5 exercises — handle tricky nouns such as data, software, feedback, and infrastructure, and choose the right quantifiers and verb agreement.
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
In modern technical English, "software" is treated as an uncountable noun. Which sentence is correct?
"Software" is uncountable:Software has no plural form and takes no indefinite article. To count it, use a partitive such as pieces of software, applications, or programs. Options A and D use the non-existent plural softwares; option C wrongly adds a. The same pattern applies to hardware, malware, and firmware.
2 / 5
You are describing a small quantity of feedback received on a pull request. Which quantifier is correct?
"Feedback" is uncountable — use "(a) little", not "(a) few":Feedback takes no plural, so feedbacks is incorrect (options A and D). With uncountable nouns, small quantities use a little, not a few (which is for countable nouns). Option B (few feedback) also misuses the countable quantifier and drops the article. To count it explicitly you would say a few comments or a few suggestions.
3 / 5
In careful technical and scientific writing, "data" is often treated as a plural (of "datum"). Which sentence follows that convention?
"Data" as a formal plural: In formal and academic technical writing, data is the plural of datum and takes a plural verb: the data show. (In everyday IT usage, data is commonly treated as uncountable with a singular verb — the data shows — and that is widely accepted, but the question asks for the plural convention.) Option C invents the non-word datas. Option D mixes a singular verb with the plural pronoun they, which disagrees either way.
4 / 5
You want to ask about the amount of infrastructure required. Which question word fits this uncountable noun?
"Infrastructure" is uncountable — use "how much": Uncountable nouns take how much, not how many, and have no plural. So how much infrastructure is correct; infrastructures (options C and D) is non-standard in general usage, and how many (option A) is reserved for countable nouns. The same applies to storage, bandwidth, and traffic: how much bandwidth, not how many bandwidths.
5 / 5
Some nouns are countable or uncountable depending on meaning. Which sentence uses "code" correctly as a countable noun?
"Code": uncountable for source code, countable for a specific code: When code means source code in general, it is uncountable (a lot of code, never codes). But a discrete code — such as a status code, error code, or postal code — is countable: an HTTP status code, option A. Option B is awkward and unidiomatic. Option C wrongly pluralises general source code as codes. Option D treats source code as countable, which is incorrect.