5 exercises — fixed IT prepositional phrases with in, at, on, under, and by.
0 / 20 completed
1 / 20
Choose the correct preposition: "The system performs well _____ scale but struggles with a single large request."
"At scale" is a fixed phrase meaning "when operating at a large volume." Other "at" phrases in IT: "at capacity", "at the request of", "at peak load." Do not say "in scale" or "on scale."
2 / 20
Which sentence is correct?
"In production" refers to the live environment where the application runs for real users. Similarly: "in staging", "in development", "in testing." The preposition "in" is used for environments as contained spaces.
3 / 20
Fill in the blank: "The senior engineer is _____ call this weekend."
"On call" means available and ready to respond to incidents outside of normal working hours. Other "on" phrases: "on track" (progressing as planned), "on hold" (paused), "on duty." These describe roles or status conditions.
4 / 20
Choose the correct phrase: "The new authentication module is _____ review — it has not been approved yet."
"Under review" means being evaluated or examined. Other "under" phrases: "under load" (experiencing traffic stress), "under development" (being built), "under investigation." "Under" often implies an active process being applied to something.
5 / 20
Which is the correct IT phrase?
"In scope" means included in the agreed boundaries of a project or sprint. Its opposite is "out of scope." Similarly: "in progress" (being worked on), "in queue" (waiting). "In" is used for states of inclusion or stages of a process.
6 / 20
During a code review of the deploy.sh script, Sarah comments: 'The deployment process is failing intermittently due to inconsistent network connectivity.' Which prepositional phrase best completes this sentence?
This question tests understanding of cause and effect. 'Because of' indicates a direct reason for the failure – consistent network connectivity is the root cause. 'In spite of' suggests a contrast which isn't accurate here; 'despite' implies a similar situation that should not be happening, and 'regardless of' doesn't fit the context of a technical issue.
7 / 20
In a Slack message to the team, David writes: 'We need to investigate the performance degradation in relation to the new database schema. The query times have increased significantly.' Which prepositional phrase is most appropriate?
The phrase 'in relation to' indicates a connection or association between the database schema and the increased query times. This is common IT terminology when discussing system performance. 'Considering' implies evaluation, 'with respect to' is too formal for casual Slack communication, 'following' doesn't make sense in this context, and 'underneath' relates to physical location, not a technical relationship.
8 / 20
The API response from the authentication service states: 'User john.doe is currently locked out of the system due to multiple failed login attempts.' Complete this sentence using the correct prepositional phrase.
'Locked out of' is a standard IT term describing account access restriction. It implies that the user's access has been prevented. 'Barred from', 'excluded from', and 'isolated from' have different connotations related to legal or physical containment, not typically used in authentication scenarios.
9 / 20
In a Pull Request description for a bug fix, Maria writes: 'The application now correctly handles null values thanks to the implementation of this new validation logic.' Which prepositional phrase best conveys the cause and effect?
'Thanks to' is a common and appropriate way to express that something positive resulted from another action. It highlights the causal relationship. 'Because of' implies a reason for the problem being solved, not the solution itself; 'despite' suggests a contrast; 'in addition to' adds information without establishing causality, and 'regardless of' indicates an unrelated outcome.
10 / 20
During a standup update, Alex says: 'We're currently troubleshooting the intermittent errors within the microservice architecture.' Which prepositional phrase accurately describes the scope of the problem?
'Within' indicates that the errors are occurring inside the boundaries of the microservice architecture – meaning they're part of the system's internal workings. 'Around' suggests a perimeter; 'outside' implies it isn't within the system and 'beneath' is related to physical location. This phrasing is frequently used in distributed systems discussions.
11 / 20
During a code review of the deploy.sh script, Sarah comments: 'The deployment process is failing intermittently due to inconsistent network connectivity.' Which prepositional phrase best completes this sentence?
This question tests understanding of cause and effect. 'Because of' indicates a direct reason for the failure – consistent network connectivity is the root cause. 'In spite of' suggests a contrast which isn't accurate here; 'despite' implies a similar situation that should not be happening, and 'regardless of' doesn't fit the context of a technical issue.
12 / 20
In a Slack message to the team, David writes: 'We need to investigate the performance degradation in relation to the new database schema. The query times have increased significantly.' Which prepositional phrase is most appropriate?
The phrase 'in relation to' indicates a connection or association between the database schema and the increased query times. This is common IT terminology when discussing system performance. 'Considering' implies evaluation, 'with respect to' is too formal for casual Slack communication, 'following' doesn't make sense in this context, and 'underneath' relates to physical location, not a technical relationship.
13 / 20
The API response from the authentication service states: 'User john.doe is currently locked out of the system due to multiple failed login attempts.' Complete this sentence using the correct prepositional phrase.
'Locked out of' is a standard IT term describing account access restriction. It implies that the user's access has been prevented. 'Barred from', 'excluded from', and 'isolated from' have different connotations related to legal or physical containment, not typically used in authentication scenarios.
14 / 20
In a Pull Request description for a bug fix, Maria writes: 'The application now correctly handles null values thanks to the implementation of this new validation logic.' Which prepositional phrase best conveys the cause and effect?
'Thanks to' is a common and appropriate way to express that something positive resulted from another action. It highlights the causal relationship. 'Because of' implies a reason for the problem being solved, not the solution itself; 'despite' suggests a contrast; 'in addition to' adds information without establishing causality, and 'regardless of' indicates an unrelated outcome.
15 / 20
During a standup update, Alex says: 'We're currently troubleshooting the intermittent errors within the microservice architecture.' Which prepositional phrase accurately describes the scope of the problem?
'Within' indicates that the errors are occurring inside the boundaries of the microservice architecture – meaning they're part of the system's internal workings. 'Around' suggests a perimeter; 'outside' implies it isn't within the system and 'beneath' is related to physical location. This phrasing is frequently used in distributed systems discussions.
16 / 20
During a code review of the deploy.sh script, Sarah comments: 'The deployment process is failing intermittently due to inconsistent network connectivity.' Which prepositional phrase best completes this sentence?
This question tests understanding of cause and effect. 'Because of' indicates a direct reason for the failure – consistent network connectivity is the root cause. 'In spite of' suggests a contrast which isn't accurate here; 'despite' implies a similar situation that should not be happening, and 'regardless of' doesn't fit the context of a technical issue.
17 / 20
In a Slack message to the team, David writes: 'We need to investigate the performance degradation in relation to the new database schema. The query times have increased significantly.' Which prepositional phrase is most appropriate?
The phrase 'in relation to' indicates a connection or association between the database schema and the increased query times. This is common IT terminology when discussing system performance. 'Considering' implies evaluation, 'with respect to' is too formal for casual Slack communication, 'following' doesn't make sense in this context, and 'underneath' relates to physical location, not a technical relationship.
18 / 20
The API response from the authentication service states: 'User john.doe is currently locked out of the system due to multiple failed login attempts.' Complete this sentence using the correct prepositional phrase.
'Locked out of' is a standard IT term describing account access restriction. It implies that the user's access has been prevented. 'Barred from', 'excluded from', and 'isolated from' have different connotations related to legal or physical containment, not typically used in authentication scenarios.
19 / 20
In a Pull Request description for a bug fix, Maria writes: 'The application now correctly handles null values thanks to the implementation of this new validation logic.' Which prepositional phrase best conveys the cause and effect?
'Thanks to' is a common and appropriate way to express that something positive resulted from another action. It highlights the causal relationship. 'Because of' implies a reason for the problem being solved, not the solution itself; 'despite' suggests a contrast; 'in addition to' adds information without establishing causality, and 'regardless of' indicates an unrelated outcome.
20 / 20
During a standup update, Alex says: 'We're currently troubleshooting the intermittent errors within the microservice architecture.' Which prepositional phrase accurately describes the scope of the problem?
'Within' indicates that the errors are occurring inside the boundaries of the microservice architecture – meaning they're part of the system's internal workings. 'Around' suggests a perimeter; 'outside' implies it isn't within the system and 'beneath' is related to physical location. This phrasing is frequently used in distributed systems discussions.
What will I practise in "Prepositional Phrases in IT English — Grammar Exercise"?
Learn the correct prepositions for fixed IT phrases: at scale, in production, under load, on call, in scope, and more.
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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Every exercise is written by the CoderSlingo team, drawing on real workplace English used in IT roles, then reviewed for accuracy and clarity.