All levelsGrammar#quantifiers#approximators#technical-writing#documentation
Quantifiers & Approximators
5 exercises — how to talk about quantity in IT English: choosing the right quantifier (some, all, several, each, every), using negative forms correctly, and approximating numbers in documentation.
Quantifier quick-reference
Countable nouns: several, many, a few, each, every, a number of
Uncountable nouns: much, a little, a great deal of, a bit of
Both: some, any, all, most, no, none, enough, plenty of
Negative: no, none of, neither…nor, not any (avoid double negatives!)
Approximators: roughly, about, around, approximately, up to, at least, nearly, some (formal)
0 / 16 completed
1 / 16
Which sentence uses the correct quantifier in a tech context?
Several is the correct choice because it refers to a specific but unspecified number (typically 3–7), works with countable nouns (tests = countable), and takes a plural verb ("are passing"). Why the others fail: "Much" (A) is for uncountable/mass nouns — use "much time", "much data", "much effort" — not for countable things like tests, requests, or files. "A few" (C) is used with plural countable nouns but the verb must also be plural: "A few tests are failing". "Most" (D) is correct in structure but "are failed" is wrong — use "have failed" (present perfect, for a completed action) or "are failing" (present continuous, for an ongoing action). Countable noun quantifiers: several, a few, a couple of, many, some, all, most, each, every. Uncountable quantifiers: much, a little, a bit of, a great deal of.
2 / 16
You are writing a bug report. Choose the sentence with the correct use of a negative quantifier.
Option C is the cleanest and most idiomatic use. Neither…nor is used to connect exactly two negative items. "Neither the GET nor the POST" correctly refers to two specific request types. Option A ("None of the requests was") — this one is also grammatically correct! "None of" can take either a singular or plural verb in modern English, but "were" is more natural for plural nouns. However, option A is slightly less precise (it implies all request types, not just two). Option B uses "handling" incorrectly — the passive voice needs "were handled" not "were handling". Option D has a double negative: "Not any…were not handled" — cancel each other out and create an affirmative meaning. Negative quantifiers in IT writing: "none of the logs", "neither the frontend nor the backend", "no records were found", "not a single request succeeded". Avoid double negatives in all technical writing.
3 / 16
A developer is writing documentation. Which sentence uses approximate quantities correctly and naturally?
Roughly is a natural approximation adverb meaning "approximately" — it is used directly before a number with no extra words between. "Roughly 20 requests per second" is correct and common in technical documentation. Option A adds "some" after "approximately" — you can use either "approximately 20" or "some 20" (where "some" is a formal approximator meaning "about"), but not both. "Some" as a number approximator is more formal/British: "The deployment took some 10 minutes." Option B uses "rough" (adjective) instead of "roughly" (adverb) — adjectives cannot modify numbers. Option D adds "of" after "about" which is incorrect — say "about 500 MB", not "about of 500 MB". Common approximators in tech documentation: roughly, approximately, about, around, nearly, up to, at least, over, some (formal). Examples: "up to 99.9% uptime", "at least 3 retries", "over 1,000 active users", "nearly 400 ms latency".
4 / 16
Which sentence uses all, whole, every, each correctly?
Each is correct. "Each microservice must register" — "each" is used with a singular countable noun and takes a singular verb. It emphasises individual items in a group: each one, separately. Why the others fail: "Every the" (A) is never correct — "every" is not used with an article. Say: "Every microservice must…" (no "the"). "All of" (B) requires "the": "All of the microservices must…" OR drop "of": "All microservices must…". "Whole" (D) means "the complete, undivided thing" — it is not used to mean "all members of a group". Use: "the whole system crashed", "the whole team joined the meeting". Summary — choosing between all/whole/every/each: All — the total group; Whole — one complete unit; Every — each one in a group (but uses singular noun); Each — individual members, often with focus on differences. Tech examples: "Each endpoint returns JSON." / "Every test case must have an assertion." / "All services share the same base image."
5 / 16
Fill in the blank with the correct quantifier: "We deployed to _____ 50 servers simultaneously during the rolling update."
Around is the correct approximator here. "Around 50 servers" = approximately 50 servers — natural, concise, and common in both spoken and written technical communication. "Approximately around" (A) is redundant — "approximately" and "around" mean the same thing; using both is a double approximator and should be avoided. "Much" (C) is for uncountable nouns: "much bandwidth", "much latency", "much effort" — NOT for countable items like servers. "A little" (D) is for small uncountable amounts: "a little overhead", "a little lag" — again, not for countable nouns. Practice: "rolled out to about 30 users", "affected nearly all customers", "responded within around 200ms", "at least 5 replicas", "up to 10 concurrent connections".
6 / 16
Sarah is investigating a performance issue with her new microservice. Initial logs show that 'approximately 20%' of requests are failing. Which sentence best describes the situation using a quantifier?
'Roughly,' 'about,' 'around,' and 'approximately' all indicate an estimation. Option 1 uses the most natural phrasing for describing a technical performance metric. Options 2 and 3 are grammatically correct but sound overly formal in this context, while option 4 is less precise.
7 / 16
Mark is writing a bug report for a failing API endpoint. He wants to describe the number of requests that are returning errors. Which sentence uses the correct negative quantifier?
'Not many' is the most idiomatic and natural way to express a quantity that's less than ideal in this situation. Options 1 and 3 are too specific and could be misleading about the exact number of errors. Option 4 lacks precision.
8 / 16
Emily is reviewing a code change related to user authentication. Which sentence correctly utilizes 'all,' 'whole,' 'every,' and 'each'?
'All' refers to the entire group of users. 'Every' and 'each' refer to individual instances within that group. Option 1 is too general, option 2 is unnecessarily complex, and option 4 describes a specific process rather than using the quantifiers correctly.
9 / 16
Sarah is investigating a performance issue with her new microservice. Initial logs show that 'approximately 20%' of requests are failing. Which sentence best describes the situation using a quantifier?
'Roughly,' 'about,' 'around,' and 'approximately' all indicate an estimation. Option 1 uses the most natural phrasing for describing a technical performance metric. Options 2 and 3 are grammatically correct but sound overly formal in this context, while option 4 is less precise.
10 / 16
Mark is writing a bug report for a failing API endpoint. He wants to describe the number of requests that are returning errors. Which sentence uses the correct negative quantifier?
'Not many' is the most idiomatic and natural way to express a quantity that's less than ideal in this situation. Options 1 and 3 are too specific and could be misleading about the exact number of errors. Option 4 lacks precision.
11 / 16
Emily is reviewing a code change related to user authentication. Which sentence correctly utilizes 'all,' 'whole,' 'every,' and 'each'?
'All' refers to the entire group of users. 'Every' and 'each' refer to individual instances within that group. Option 1 is too general, option 2 is unnecessarily complex, and option 4 describes a specific process rather than using the quantifiers correctly.
12 / 16
David: 'We've increased the database connection pool to approximately 200. That should handle our peak load.'
Which of these statements best reflects David's comment using a quantifier?
Approximately means 'around' or 'about'. It conveys an estimation rather than a precise number. Option A is too rigid; option C implies a limitation, while option D is overly restrictive. The core meaning is that the pool size is *roughly* sufficient for peak load.
13 / 16
Liam writes in a Slack channel: 'The new API endpoint returns data for every user ID.'
What does Liam likely mean?
'Every' indicates totality – it means *all* user IDs. The other options misinterpret 'every,' which in this context signifies complete coverage and not a limited set. It's a common point of confusion for non-native speakers regarding the strength of the quantifier.
14 / 16
Rachel is writing a PR description for a new feature: 'We've implemented a caching layer to serve all frequently accessed data points.'
Which of the following best explains Rachel's statement?
'All' indicates complete inclusion. Rachel means the caching layer handles *every* instance of frequently accessed data points. Option A is too restrictive; options B and D misinterpret 'all' as a singular copy.
15 / 16
Ben: 'We need to investigate each database table for performance bottlenecks.'
What does Ben mean?
'Each' emphasizes individuality and thoroughness. Ben wants *every* database table to be individually scrutinized for performance problems. The other options misinterpret 'each' as assigning a specific task or a single review.
16 / 16
Chloe: 'The microservice processed approximately 95% of the incoming requests successfully.'
Which sentence best captures the meaning of Chloe's statement?
'Approximately' indicates an estimate. Option A is too absolute; option C suggests a fixed percentage, while option D describes a different scenario entirely. The key is that Chloe's statement represents a range of success—around 95%.
What will I practise in "Quantifiers & Approximators — IT English Grammar Exercise"?
Practice quantifiers and approximators in technical English: some/any/all/most, negative quantifiers, and approximate numbers in documentation. 5 exercises.
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This module has 16 multiple-choice exercises, each with instant feedback and a full explanation of the correct answer.
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