5 exercises — master gerund and infinitive patterns used in technical writing, code reviews, and sprint planning.
0 / 10 completed
1 / 10
The DevOps team is responsible for _____ the CI/CD pipeline.
After "responsible for", use a gerund (-ing form) because "for" is a preposition and prepositions must be followed by gerunds (nouns), not infinitives. Pattern: [adjective] + [preposition] + [gerund]. Other IT examples: "capable of scaling", "focused on delivering", "in charge of deploying".
2 / 10
The engineering team decided _____ the database migration to the next quarter.
"Decide" takes an infinitive: decide + to + infinitive. This is a verb of decision/intention that points to a future action. Compare with "suggest postponing" (gerund) — "suggest" belongs to the gerund group. Common IT infinitive verbs: decide, plan, choose, agree, refuse, fail, manage, attempt.
3 / 10
Which sentence correctly uses "avoid" in an IT context?
"Avoid" always takes a gerund: avoid + [verb]-ing. Never use an infinitive after "avoid". This is a fixed grammatical rule. The gerund "deploying" acts as a noun (the object of "avoid"). Other gerund-only verbs common in IT: recommend testing, suggest refactoring, consider caching, finish implementing, keep monitoring.
4 / 10
The legacy service failed _____ within the health check timeout.
"Fail" takes an infinitive: fail + to + infinitive. The infinitive here refers to an action that did not happen — the failure event. This is crucial in incident language: "the service failed to respond", "the process failed to start", "the container failed to initialise". Compare "avoid responding" (different meaning and different construction).
5 / 10
A tech lead is writing a sprint planning note. Which sentence is grammatically correct?
"Aim" takes an infinitive: aim + to + infinitive. Option A incorrectly uses "aim at" (which would then need a gerund: "aim at completing" is technically possible but uncommon in formal writing). Option C omits the infinitive marker "to". Option D uses passive construction incorrectly. The standard form in technical planning language is "aim to + infinitive".
6 / 10
As a junior developer, you're reviewing Sarah's PR description for the new authentication service. She writes: 'We need to implement logging around all API calls.' Which phrasing is most appropriate and grammatically correct in this context?
This question tests the understanding of gerunds versus infinitives after a verb. 'To implement' is the correct infinitive form here because it describes the *action* that needs to be done. Using a gerund ('implementing') would imply a continuous process which isn't the intended meaning in this PR description.
7 / 10
You receive a Slack message from David regarding a recent API endpoint update: 'The server consistently returns 500 errors after we deployed the changes.' Which phrase best describes the ongoing problem?
This question targets the use of infinitives to express a continuous state or ongoing action. 'The server consistently returns…' is correct because it describes a persistent behavior. Using an infinitive phrase ('to consistently return') would imply that the server *chooses* to do this, which isn't relevant here.
8 / 10
As a junior developer, you're reviewing Sarah's PR description for the new authentication service. She writes: 'We need to implement logging around all API calls.' Which phrasing is most appropriate and grammatically correct in this context?
This question tests the understanding of gerunds versus infinitives after a verb. 'To implement' is the correct infinitive form here because it describes the *action* that needs to be done. Using a gerund ('implementing') would imply a continuous process which isn't the intended meaning in this PR description.
9 / 10
You receive a Slack message from David regarding a recent API endpoint update: 'The server consistently returns 500 errors after we deployed the changes.' Which phrase best describes the ongoing problem?
This question targets the use of infinitives to express a continuous state or ongoing action. 'The server consistently returns…' is correct because it describes a persistent behavior. Using an infinitive phrase ('to consistently return') would imply that the server *chooses* to do this, which isn't relevant here.
10 / 10
During a standup meeting, the team lead asks, 'What are we currently working on to improve the performance of the user authentication service?' Which phrase best reflects a task you could assign to a developer?
Gerunds (optimizing) describe ongoing actions or processes. Using 'to optimize' with a gerund correctly indicates an action being performed. The other options are grammatically incorrect and don't clearly express the task.
What will I practise in "Gerunds vs Infinitives in IT English — Grammar Exercise"?
Practise gerunds and infinitives in IT writing: responsible for managing, aim to implement, avoid running, fail to compile.
How many exercises are in this module?
This module has 10 multiple-choice exercises, each with instant feedback and a full explanation of the correct answer.
Is this exercise free to use?
Yes. Every exercise on CoderSlingo, including this one, is free to use with no account, sign-up, or paywall.
Do I need to create an account to do these exercises?
No account is required. Just click an option to answer — your score for this session is tracked automatically in the progress bar above.
What happens if I choose the wrong answer?
You'll immediately see which answer was correct, plus a full explanation covering the grammar rule and reasoning behind it — mistakes are where most of the learning happens.
Can I retry the exercises if I want a higher score?
Yes — use the "Try again" button on the results screen to reset and go through all the questions again.
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No. Progress is tracked only for your current visit; reloading or leaving the page resets the counter. This keeps the exercise simple and account-free.
Where can I find more Grammar exercises?
Browse the full Grammar hub for related drills, or check the "Next up" link below to continue with a connected topic.
How is this different from reading an article on the same topic?
Articles explain grammar rules in prose; this exercise tests and reinforces those rules through active recall with immediate feedback — the two work best together.
Who writes these exercises?
Every exercise is written by the CoderSlingo team, drawing on real workplace English used in IT roles, then reviewed for accuracy and clarity.