Grammar Quiz — Part 2

Question 1

Fill in the blank.
"It's _____ Polish client, so we'll run the kickoff in Warsaw."

A singular countable noun always needs an article, and a nationality adjective doesn't change that: a Polish client, a potential client, a particular company, a good approach. Use "the" only when you both already know which client you mean.

Question 2

Fill in the blanks.
"The client is from _____, and his development team is in _____."

Ordinary country names take no article: Finland, Switzerland, Poland, Europe, Lodz. Only names that are plural or contain a common noun take the: the Netherlands, the US, the UK, the Czech Republic, the UAE, the European Union.

Question 3

Fill in the blank.
"The legacy code was so bad that we rebuilt the module from _____ scratch."

From scratch is a fixed expression — no article, ever. A few others worth memorizing as whole units: on a daily basis, in the long run, at first glance, by hand.

Question 4

Fill in the blank.
"That's a good example from _____ IT world."

Industries and fields are treated as unique, so they take the: the IT world, the oil industry, the corporate world, the big picture. There's only one of each, which is exactly what "the" signals.

Question 5

Fill in the blank.
"We've had a lot of small issues, but _____ the migration was the right call."

The set phrase is in the big picture — there's only one big picture in any given discussion. Useful alternatives when you're zooming out for a client: "overall," "on balance," "in the long run."

Question 6

Fill in the blank.
"I was curious how the new tooling _____ my daily work."

Two rules here. The main verb is past ("was curious"), so "will" backshifts to would. And influence is transitive — it takes a direct object with no preposition: influence my work, not "influence on my work."

Question 7

Fill in the blank.
"Honestly, I didn't know it _____ so emotional."

After a past reporting verb ("didn't know"), can becomes could. The same shift applies to will → would, is → was, have → had. This is the single most frequent pattern in your report — worth checking every time you tell a story about a past project.

Question 8

Fill in the blank.
"We thought that we _____ mostly technical questions, but they asked about pricing."

"Thought" is past, so "will" becomes would — and "would" is always followed by the base form ("would get," never "would got").

Question 9

Fill in the blank.
"At the time, I didn't realize that the technical debt _____ so big."

A past reporting verb pulls the whole reported thought into the past: "I didn't realize it was so big." Even if the debt is still big today, English keeps the tenses agreeing — "I thought it was horrible," not "I thought it's horrible."

Question 10

Fill in the blank.
"Back then, we didn't know how the redesign _____ our users."

Backshift gives you could, and affect takes a direct object with no preposition. Keep the pair straight: "to affect" is the verb, "an effect" is the noun — "it affects users" / "it has an effect on users."

Question 11

Fill in the blank.
"I _____ the final version until yesterday evening."

"Did" already carries the past tense, so the main verb stays in the base form: didn't see, didn't have to, didn't know. The same logic applies after "to": "I decided to go," not "to went."

Question 12

Fill in the blank.
"They _____ to reproduce the bug on staging, so we closed the ticket."

"Able" is an adjective, not a verb, so it needs be, not "do": weren't able, wasn't able, aren't able. And "they" is plural, so the verb is "weren't."

Question 13

Fill in the blank.
"If the documentation stays this bad, people _____ want to use the tool at all."

Modal verbs make their own negative — you never add "do": won't (will not), shouldn't, can't, wouldn't. "Don't will" and "will don't" both stack two auxiliaries that can't combine.

Question 14

Fill in the blank.
"That framework _____ almost thirty years ago."

A finished time expression ("thirty years ago," "in 2019," "last quarter") requires the past simple, never the present perfect. Use the present perfect only when the time period is still open: "We've had a lot of problems this year."

Question 15

Fill in the blank.
"I _____ that library for fourteen years, and I still reach for it every week."

Started in the past and still going → have been using. Compare directly with Question 14: "I tested it 14 years ago" (finished, past simple) vs. "I've been testing it for 14 years" (still true today).

Question 16

Fill in the blanks.
"The benchmark result was completely _____, and honestly I was pretty _____."

-ing describes the thing that causes the feeling; -ed describes the person who feels it. The result is surprising, you are surprised. Same for exhausting/exhausted, confusing/confused, interesting/interested.

Question 17

Fill in the blank.
"Could you give me _____ on how to structure the migration?"

Advice is uncountable: no "a," no plural. Say "some advice" or, for one specific point, "a piece of advice." The same applies to feedback, information, research, and income.

Question 18

Fill in the blank.
"The refactor took three weeks, but it was definitely worth _____."

"Worth" needs something after it. Your two reliable options: worth it ("it was worth it") or worth + -ing ("it was worth doing," "it wasn't worth pursuing"). Never "worth to do."

Question 19

Choose the correct sentence.

In English the percentage goes before the adjective, with no preposition: 100% secure, 100% focused, 50% faster. "In 100%" is a direct translation of "w 100%."

Question 20

Fill in the blank.
"I hadn't _____ that tool before you mentioned it."

You meet people, not products or tools. For a thing you didn't know existed, use "I hadn't heard of it," "I wasn't familiar with it," or "I didn't know about it."

Question 21

Fill in the blank.
"Against all odds, the team _____ the release on time."

To pull something off = to succeed at something difficult or unlikely. "Pull out" and "pull back" both mean to withdraw from a deal or commitment — nearly the opposite.

Question 22

Fill in the blank.
"The client asked us to _____ the delivery date by two weeks."

To bring forward a date = to move it earlier. "Bring up" means to mention a topic; "bring about" means to cause something to happen. All three are useful in client calls — the difference matters.

Question 23

Fill in the blank.
"Our infrastructure costs _____ last quarter after the AI spend went up."

Costs balloon, surge, spike, or skyrocket when they rise sharply. "Offset" means to counterbalance something, and "hedge" means to protect yourself against a risk — neither describes the increase itself.

Question 24

Fill in the blank.
"The CEO wouldn't commit either way — he refused to _____ further price increases."

To rule something out = to say it definitely won't happen. Refusing to rule it out means it's still on the table. "Cite" = give as a reason; "curb" = limit or restrain.

Question 25

Fill in the blank.
"Requirements change every week on this project — you just have to _____."

To roll with the punches = to stay flexible and adapt to whatever hits you. "Tip the scales" means to make the decisive difference; "catch a break" means to finally get some luck.