5 exercises — practise using "which" to comment on a whole preceding clause when describing outcomes and consequences.
0 / 16 completed
1 / 16
Choose the sentence that correctly uses a sentential relative clause to comment on the whole preceding statement.
"The deployment failed at 2am, which surprised no one given the untested config" is correct: the comma before "which" signals a non-restrictive clause whose antecedent is the whole event "the deployment failed at 2am", not just "2am" or "deployment". Option B wrongly uses "that", which cannot introduce a non-restrictive clause. Option C turns "which" into a restrictive modifier of "deployment", changing the meaning to describe which deployment, not commenting on the failure. Option D inserts "config" after "which", producing an ungrammatical structure.
2 / 16
Which sentence uses a sentential relative clause correctly to comment on an entire situation?
"The team merged the hotfix without a code review, which later caused a regression" is correct: "which" refers back to the entire clause "the team merged the hotfix without a code review", explaining its consequence. Option B incorrectly uses "what" as a relative pronoun, which is not standard in this structure. Option C misplaces "which" so it appears to modify "code review" alone, obscuring the intended whole-clause reference. Option D uses "it" with no comma-linked subordination, creating a run-on sentence instead of a relative clause.
3 / 16
Select the sentence where the sentential relative clause is punctuated and used correctly.
"The service auto-scaled during the traffic spike, which kept latency under 200ms" is correct: the comma marks "which kept latency under 200ms" as a comment on the whole preceding event, the auto-scaling during the spike. Option B omits the comma, which makes the clause read as restrictively modifying "the traffic spike", implying only some spikes kept latency low. Option C awkwardly inserts a comma before "auto-scaled", breaking the main clause and leaving "which" dangling without a clear structural link. Option D uses "that", which is ungrammatical for a non-restrictive, comma-separated relative clause.
4 / 16
Which sentence correctly uses a sentential relative clause to summarize a whole prior statement, not a single noun?
"The migration script dropped the wrong table, which the DBA immediately rolled back" is correct: "which" here can be read as referring to the entire event of the wrong table being dropped, and "the DBA immediately rolled back" is the consequence. Option B changes "which" into a clause that describes the table itself (its name), a noun-modifying relative clause, not a sentential one, so it answers a different question than the one asked. Option C incorrectly uses "that" after a comma, which is not permitted for non-restrictive relative clauses. Option D scrambles the word order, producing an ungrammatical sentence.
5 / 16
Choose the sentence that correctly uses a sentential relative clause referring to the entire preceding action.
"The engineer force-pushed to main, which several teammates found alarming" is correct: "which" refers to the whole act of force-pushing to main, and the comma correctly separates the main clause from the commenting relative clause. Option B inserts "branch" after "which", changing the intended whole-clause reference into an incomplete, ungrammatical noun phrase. Option C uses "who", which shifts the relative clause to modify "the engineer" as a person rather than commenting on the action, altering the meaning. Option D uses a semicolon before "which", but a sentential relative clause must be joined with a comma, not a semicolon, since it is subordinate, not an independent clause.
6 / 16
John reported a high latency issue with the new API endpoint. He stated: 'The performance degradation seems to stem from increased database queries.' Which of the following sentences best uses a sentential relative clause to provide context for John's observation?
This question tests understanding of using a sentential relative clause to modify an entire statement. Option 1 correctly embeds 'the performance degradation, stemming from increased database queries' as a descriptive phrase. Options A and D are grammatically incorrect, while option B incorrectly uses 'because' to introduce the clause.
7 / 16
Sarah posted in the team Slack channel: 'The deployment failed due to a missing dependency. The error message indicated a corrupted NuGet package.' Which of the following sentences best integrates a sentential relative clause to provide further information about Sarah's experience?
Here, the goal is to demonstrate how a sentential relative clause can modify the entire statement about the failed deployment. Option 1 correctly uses 'The deployment failure, which resulted from a missing dependency' as the main clause and the relative clause provides further detail without focusing on a single noun. Options A and D are incorrect, and option B misuses 'because'.
8 / 16
John reported a high latency issue with the new API endpoint. He stated: 'The performance degradation seems to stem from increased database queries.' Which of the following sentences best uses a sentential relative clause to provide context for John's observation?
This question tests understanding of using a sentential relative clause to modify an entire statement. Option 1 correctly embeds 'the performance degradation, stemming from increased database queries' as a descriptive phrase. Options A and D are grammatically incorrect, while option B incorrectly uses 'because' to introduce the clause.
9 / 16
Sarah posted in the team Slack channel: 'The deployment failed due to a missing dependency. The error message indicated a corrupted NuGet package.' Which of the following sentences best integrates a sentential relative clause to provide further information about Sarah's experience?
Here, the goal is to demonstrate how a sentential relative clause can modify the entire statement about the failed deployment. Option 1 correctly uses 'The deployment failure, which resulted from a missing dependency' as the main clause and the relative clause provides further detail without focusing on a single noun. Options A and D are incorrect, and option B misuses 'because'.
10 / 16
John reported a high latency issue with the new API endpoint. He stated: 'The performance degradation seems to stem from increased database queries.' Which of the following sentences best uses a sentential relative clause to provide context for John's observation?
This question tests understanding of using a sentential relative clause to modify an entire statement. Option 1 correctly embeds 'the performance degradation, stemming from increased database queries' as a descriptive phrase. Options A and D are grammatically incorrect, while option B incorrectly uses 'because' to introduce the clause.
11 / 16
Sarah posted in the team Slack channel: 'The deployment failed due to a missing dependency. The error message indicated a corrupted NuGet package.' Which of the following sentences best integrates a sentential relative clause to provide further information about Sarah's experience?
Here, the goal is to demonstrate how a sentential relative clause can modify the entire statement about the failed deployment. Option 1 correctly uses 'The deployment failure, which resulted from a missing dependency' as the main clause and the relative clause provides further detail without focusing on a single noun. Options A and D are incorrect, and option B misuses 'because'.
12 / 16
During a code review of the new authentication service, David commented: 'The recent spike in failed login attempts appears to be related to the updated OAuth flow.' Which sentence best exemplifies the correct use of a sentential relative clause in this context?
This question tests understanding that sentential relative clauses modify the *entire* preceding clause. Option 1 correctly uses 'which' to connect the two parts of the sentence, indicating a relationship between the whole event (failed login attempts) and its presumed cause (the updated OAuth flow). Options 2 & 3 incorrectly use 'because' or imply a single noun phrase, failing to capture the broader scope. Option 4 presents a misleading causal link.
13 / 16
Maria sent an email update to the team: 'The build failed due to insufficient memory during the compilation process. The root cause seems to be a bug in the dependency management script.' Which of the following options best utilizes a sentential relative clause to clarify this situation?
This question focuses on integrating the relative clause smoothly. Option 2 correctly uses 'due to' to link the two clauses, reflecting that the memory issue *caused* the build failure and that this is why the bug in the script is suspected. The other options incorrectly use 'because' or create a fragmented sentence structure.
14 / 16
In a standup meeting, Alex said: 'We're experiencing intermittent performance issues with the new microservice. The increased load is likely overwhelming the caching layer.' Which sentence demonstrates the most accurate use of a sentential relative clause here?
This question checks for correct conjunction use. Option 1 accurately uses 'because' to show a causal relationship between the general issue (performance problems) and the probable cause (increased load). The other options misplace the relative clause or create an awkward sentence structure.
15 / 16
Reviewing a PR for a new data processing pipeline, Emily wrote: 'The transformation step is taking longer than expected. The inefficient use of the parallel processing framework is the primary bottleneck.' Which sentence best exemplifies correct usage of a sentential relative clause in this scenario?
This question tests understanding of 'which' as a connector. Option 2 correctly uses 'which' to link the two clauses – the symptom (slow transformation) and its underlying cause (inefficient framework). The other options misinterpret the relationship between the clauses.
16 / 16
During a Slack discussion about a recent outage, David stated: 'The service was unavailable due to a network connectivity issue. The root cause investigation revealed a misconfigured DNS record.' Which sentence most effectively utilizes a sentential relative clause?
This question focuses on clarity. Option 3 uses 'which' to connect the initial problem (network outage) with its discovered reason (misconfigured DNS). This construction clearly shows a causal link between the two parts of the sentence – a key feature of sentential relative clauses.
What will I practise in "Sentential Relative Clauses in Technical English — IT Grammar Exercise"?
Practise non-restrictive "which" clauses that comment on an entire preceding statement or event, not a single noun, when describing incident outcomes
How many exercises are in this module?
This module has 16 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.