5 exercises — verb and adjective complement patterns using "that", "for…to", and the subjunctive in technical recommendations, specifications, and API documentation.
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
A technical specification states: "It is essential _____ all API keys be rotated every 90 days." Which form correctly completes the complement clause?
That introduces a noun complement clause after "It is essential." The full construction is: It is [adjective] + that + [subject] + [bare infinitive / present subjunctive]. "It is essential that all API keys be rotated" uses the formal subjunctive "be" (not "are"), which is required after expressions of necessity, recommendation, or insistence in formal technical writing: "It is critical that the migration script be tested…", "It is vital that the firewall rule be updated…""For" would introduce an infinitive clause: "It is essential for keys to be rotated" — grammatically acceptable but less formal. "To" and "which" produce ungrammatical constructions here.
2 / 5
A code review comment reads: "We recommend _____ the function be split into smaller units." Which form is correct in a formal recommendation?
That is correct. The verb "recommend" takes a that-clause with the subjunctive in formal English: "We recommend that [subject] + [bare form of verb]." For example: "We recommend that the function be refactored." Note: the subjunctive "be" is used rather than "is" in formal writing. In speech and informal writing, "that" is often omitted: "We recommend the function be split.""To" requires a different construction: "We recommend splitting the function" (gerund) or "We recommend the team to split" (incorrect — "recommend" does not take an object + infinitive). "For" and "which" are grammatically wrong here.
3 / 5
A design document reads: "The fact _____ the service uses eventually consistent data means that reads may return stale values." Which word completes the complement clause correctly?
That introduces a noun complement clause after "the fact." The construction is: the fact + that + [full clause]. This is different from a relative clause. In "the fact that the service uses eventual consistency", "that" introduces a complement explaining what the fact is — it does not refer back to an antecedent noun. A relative clause would use "which": "the fact, which was documented..." (referring to the fact itself). "Of which" is used in formal relative clauses: "the principle of which we are aware.""Where" introduces place clauses or relative clauses for locations. Only "that" correctly introduces the complement of "fact."
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An API specification contains: "It has been observed _____ the response time degrades under high load." Identify the correct complement clause structure.
"It has been observed that the response time degrades under high load" is the correct passive complement clause structure. After passive reporting verbs (observe, note, find, establish, determine, confirm), use that + clause to introduce what was observed. This is the standard impersonal passive construction in technical and scientific writing. Option A: "which" cannot introduce a complement clause after a verb. Option C: "for + gerund" creates an awkward and non-standard construction here. Option D: the "object + to-infinitive" structure after "observed" is only correct with an active verb: "We observed the time to degrade" — possible but unusual and not standard in documentation.
5 / 5
A technical RFC states: "It is important _____ developers understand the rate-limiting behaviour before integrating the API." Which is grammatically correct?
"It is important that developers understand" is correct. Two grammatical patterns follow "It is important": (1) that + subject + bare infinitive/subjunctive: "that developers understand"; (2) for + noun phrase + to-infinitive: "for developers to understand." Option A uses pattern (1) correctly — "understand" is the subjunctive/bare form (not "understands"). Option B uses "for" but breaks pattern (2) by using a gerund ("understanding") instead of a to-infinitive. Option C incorrectly adds an "-s" to "understands" — the subjunctive takes the bare form regardless of subject number. Option D: "which" cannot introduce this type of complement clause.