5 exercises — practise free-choice "-ever" concessive clauses in technical specifications and decisions.
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
Which sentence correctly uses "whatever" to mean "regardless of what" changes are made to the config?
"Whatever changes are made to the config, the service must restart cleanly" is correct: "whatever" as a free-choice concessive determiner means "no matter what", correctly paired with the full passive clause "changes are made". Option B drops the "-ever", turning it into an incomplete embedded question rather than a concessive clause. Option C omits the auxiliary "are", making the clause ungrammatical. Option D incorrectly uses the base form "make" instead of the past participle "made" in the passive.
2 / 5
Choose the sentence that correctly uses "whichever" to express indifference between two named alternatives in an architecture decision.
"Whichever database we choose, we'll need a migration plan" is correct: "whichever" is preferred over "whatever" when choosing among a limited, implied set of named options (here, specific database candidates), and the present simple "choose" fits the still-open decision. Option B uses "whatever", less precise for a bounded set of alternatives, though not strictly wrong; in context "whichever" is the better fit for the exercise's target structure. Option C incorrectly uses question word order ("do we choose") inside the concessive clause. Option D incorrectly uses the past tense "chose" for a decision not yet made.
3 / 5
Which sentence correctly uses "however" (free-choice adverb, meaning "in whatever way") before an adjective in a concessive clause?
"However complex the migration is, we must finish it before the freeze" is correct: free-choice "however" directly precedes the adjective it modifies ("complex"), followed by normal subject-verb order ("the migration is"). Option B incorrectly places the adjective after the verb, breaking the required "however + adjective" order. Option C redundantly and ungrammatically duplicates "how" and "however". Option D incorrectly inverts to "is the migration", which this concessive pattern does not use.
4 / 5
Select the sentence that correctly uses "whoever" as a free-choice pronoun referring to an unspecified person responsible for an on-call rotation.
"Whoever is on call this week should acknowledge alerts within five minutes" is correct: "whoever" refers to an unspecified person (not a thing, ruling out "whatever"), acting as the subject with the singular verb "is". Option B incorrectly uses "whatever", suited to things, not people. Option C is missing the required linking verb "is". Option D incorrectly uses plural "are" with the singular "whoever".
5 / 5
Which sentence correctly uses "whenever" as a free-choice time concessive meaning "no matter when" a deploy happens?
"Whenever the deploy runs, the health check must pass before traffic is routed" is correct: "whenever" plus present simple ("runs") states a general, time-independent requirement, exactly the free-choice concessive meaning needed. Option B misplaces "whenever" in the second clause, producing a nonsensical structure. Option C incorrectly uses question word order after "whenever". Option D incorrectly uses "will run" instead of the present simple required in this type of general, repeatable condition.