7 exercises on the verb–noun combinations native English speakers use in IT. Non-native speakers often choose the wrong verb — these exercises train the correct patterns.
Collocations covered in this set
raise / open / log a ticket (not "make" or "write")
merge a branch (not "combine" or "join")
roll back a deployment (not "undo" or "reverse")
conduct / do a code review (not "make")
run the test suite ("execute" is also acceptable)
implement a queue ("add" is also common)
raise a blocker (not "tell" or "say")
0 / 12 completed
1 / 12
Choose the correct collocation to complete the sentence:
"Before we start sprint planning, let's _____ a ticket for the authentication bug — the Product Owner needs to see it in the backlog."
Raise a ticket is the standard British-English collocation used in most IT environments, especially with Jira, ServiceNow, and Zendesk.
Ticket collocations — what's correct: • raise a ticket ✅ — standard in British-English IT ("I've raised a ticket with the platform team.") • open a ticket ✅ — also correct, common in US-English contexts and customer support ("Open a ticket with support.") • file a ticket ✅ — formal, common in enterprise IT: "File a ticket with the help desk." • log a ticket ✅ — also correct, implies recording it: "Log a ticket before the sprint ends." • close a ticket — when resolved • assign a ticket — give it to someone
Note on "write" and "make": These are incorrect collocations — you don't "write" or "make" a ticket in standard IT English. This is a common mistake for non-native speakers translating from their first language.
2 / 12
Choose the correct collocation:
"The CI pipeline passed and the PR is approved — time to _____ this branch into main."
Merge a branch — the standard Git collocation. In version control, you always "merge" — not "combine", "join", or "connect".
Git collocations you must know: • merge a branch — integrate changes from one branch into another • push a commit / push changes — send local commits to the remote repo • pull the latest changes — fetch and integrate remote changes • rebase a branch — reapply commits on top of another branch • cherry-pick a commit — apply a specific commit from another branch • squash commits — combine multiple commits into one • stash changes — temporarily save uncommitted work • cut a branch / create a branch — start a new branch • close a PR / merge a PR / request changes on a PR
Quick collocations test: "We _____ the hotfix branch directly to main." → merged "Don't forget to _____ before you make a PR." → pull / rebase
3 / 12
Choose the correct collocation:
"Something is wrong in production — I need to _____ the deployment immediately before more users are affected."
Roll back is the standard term for reverting a deployment or release to a previous stable version. It's a fixed collocation in DevOps — never use "undo" or "reverse" in this context.
Deployment and release collocations: • roll back a deployment / release — revert to the previous version after a bad deploy • trigger a deployment — start the deployment process ("The merge to main triggers a deployment.") • deploy a hotfix — push an emergency fix to production • cut a release — create a new versioned release ("We're cutting v2.4.1 today.") • ship a feature — release a feature to users ("When can we ship the dark mode?") • push to production — deploy to the live environment • promote to production — advance a build from staging to prod
Rollback vs. revert: "Roll back a deployment" — undo the deploy, go back to the previous build in production. "Revert a commit" — undo a specific Git commit by creating a new commit that undoes the changes. These are different operations.
4 / 12
Choose the correct collocation:
"We'll _____ a code review on this PR before it goes to QA — there are some security-sensitive changes."
Conduct a code review is the most formal and professional collocation. However, several options are actually used in practice:
What's correct and what's common: • conduct a code review ✅ — formal, professional writing (design docs, audit reports) • do a code review ✅ — common in speech and informal writing ("Can you do a quick code review?") • run a code review ✅ — also used, especially informally ("I'll run a review on this.") • review the code ✅ — simplest form, very natural ("Can you review this PR?") • make a code review ❌ — incorrect. "Make" doesn't collocate with "review" in English.
In the context of the question, "conduct" fits best because of "security-sensitive changes" — this signals a formal, structured review.
More review collocations: • request a review — ask someone to review ("I've requested a review from @alice.") • approve a PR — sign off on the changes • leave a comment — add a code review comment • request changes — reject the PR and ask for modifications
5 / 12
Choose the correct collocation:
"Before running the load test, let's _____ the test suite so we know we're starting from a clean state."
Run the test suite is the most natural and common collocation. Both "run" and "execute" are correct, but "run" is far more common in everyday developer speech.
Testing collocations: • run tests ✅ — "Run the unit tests before pushing." (most common) • execute tests ✅ — more formal, common in QA documentation • run the test suite ✅ — run the full collection of tests • run a specific test case — run one individual test • write a test — create a new test • pass a test — the test succeeds • fail a test — the test fails • break a test — a code change causes a previously-passing test to fail • skip a test — mark a test to not run (e.g. `@pytest.mark.skip`)
Pipeline language: "The CI runs all tests on every PR." → "run" with CI/CD "Tests are executed in parallel across 4 workers." → "execute" in formal docs "The smoke tests pass but the regression suite is failing." → "pass/fail" are the key outcome verbs
6 / 12
Choose the correct collocation:
"The API is hitting its rate limit — we need to _____ a queue to handle the burst of requests."
Implement a queue is the most natural engineering collocation when talking about adding a technical solution to production code. While "create", "build", and "introduce" are all grammatically correct, "implement" is the standard technical register.
Architecture and design collocations: • implement a queue / cache / service — add a technical component to the system • add a queue — informal, very common in speech • introduce a queue — used when framing this as a change: "We're introducing a message queue to decouple the services." • set up a queue — configure it: "Set up a dead-letter queue for failed messages."
Queue-specific collocations: • push to / pop from a queue — add or remove items • drain the queue — process all items until it's empty • flood the queue — too many items arrive faster than they're processed • dead-letter queue (DLQ) — where failed messages go • message queue — general term (RabbitMQ, SQS, Kafka)
Common error: "make a queue" ❌ — this is a direct translation error. In English system design, you always "implement", "add", or "introduce" architectural components.
7 / 12
Choose the correct collocation:
"At the daily standup, each developer should _____ any blockers — don't wait until the sprint review to surface issues."
Raise blockers — in Agile/Scrum, you always "raise" a blocker, an issue, or a concern. This is a fixed collocation in the standup context.
Standup and Agile collocations: • raise a blocker ✅ — "I need to raise a blocker — the API environment is down." • flag a blocker ✅ — "Flag any blockers early so the Scrum Master can help." • unblock someone ✅ — "Can you help unblock me on the authentication issue?" • surface an issue ✅ — bring a problem to the team's attention: "Surface issues in the standup, not in DMs." • escalate a blocker ✅ — take it to a higher level when it can't be resolved at the team level
What not to say: • "tell blockers" ❌ — grammatically awkward • "say blockers" ❌ — "say" doesn't collocate with "blockers" • "speak blockers" ❌ — incorrect
Standard standup format: "Yesterday I worked on X. Today I'm working on Y. I want to raise a blocker — I'm waiting on credentials from the DevOps team."
8 / 12
Sarah from the DevOps team sent this Slack message: 'Hey team, I'm seeing high CPU utilization on the database servers. Let's investigate and debug the root cause.' Which word best completes the sentence?
'Diagnose' refers to identifying the cause of a problem, which is appropriate for a technical investigation. 'Escalate' implies a higher level of urgency than is suggested by Sarah's initial message. 'Optimize' and 'rollback' are not relevant actions when initially investigating high CPU usage. The core of debugging is understanding *why* something is happening.
9 / 12
During a code review, Mark comments: 'This function could benefit from some refactoring – it's overly complex and difficult to maintain.' Which of the following best describes Mark's suggestion?
'Refactoring' specifically refers to restructuring existing computer code—altering its internal structure without changing its external behavior. 'Validate' focuses on correctness; 'optimize' is about performance, and 'benchmark' involves measuring speed or resource usage. Mark's comment indicates a need for improved code design.
10 / 12
You're writing the PR description for a new feature that adds user authentication. You want to describe the changes concisely. Which phrase is most appropriate?
'Deploy' accurately describes the process of making a change from a development or staging environment to the live production environment. The other options relate to different stages of software delivery but don't represent the core action of adding new code functionality. A clear PR description should focus on what the code *does*.
11 / 12
David says: 'Let's troubleshoot this issue with the payment gateway integration.' What does he mean?
'Troubleshoot' means to systematically find and solve a problem, often involving technical investigation. 'Debug' is a specific type of troubleshooting focused on finding errors in code. 'Validate' confirms correct operation; 'scale' deals with increasing capacity.
12 / 12
During a standup meeting, you need to inform your team about a dependency that is failing. Which phrase would be most effective?
'Acknowledge' is the most appropriate response during a standup when reporting a dependency failure. It signals awareness without immediately demanding solutions. 'Resolve,' 'mitigate,' and 'replicate' are more detailed actions typically discussed in follow-up meetings or tickets. The goal of a standup is quick, high-level status updates.
What does the "IT Collocations" vocabulary exercise cover?
This exercise tests real IT vocabulary related to it collocations through 12 multiple-choice questions, each built from realistic workplace sentences rather than abstract definitions.
Is this vocabulary exercise free to use?
Yes. Every exercise on CoderSlingo, including this one, is completely free — no account, sign-up, or payment required.
How many questions does this exercise have?
This exercise has 12 questions. Each one shows a real-world sentence or scenario with multiple-choice options and an explanation once you answer.
What happens after I answer a question?
You'll see immediate feedback showing whether your answer was correct, along with a short explanation of why — then a button to move to the next question, and a full results screen at the end.
Can I retry the exercise if I get questions wrong?
Yes. Once you reach the results screen, click "Try again" to reset your answers and go through the exercise from the start as many times as you like.
Do I need to create an account to take this exercise?
No account is needed. Your answers are scored in your browser during the session — nothing is saved to a server, so you can jump straight in.
Is my progress saved if I leave the page?
No — progress within an exercise resets if you navigate away or reload. Each exercise is short enough to complete in a few minutes in one sitting.
Are these vocabulary exercises connected to other topics?
Yes — browse the full vocabulary exercises hub to find related modules covering adjacent IT topics and roles.
How is this different from reading a glossary or blog article?
Exercises like this one are active recall drills — you have to choose the correct term or phrasing yourself, which builds retention faster than passively reading a definition.
Where can I find more vocabulary exercises?
Browse the full Vocabulary exercises hub for hundreds of modules covering Agile, DevOps, security, databases, architecture, and more — organised by IT role and skill.