new user onboarding flow, Sarah writes: 'As far as I can tell, the initial data validation is failing for users with hyphenated last names. It's only happening in Chrome on our test environment.' What does this statement primarily indicate?
'As far as I can tell' expresses an opinion based on current information. Sarah hasn't fully investigated the problem; she's only observed it in Chrome on one test environment. The phrase signals that her conclusion is provisional and requires further validation before being considered a confirmed fact – this is common when initial debugging steps are taken. Options A, C, and D all suggest certainty that isn't warranted given the limited information provided.
16 / 23
PR Description: "The new payment gateway integration is complete. As far as I can tell, the transaction success rate is consistently above 98% during our latest testing."
During a code review, John comments: 'That's good to hear, but could you run some load tests with simulated peak traffic to really validate that?' What does John's comment primarily highlight about the initial statement's reliability?
The question assesses understanding of the phrase 'as far as I can tell,' which implies a preliminary assessment based on limited information. John's comment correctly identifies that the initial statement lacks detail about *how* the success rate was measured (e.g., testing methodology, load conditions), thus making it potentially unreliable under more demanding circumstances. The key takeaway is that a high percentage doesn't automatically guarantee robustness – further, more rigorous validation is always needed.
17 / 23
During a Slack discussion about the new user onboarding flow, Sarah writes: 'As far as I can tell, the initial data validation is failing for users with hyphenated last names. It's only happening in Chrome on our test environment.' What does this statement primarily indicate?
'As far as I can tell' expresses an opinion based on current information. Sarah hasn't fully investigated the problem; she's only observed it in Chrome on one test environment. The phrase signals that her conclusion is provisional and requires further validation before being considered a confirmed fact – this is common when initial debugging steps are taken. Options A, C, and D all suggest certainty that isn't warranted given the limited information provided.
18 / 23
PR Description: "The new payment gateway integration is complete. As far as I can tell, the transaction success rate is consistently above 98% during our latest testing."
During a code review, John comments: 'That's good to hear, but could you run some load tests with simulated peak traffic to really validate that?' What does John's comment primarily highlight about the initial statement's reliability?
The question assesses understanding of the phrase 'as far as I can tell,' which implies a preliminary assessment based on limited information. John's comment correctly identifies that the initial statement lacks detail about *how* the success rate was measured (e.g., testing methodology, load conditions), thus making it potentially unreliable under more demanding circumstances. The key takeaway is that a high percentage doesn't automatically guarantee robustness – further, more rigorous validation is always needed.
19 / 23
David: 'As far as I can tell, the new database schema is compatible with our existing application code.'
Which of the following best describes David's statement?
David's statement uses 'as far as I can tell,' which signals that his assessment is tentative. It doesn't imply certainty; rather, it acknowledges the possibility of further investigation or discovery. The wrong options all suggest a level of confirmation beyond what's implied by the phrase.
20 / 23
Maria (Slack message): 'As far as I can tell, the server latency is higher than usual during peak hours. It's only noticeable when running the user authentication service.'
'As far as I can tell' in this context highlights that Maria's observation is based on limited data – only during peak hours and with the authentication service. She hasn't established a definitive problem; she's reporting a correlation. The other options misinterpret the hedging nature of the phrase.
21 / 23
PR Description: 'The user profile API has been updated. As far as I can tell, all existing integrations are functioning correctly.'
Which of the following would be the *most* appropriate follow-up question for a code reviewer to ask?
'As far as I can tell' is a cautious statement; it doesn't guarantee complete success. The best follow-up question acknowledges this limitation and seeks concrete evidence to support the claim. Options B, C, and D assume certainty that isn't warranted by the phrasing.
22 / 23
John (Standup update): 'As far as I can tell from the recent monitoring data, we're seeing a slight increase in error rates on the payment processing endpoint. It's primarily affecting users with older browsers.'
John's statement uses 'as far as I can tell' to qualify his observation. The phrase acknowledges that it's based on monitoring data and a specific subset of users (older browsers). Therefore, 'slight increase in error rates' is the most accurate interpretation – a minor issue needing investigation rather than a critical failure.
23 / 23
Emily (Code review comment): 'The new feature seems to be working as expected. As far as I can tell, the performance impact is negligible.'
'As far as I can tell' signals that Emily's judgment is based on initial observations. While it might be true that the performance impact *appears* negligible now, further testing or monitoring could reveal different results. This phrasing avoids overstating the certainty of her assessment.
What will I practise in ""As Far As I Can Tell" as an Epistemic-Limit Hedge — IT English Grammar"?
Practice using "as far as I can tell" to limit a technical claim to the scope of your own investigation, in debugging and code review.
How many exercises are in this module?
This module has 23 multiple-choice exercises, each with instant feedback and a full explanation of the correct answer.
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