Register: neutral-to-informal, common in both spoken retros and written postmortems
0 / 21 completed
1 / 21
A senior engineer says in a retro: "The vendor's API changed without notice again. Honestly, that's ___ with them at this point." Which phrase best signals something unpleasant but entirely expected, given past experience?
Par for the course is a fixed golf-derived idiom meaning "typical, to be expected, especially something mildly negative." It requires the definite article "the" and the preposition "for," not "of." "Par for a course" wrongly uses the indefinite article, "par of the course" uses the wrong preposition, and "the par for course" scrambles the article placement.
2 / 21
Which sentence uses "par for the course" correctly?
"The staging environment being out of sync with production is par for the course on this team" correctly labels a recurring, expected (often mildly negative) situation as normal for this context. It cannot introduce a bare future plan, an instruction, or a scheduled future event, since it needs an existing pattern to describe as typical.
3 / 21
Fill the blank: "The demo crashing five minutes before the client call is, unfortunately, ___ for this codebase."
Par for the course has a fixed word order: "par" + "for" + "the" + "course." The other options scramble this into invalid, meaningless sequences.
4 / 21
Which pair correctly distinguishes "par for the course" from "unprecedented"?
"Par for the course, the release slipped by a week" frames a delay as typical, matching a known pattern. "Unprecedented, the release shipped a week early" frames an outcome as breaking entirely from any known pattern. They point in opposite directions.
5 / 21
A postmortem reads: "Given how often this vendor's webhook silently drops events, this incident was ___ , not a surprise." Which best completes the sentence?
Par for the course is the correct, fixed form. The other options scramble the required word order into invalid phrases.
6 / 21
Which sentence contains an error in the use of "par for the course"?
"Par for the course that we discussed at the offsite, the server rebooted overnight" incorrectly attaches a relative clause and applies the phrase to a one-off event rather than something matching an established, recurring pattern. "Par for the course" needs a subject that fits a known, expected pattern. The other three sentences use it correctly.
7 / 21
Choose the sentence where "par for the course" is best replaced by "nothing out of the ordinary" without changing the meaning.
"Another Friday deploy causing a minor rollback is nothing out of the ordinary around here" preserves the meaning exactly. The other options misuse the phrase as an urgency marker, an unrelated possessive-sounding construction, or a pairing with a specific future date.
8 / 21
A design doc states: "Given the age of this legacy service, undocumented side effects in the billing module are, sadly, ___ ." Which best fits?
Par for the course is the correct, standard form — "par" stays singular and the definite article "the" is required. Option A wrongly uses "of." Option B wrongly pluralizes "par." Option D wrongly drops the article.
9 / 21
Which register note about "par for the course" is accurate?
"Par for the course" works equally well in a spoken retro ("Honestly, that's par for the course with this vendor") and a written postmortem. It always frames something, usually mildly negative, as typical rather than surprising, given past patterns.
10 / 21
Which sentence best demonstrates "par for the course" framing a recurring problem as unsurprising given established patterns?
"Given that this legacy job has failed silently every month-end for two years, last night's failure was par for the course, not a new bug" is the textbook use: a recurring problem framed as typical rather than surprising. The other options misuse the phrase as a command intensifier, insert it awkwardly mid-clause, or pair it incorrectly with a specific future date.
11 / 21
Sarah, the junior developer, commented on a code review: 'The server consistently returns 502 errors during peak hours. It's just par for the course with this old infrastructure, right?' Which of the following best describes Sarah's statement?
Sarah's use of 'par for the course' signals acceptance of a known problem. The phrase implies this issue isn't unexpected or critical given the existing infrastructure's limitations. The other options represent different interpretations—a genuine concern, testing issues, or network latency – which are not conveyed by the original statement.
12 / 21
During a Slack conversation about the latest API update from a third-party vendor, Mark writes: 'The documentation is completely unclear and the response format changed without warning. This is absolutely unprecedented!'. Which of the following options best reflects Mark's sentiment?
'Unprecedented' implies something completely new and unexpected. 'Par for the course,' conversely, denotes something regular or predictable. Mark's use of 'unprecedented' is therefore incorrect; he should have used 'par for the course' to convey his exasperation with a recurring lack of clear communication from the vendor.
13 / 21
Sarah, the junior developer, commented on a code review: 'The server consistently returns 502 errors during peak hours. It's just par for the course with this old infrastructure, right?' Which of the following best describes Sarah's statement?
Sarah's use of 'par for the course' signals acceptance of a known problem. The phrase implies this issue isn't unexpected or critical given the existing infrastructure's limitations. The other options represent different interpretations—a genuine concern, testing issues, or network latency – which are not conveyed by the original statement.
14 / 21
During a Slack conversation about the latest API update from a third-party vendor, Mark writes: 'The documentation is completely unclear and the response format changed without warning. This is absolutely unprecedented!'. Which of the following options best reflects Mark's sentiment?
'Unprecedented' implies something completely new and unexpected. 'Par for the course,' conversely, denotes something regular or predictable. Mark's use of 'unprecedented' is therefore incorrect; he should have used 'par for the course' to convey his exasperation with a recurring lack of clear communication from the vendor.
15 / 21
Sarah, the junior developer, commented on a code review: 'The server consistently returns 502 errors during peak hours. It's just par for the course with this old infrastructure, right?' Which of the following best describes Sarah's statement?
Sarah's use of 'par for the course' signals acceptance of a known problem. The phrase implies this issue isn't unexpected or critical given the existing infrastructure's limitations. The other options represent different interpretations—a genuine concern, testing issues, or network latency – which are not conveyed by the original statement.
16 / 21
During a Slack conversation about the latest API update from a third-party vendor, Mark writes: 'The documentation is completely unclear and the response format changed without warning. This is absolutely unprecedented!'. Which of the following options best reflects Mark's sentiment?
'Unprecedented' implies something completely new and unexpected. 'Par for the course,' conversely, denotes something regular or predictable. Mark's use of 'unprecedented' is therefore incorrect; he should have used 'par for the course' to convey his exasperation with a recurring lack of clear communication from the vendor.
17 / 21
Alex: 'The build is failing every time we deploy. This is completely unexpected!'
Which of the following best captures the appropriate response using 'par for the course'?
'Par for the course' signifies a recurring issue that isn't surprising based on prior experience. Option A suggests a lack of process, option B directly contradicts the meaning, and option C implies an unacceptable level of failure. Option D is overly dramatic and doesn't align with the phrase's intended use.
18 / 21
The frequent database connection timeouts during peak hours are, unfortunately, _______ for our legacy application.
'Par for the course' describes something that is expected given the circumstances. Option A suggests urgency not warranted by the phrase, option B accurately uses the term, option C introduces a completely unrelated concern, and option D contradicts the meaning of 'par for the course.'
19 / 21
Maria writes in a PR description: 'The API response consistently returns null values when requesting user profiles. This is absolutely unprecedented!'
What would be the most appropriate revision to Maria's comment using 'par for the course'?
'Par for the course' is used to describe something that is predictable and expected. Option A suggests an emergency situation, option B restates Maria's original comment, option C correctly uses the phrase in a relevant context, and option D represents an inappropriate reaction.
20 / 21
During a standup meeting, David says: 'The automated tests are failing almost every night. This is completely unexpected!'
Which of the following best demonstrates how David could have used 'par for the course'?
'Par for the course' acknowledges a recurring issue without implying blame or undue alarm. Option A indicates an overreaction, option B misinterprets the meaning, option C accurately reflects the situation, and option D suggests an inappropriate escalation path.
21 / 21
Ben writes in a Slack message: 'The new monitoring dashboard is displaying incorrect data. This is absolutely unprecedented!'
Which statement best describes the correct application of 'par for the course' in this scenario?
'Par for the course' recognizes that data anomalies frequently occur in complex systems, especially after updates. Option A suggests a solution without addressing the root cause, option B misuses the term, option C is an extreme response, and option D implies a fundamental system error.
What will I practise in ""Par For The Course" as a Normalcy Marker — IT English Grammar"?
Practice using "par for the course" to frame a recurring, often mildly negative situation as typical and expected, in retros and postmortems.
How many exercises are in this module?
This module has 21 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.
Is my progress saved if I close the page?
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.