5 exercises — practise the summarizing disjunct "by and large".
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
Which sentence correctly uses "by and large" as a sentence-initial adverb to introduce a general assessment?
"By and large, the migration went smoothly..." correctly uses the fixed adverbial "by and large" on its own, followed by a comma, to introduce the general claim. Option B wrongly treats it as a preposition taking "of the migration" as an object. Option C inserts an ungrammatical "the migration" directly after it. Option D scrambles the fixed word order.
2 / 5
Which sentence correctly uses "by and large" mid-sentence, set off by commas, to summarize a general trend before naming an exception?
"...linting rules, by and large, have reduced review friction..." correctly sets off the adverbial with commas between the subject and the verb phrase. Option B wrongly inserts "of" after it, treating it as a preposition. Option C inserts an extra "the". Option D buries it inside the verb phrase in a way that breaks the fixed phrase's normal placement.
3 / 5
Which sentence correctly distinguishes "by and large" (a general truth with minor exceptions) from "entirely" (an absolute claim with no exceptions)?
"...by and large, backward compatible, though two... were removed entirely" correctly pairs the hedged generalization with the one absolute exception. Options B, C, and D scramble the two adverbs into positions that either contradict the intended meaning or break normal word order.
4 / 5
Which sentence correctly places "by and large" at the end of a clause to summarize an overall judgment?
"...simplified the codebase by and large, aside from one module..." correctly places the adverbial after the full verb phrase and object. Option B inserts it awkwardly between the verb and its object. Options C and D wrongly attach "of" to it as if it were a preposition.
5 / 5
Which sentence correctly uses "by and large" in a status report summarizing sprint results?
"By and large, the sprint met its goals..." correctly opens the sentence with the fixed adverbial, comma, then a normal subject-verb-object clause. Option B garbles the word order. Option C wrongly inserts "of" after the phrase. Option D corrupts the fixed phrase itself by changing "large" to "largely".