Middle Voice and Unaccusative Verbs in Technical English
5 exercises — practise unaccusative verbs that describe systems undergoing events without a stated agent.
0 / 20 completed
1 / 20
Which sentence correctly uses the unaccusative (subject-as-undergoer) form of "fail" to describe a build outcome?
"The build failed because of a missing dependency" is correct: "fail" is unaccusative here, meaning the build itself is the entity undergoing the failure, with no direct object, and the cause is expressed with "because of", not as a direct object or passive agent. Option A incorrectly forces "fail" into the passive voice as if it were transitive, which is unidiomatic ("fail" does not normally take a "by"-agent passive in this sense). Option C incorrectly treats "a missing dependency" as a direct object of "failed", which misrepresents the causal relationship. Option D scrambles the sentence into an ungrammatical passive.
2 / 20
Which sentence correctly uses "open" in its middle-voice sense to describe how a modal behaves, without naming an agent?
"The modal opens when a user clicks the settings icon" is correct: "open" in its middle-voice, intransitive use describes the modal undergoing a change of state without any passive marking or explicit agent — this is the natural, idiomatic way to describe UI behavior. Option B redundantly combines a passive "is opened" with an agentive "by the code", which is awkward and unnecessary given the simpler intransitive option. Option C incorrectly adds a reflexive "itself" and an agent, over-marking the sentence. Option D unnecessarily uses the passive continuous when the simple intransitive is standard and preferred.
3 / 20
Which sentence correctly contrasts the transitive causative use of "crash" with its unaccusative use?
"The null pointer exception crashed the application, and the application crashed shortly after startup" is correct: it shows both uses of "crash" — transitive/causative ("X crashed the application", where X is the cause and the application is the affected object) and unaccusative/intransitive ("the application crashed", where the application is simply the subject undergoing the event). Option B incorrectly passivizes both clauses, reversing the natural cause-effect roles. Option C swaps the roles, illogically making the application the cause of the exception. Option D garbles the causal relationship and tense.
4 / 20
Which sentence correctly uses the unaccusative form of "back up" to describe a message queue's state without naming a cause?
"The message queue backed up during the traffic spike" is correct: "back up" used intransitively describes the queue undergoing a build-up of unprocessed items, with the cause expressed as a time/circumstance adverbial ("during the traffic spike"), not as an agent. Option A uses the passive "was backed up", which can ambiguously suggest someone deliberately created a backup copy, a different meaning of "back up". Option C introduces an agent ("someone") that misrepresents the event as a deliberate action, again suggesting the backup-copy meaning. Option D incorrectly adds a reflexive pronoun and an agentive "by"-phrase, which is not idiomatic.
5 / 20
Which sentence correctly uses "scale" in its unaccusative, middle-voice sense to describe a system's own behavior under load?
"The service scales horizontally as traffic increases" is correct: "scale" used intransitively in the middle voice describes the service's inherent capacity to adjust itself, without naming an external agent — this is the standard, idiomatic way engineers describe scalable architecture. Option B unnecessarily passivizes the verb and adds a redundant reflexive "by itself". Option C awkwardly makes "horizontal scaling" the subject and forces "scale" transitive in a confusing, circular way. Option D incorrectly treats "traffic" as a passive agent doing the scaling, which misattributes agency.
6 / 20
Sarah commented on John's PR: 'The build unexpectedly failed. We need to investigate why the tests aren't passing.' Which sentence best reflects Sarah's meaning using the middle voice?
This question tests understanding of the unaccusative 'fail' when describing a system outcome. The middle voice focuses on the *event* of failing itself, without assigning blame or identifying a specific cause. Option 1 correctly emphasizes the build's state without naming an agent responsible; options A, C, and D all introduce a direct causal agent, violating the unaccusative rule.
7 / 20
David sent a Slack message to the team: 'The API will open automatically when requests exceed 1000 per second.' Which sentence best captures David's intention using the middle voice?
Here, 'open' describes a system action (the API responding) without specifying an agent. The middle voice emphasizes the *process* of opening itself. Options A, C, and D introduce an external cause, which is incorrect in this context. It's crucial to understand that 'open' in the middle voice doesn't require an actor.
8 / 20
Maria wrote in the PR description: 'The server crashed during peak hours.' Which sentence best reflects Maria's meaning using the unaccusative form?
This question focuses on the unaccusative 'crash' and highlights the difference between transitive and unaccusative usage. The middle voice describes the event of crashing itself—the system failing—not attributing responsibility. Options A, C, and D introduce a direct agent or cause that is not present in Maria's statement.
9 / 20
Ben reported during the standup: 'The message queue backed up successfully.' Which sentence accurately represents Ben's meaning using the middle voice?
'Back up' used in the middle voice describes the action of data replication without specifying who or what performed it. It focuses on the state of the message queue—its successful restoration— rather than a direct agent. Options A, C, and D all introduce an external actor, which is not necessary or correct when using the unaccusative 'back up'.
10 / 20
Emily wrote in a performance report: 'The system scaled to handle the increased load.' Which sentence best represents Emily's meaning using the middle voice?
In this scenario, 'scale' describes a system's inherent response to load—its expansion in capacity—without referencing an external actor. The middle voice emphasizes the *process* of scaling itself. Options A, B, and C introduce a cause or agent, which is not supported by Emily's statement. This highlights the importance of accurately using the unaccusative form when describing system behavior.
11 / 20
Sarah commented on John's PR: 'The build unexpectedly failed. We need to investigate why the tests aren't passing.' Which sentence best reflects Sarah's meaning using the middle voice?
This question tests understanding of the unaccusative 'fail' when describing a system outcome. The middle voice focuses on the *event* of failing itself, without assigning blame or identifying a specific cause. Option 1 correctly emphasizes the build's state without naming an agent responsible; options A, C, and D all introduce a direct causal agent, violating the unaccusative rule.
12 / 20
David sent a Slack message to the team: 'The API will open automatically when requests exceed 1000 per second.' Which sentence best captures David's intention using the middle voice?
Here, 'open' describes a system action (the API responding) without specifying an agent. The middle voice emphasizes the *process* of opening itself. Options A, C, and D introduce an external cause, which is incorrect in this context. It's crucial to understand that 'open' in the middle voice doesn't require an actor.
13 / 20
Maria wrote in the PR description: 'The server crashed during peak hours.' Which sentence best reflects Maria's meaning using the unaccusative form?
This question focuses on the unaccusative 'crash' and highlights the difference between transitive and unaccusative usage. The middle voice describes the event of crashing itself—the system failing—not attributing responsibility. Options A, C, and D introduce a direct agent or cause that is not present in Maria's statement.
14 / 20
Ben reported during the standup: 'The message queue backed up successfully.' Which sentence accurately represents Ben's meaning using the middle voice?
'Back up' used in the middle voice describes the action of data replication without specifying who or what performed it. It focuses on the state of the message queue—its successful restoration— rather than a direct agent. Options A, C, and D all introduce an external actor, which is not necessary or correct when using the unaccusative 'back up'.
15 / 20
Emily wrote in a performance report: 'The system scaled to handle the increased load.' Which sentence best represents Emily's meaning using the middle voice?
In this scenario, 'scale' describes a system's inherent response to load—its expansion in capacity—without referencing an external actor. The middle voice emphasizes the *process* of scaling itself. Options A, B, and C introduce a cause or agent, which is not supported by Emily's statement. This highlights the importance of accurately using the unaccusative form when describing system behavior.
16 / 20
Sarah commented on John's PR: 'The build unexpectedly failed. We need to investigate why the tests aren't passing.' Which sentence best reflects Sarah's meaning using the middle voice?
This question tests understanding of the unaccusative 'fail' when describing a system outcome. The middle voice focuses on the *event* of failing itself, without assigning blame or identifying a specific cause. Option 1 correctly emphasizes the build's state without naming an agent responsible; options A, C, and D all introduce a direct causal agent, violating the unaccusative rule.
17 / 20
David sent a Slack message to the team: 'The API will open automatically when requests exceed 1000 per second.' Which sentence best captures David's intention using the middle voice?
Here, 'open' describes a system action (the API responding) without specifying an agent. The middle voice emphasizes the *process* of opening itself. Options A, C, and D introduce an external cause, which is incorrect in this context. It's crucial to understand that 'open' in the middle voice doesn't require an actor.
18 / 20
Maria wrote in the PR description: 'The server crashed during peak hours.' Which sentence best reflects Maria's meaning using the unaccusative form?
This question focuses on the unaccusative 'crash' and highlights the difference between transitive and unaccusative usage. The middle voice describes the event of crashing itself—the system failing—not attributing responsibility. Options A, C, and D introduce a direct agent or cause that is not present in Maria's statement.
19 / 20
Ben reported during the standup: 'The message queue backed up successfully.' Which sentence accurately represents Ben's meaning using the middle voice?
'Back up' used in the middle voice describes the action of data replication without specifying who or what performed it. It focuses on the state of the message queue—its successful restoration— rather than a direct agent. Options A, C, and D all introduce an external actor, which is not necessary or correct when using the unaccusative 'back up'.
20 / 20
Emily wrote in a performance report: 'The system scaled to handle the increased load.' Which sentence best represents Emily's meaning using the middle voice?
In this scenario, 'scale' describes a system's inherent response to load—its expansion in capacity—without referencing an external actor. The middle voice emphasizes the *process* of scaling itself. Options A, B, and C introduce a cause or agent, which is not supported by Emily's statement. This highlights the importance of accurately using the unaccusative form when describing system behavior.
What will I practise in "Middle Voice and Unaccusative Verbs — IT Grammar Exercise"?
Practise distinguishing unaccusative, middle-voice verbs like fail, crash, open, back up, and scale (used intransitively, with no agent) from their transitive
How many exercises are in this module?
This module has 20 multiple-choice exercises, each with instant feedback and a full explanation of the correct answer.
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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.