5 exercises — practise each other and one another in descriptions of mutual system and team interactions.
0 / 20 completed
1 / 20
Which sentence correctly uses a reciprocal pronoun to describe two microservices communicating in both directions?
"Communicate with each other" is correct: "each other" is a reciprocal pronoun expressing a mutual action between exactly the two entities involved (service A communicates with service B, and service B communicates with service A), and the verb "communicate" requires the preposition "with" before its object in this reciprocal sense. Option A ("communicate themselves") misuses a reflexive pronoun, which would wrongly suggest each service talks to itself. Option B omits the required preposition "with" — "each other" cannot directly follow "communicate" without it. Option D ("communicate them") uses a plain object pronoun, which loses the mutual, bidirectional meaning entirely and is also missing "with".
2 / 20
Choose the sentence that correctly distinguishes "each other" (two parties) from "one another" (more than two), for a cluster of five nodes.
"With one another" is the traditionally preferred choice when more than two entities are involved — here, five nodes — though modern usage increasingly accepts "each other" for any number of participants, careful technical writing still favors "one another" for groups larger than two to signal precision. Option A ("each other") is not strictly wrong in modern usage but is less precise for a group of five under the traditional distinction being tested. Option C ("themselves") is a reflexive pronoun and would incorrectly suggest each node synchronizes only with its own internal state, not with the other nodes. Option D ("it") is a singular pronoun that cannot refer to a mutual relationship among multiple nodes at all.
3 / 20
Which sentence correctly uses the possessive form of a reciprocal pronoun ("each other's")?
"Each other's pull requests" is correct: the reciprocal pronoun "each other" takes a possessive apostrophe-s ("each other's") when showing that something belongs to the other party, exactly like a regular possessive noun. Option A omits the possessive marker entirely, leaving "each other" ungrammatically modifying "pull requests" with no possessive relationship shown. Option B places the apostrophe incorrectly ("others" is plural, not possessive) — the correct possessive is formed on "other", not "others". Option D ("each other own") is not a standard English construction; it garbles the possessive pattern by inserting "own" without the required apostrophe-s.
4 / 20
Choose the sentence that correctly avoids the common error of using a reciprocal pronoun as a sentence subject.
Option C is correct: reciprocal pronouns like "each other" and "one another" function only as objects (of a verb or preposition), never as the grammatical subject of a clause, so "the services" correctly serves as the subject while "each other" appears as the object of "depend on". Option A incorrectly places "each other" in subject position before "services", which is not a valid English structure. Option B similarly misuses "one another" as if it were a determiner modifying "service" in subject position, which reciprocal pronouns cannot do. Option D uses "each other" alone as a subject, which is ungrammatical since reciprocal pronouns require an antecedent (a plural subject they refer back to) and cannot themselves be the subject of a sentence.
5 / 20
A design doc says: "The load balancer and the health-check service depend on _____ to detect failures quickly." Choose the correct reciprocal pronoun for exactly two entities.
"Each other" is the traditionally preferred and most natural choice when exactly two entities are involved — here, "the load balancer" and "the health-check service" — following the classic rule that "each other" is for two, "one another" for more than two (though this distinction is softening in modern usage, "each other" remains the safer, more idiomatic choice for a pair). Option A ("themselves") is reflexive and would wrongly suggest each entity depends on its own internal state rather than on the other entity. Option B ("one another") is grammatically acceptable to some readers but less precisely matched to a two-entity relationship under the classic distinction this exercise tests. Option D ("itself") is singular and cannot refer to the mutual relationship between two separate, named entities at all.
6 / 20
During a code review of the API integration module, Sarah commented: 'The process_payment function needs to handle potential errors gracefully. It should check if customer_id and transaction_amount are both provided by the caller before proceeding.' Which revision best reflects Sarah's suggestion using reciprocal pronouns?
The key here is to explicitly state that *both* entities (the function and the caller) need to fulfill their respective roles. Option 1 uses 'are provided by' which clearly links the two parties involved in the interaction. Options 2, 3, and 4 are less precise and don't highlight the mutual requirement for providing data.
7 / 20
Mark from DevOps sends this message in a Slack channel: 'We're seeing intermittent high latency on the database server. It seems like the application and the caching layer are constantly trying to access the same data simultaneously.' Which of the following options best captures Mark's concern using appropriate reciprocal pronouns?
Mark's message centers on a shared issue – both entities (application & cache) are involved in causing the problem. 'Each other' accurately portrays this mutual responsibility and simultaneous action. Options 1 is too vague, option 3 doesn't reflect the competition aspect, and option 4 suggests a solution rather than describing the symptom.
8 / 20
You're writing the PR description for a change that adds bidirectional communication between two microservices: 'Service A and Service B need to exchange status updates.' Which sentence best utilizes reciprocal pronouns in this context?
The correct phrasing emphasizes the *mutual* exchange. 'Service A will send…and Service B will respond' clearly articulates the reciprocal nature of their communication. Other options imply one service is solely responsible or simply states the action without highlighting the interaction.
9 / 20
During the daily stand-up, David says: 'I've been working on integrating the new authentication service with the existing user profile system. We're using a shared database to store user data.' Which of the following statements best reflects David's update using reciprocal pronouns?
David is explaining a resource-sharing arrangement. 'Sharing the same database' directly addresses the reciprocal relationship between the two systems – they are *both* utilizing this shared resource. Options 2 & 3 introduce unnecessary concepts (benefit/contribution), and option 1 is overly simplistic.
10 / 20
The API returns the following response for a successful request: `{'status': 'success', 'data': {'user': {'name': 'Alice', 'email': 'alice@example.com'}, 'permissions': ['read', 'write']}}`. A developer uses this data to update a user profile. Which sentence best describes this process using reciprocal pronouns?
This scenario focuses on a transfer of data – the API *provides* the data, while the developer *utilizes* it. This accurately represents the reciprocal action involved in updating the user's profile using the retrieved information.
11 / 20
During a code review of the API integration module, Sarah commented: 'The process_payment function needs to handle potential errors gracefully. It should check if customer_id and transaction_amount are both provided by the caller before proceeding.' Which revision best reflects Sarah's suggestion using reciprocal pronouns?
The key here is to explicitly state that *both* entities (the function and the caller) need to fulfill their respective roles. Option 1 uses 'are provided by' which clearly links the two parties involved in the interaction. Options 2, 3, and 4 are less precise and don't highlight the mutual requirement for providing data.
12 / 20
Mark from DevOps sends this message in a Slack channel: 'We're seeing intermittent high latency on the database server. It seems like the application and the caching layer are constantly trying to access the same data simultaneously.' Which of the following options best captures Mark's concern using appropriate reciprocal pronouns?
Mark's message centers on a shared issue – both entities (application & cache) are involved in causing the problem. 'Each other' accurately portrays this mutual responsibility and simultaneous action. Options 1 is too vague, option 3 doesn't reflect the competition aspect, and option 4 suggests a solution rather than describing the symptom.
13 / 20
You're writing the PR description for a change that adds bidirectional communication between two microservices: 'Service A and Service B need to exchange status updates.' Which sentence best utilizes reciprocal pronouns in this context?
The correct phrasing emphasizes the *mutual* exchange. 'Service A will send…and Service B will respond' clearly articulates the reciprocal nature of their communication. Other options imply one service is solely responsible or simply states the action without highlighting the interaction.
14 / 20
During the daily stand-up, David says: 'I've been working on integrating the new authentication service with the existing user profile system. We're using a shared database to store user data.' Which of the following statements best reflects David's update using reciprocal pronouns?
David is explaining a resource-sharing arrangement. 'Sharing the same database' directly addresses the reciprocal relationship between the two systems – they are *both* utilizing this shared resource. Options 2 & 3 introduce unnecessary concepts (benefit/contribution), and option 1 is overly simplistic.
15 / 20
The API returns the following response for a successful request: `{'status': 'success', 'data': {'user': {'name': 'Alice', 'email': 'alice@example.com'}, 'permissions': ['read', 'write']}}`. A developer uses this data to update a user profile. Which sentence best describes this process using reciprocal pronouns?
This scenario focuses on a transfer of data – the API *provides* the data, while the developer *utilizes* it. This accurately represents the reciprocal action involved in updating the user's profile using the retrieved information.
16 / 20
During a code review of the API integration module, Sarah commented: 'The process_payment function needs to handle potential errors gracefully. It should check if customer_id and transaction_amount are both provided by the caller before proceeding.' Which revision best reflects Sarah's suggestion using reciprocal pronouns?
The key here is to explicitly state that *both* entities (the function and the caller) need to fulfill their respective roles. Option 1 uses 'are provided by' which clearly links the two parties involved in the interaction. Options 2, 3, and 4 are less precise and don't highlight the mutual requirement for providing data.
17 / 20
Mark from DevOps sends this message in a Slack channel: 'We're seeing intermittent high latency on the database server. It seems like the application and the caching layer are constantly trying to access the same data simultaneously.' Which of the following options best captures Mark's concern using appropriate reciprocal pronouns?
Mark's message centers on a shared issue – both entities (application & cache) are involved in causing the problem. 'Each other' accurately portrays this mutual responsibility and simultaneous action. Options 1 is too vague, option 3 doesn't reflect the competition aspect, and option 4 suggests a solution rather than describing the symptom.
18 / 20
You're writing the PR description for a change that adds bidirectional communication between two microservices: 'Service A and Service B need to exchange status updates.' Which sentence best utilizes reciprocal pronouns in this context?
The correct phrasing emphasizes the *mutual* exchange. 'Service A will send…and Service B will respond' clearly articulates the reciprocal nature of their communication. Other options imply one service is solely responsible or simply states the action without highlighting the interaction.
19 / 20
During the daily stand-up, David says: 'I've been working on integrating the new authentication service with the existing user profile system. We're using a shared database to store user data.' Which of the following statements best reflects David's update using reciprocal pronouns?
David is explaining a resource-sharing arrangement. 'Sharing the same database' directly addresses the reciprocal relationship between the two systems – they are *both* utilizing this shared resource. Options 2 & 3 introduce unnecessary concepts (benefit/contribution), and option 1 is overly simplistic.
20 / 20
The API returns the following response for a successful request: `{'status': 'success', 'data': {'user': {'name': 'Alice', 'email': 'alice@example.com'}, 'permissions': ['read', 'write']}}`. A developer uses this data to update a user profile. Which sentence best describes this process using reciprocal pronouns?
This scenario focuses on a transfer of data – the API *provides* the data, while the developer *utilizes* it. This accurately represents the reciprocal action involved in updating the user's profile using the retrieved information.
What will I practise in "Reciprocal Pronouns in Technical English — IT Grammar Exercise"?
Practise each other and one another for describing mutual actions between services, nodes, and team members, including the possessive each other's form.
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.
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.