diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/commands/multi_copy.c b/src/backend/distributed/commands/multi_copy.c
index b1ed3d5cd..f8745d466 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/commands/multi_copy.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/commands/multi_copy.c
@@ -433,7 +433,8 @@ CopyToExistingShards(CopyStmt *copyStatement, char *completionTag)
 	}
 
 	/* prevent concurrent placement changes and non-commutative DML statements */
-	LockShards(shardIntervalList, ShareLock);
+	LockShardListMetadata(shardIntervalList, ShareLock);
+	LockShardListResources(shardIntervalList, ShareLock);
 
 	/* initialize the shard interval cache */
 	shardCount = cacheEntry->shardIntervalArrayLength;
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/executor/multi_router_executor.c b/src/backend/distributed/executor/multi_router_executor.c
index 4476e058c..6c0238a23 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/executor/multi_router_executor.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/executor/multi_router_executor.c
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@
 #include "catalog/pg_type.h"
 #include "distributed/citus_clauses.h"
 #include "distributed/citus_ruleutils.h"
+#include "distributed/commit_protocol.h"
 #include "distributed/connection_cache.h"
 #include "distributed/master_metadata_utility.h"
 #include "distributed/metadata_cache.h"
@@ -35,6 +36,7 @@
 #include "distributed/multi_physical_planner.h"
 #include "distributed/multi_planner.h"
 #include "distributed/multi_router_executor.h"
+#include "distributed/multi_shard_transaction.h"
 #include "distributed/relay_utility.h"
 #include "distributed/resource_lock.h"
 #include "executor/execdesc.h"
@@ -64,6 +66,7 @@
 /* controls use of locks to enforce safe commutativity */
 bool AllModificationsCommutative = false;
 
+
 /*
  * The following static variables are necessary to track the progression of
  * multi-statement transactions managed by the router executor. After the first
@@ -84,15 +87,15 @@ static bool subXactAbortAttempted = false;
 
 /* functions needed during start phase */
 static void InitTransactionStateForTask(Task *task);
-static void AcquireExecutorShardLock(Task *task, CmdType commandType);
 static HTAB * CreateXactParticipantHash(void);
 
 /* functions needed during run phase */
-static bool ExecuteTaskAndStoreResults(QueryDesc *queryDesc,
-									   Task *task,
-									   bool isModificationQuery,
-									   bool requiresMasterModification,
-									   bool expectResults);
+static bool ExecuteSingleTask(QueryDesc *queryDesc, Task *task,
+							  bool isModificationQuery, bool expectResults);
+static void ExecuteMultipleTasks(QueryDesc *queryDesc, List *taskList,
+								 bool isModificationQuery, bool expectResults);
+static List * TaskShardIntervalList(List *taskList);
+static void AcquireExecutorShardLock(Task *task, CmdType commandType);
 static uint64 ReturnRowsFromTuplestore(uint64 tupleCount, TupleDesc tupleDescriptor,
 									   DestReceiver *destination,
 									   Tuplestorestate *tupleStore);
@@ -106,8 +109,8 @@ static void ExtractParametersFromParamListInfo(ParamListInfo paramListInfo,
 static bool SendQueryInSingleRowMode(PGconn *connection, char *query,
 									 ParamListInfo paramListInfo);
 static bool StoreQueryResult(MaterialState *routerState, PGconn *connection,
-							 TupleDesc tupleDescriptor, int64 *rows);
-static bool ConsumeQueryResult(PGconn *connection, int64 *rows);
+							 TupleDesc tupleDescriptor, bool failOnError, int64 *rows);
+static bool ConsumeQueryResult(PGconn *connection, bool failOnError, int64 *rows);
 static void RecordShardIdParticipant(uint64 affectedShardId,
 									 NodeConnectionEntry *participantEntry);
 
@@ -136,25 +139,6 @@ RouterExecutorStart(QueryDesc *queryDesc, int eflags, Task *task)
 	if (commandType != CMD_SELECT)
 	{
 		eflags |= EXEC_FLAG_SKIP_TRIGGERS;
-
-		if (XactModificationLevel == XACT_MODIFICATION_SCHEMA)
-		{
-			ereport(ERROR, (errcode(ERRCODE_ACTIVE_SQL_TRANSACTION),
-							errmsg("distributed data modifications must not appear in "
-								   "transaction blocks which contain distributed DDL "
-								   "commands")));
-		}
-
-		/*
-		 * We could naturally handle function-based transactions (i.e. those
-		 * using PL/pgSQL or similar) by checking the type of queryDesc->dest,
-		 * but some customers already use functions that touch multiple shards
-		 * from within a function, so we'll ignore functions for now.
-		 */
-		if (IsTransactionBlock() && xactParticipantHash == NULL)
-		{
-			InitTransactionStateForTask(task);
-		}
 	}
 
 	/* signal that it is a router execution */
@@ -364,7 +348,6 @@ RouterExecutorRun(QueryDesc *queryDesc, ScanDirection direction, long count)
 	MultiPlan *multiPlan = GetMultiPlan(planStatement);
 	Job *workerJob = multiPlan->workerJob;
 	List *taskList = workerJob->taskList;
-	Task *task = NULL;
 	EState *estate = queryDesc->estate;
 	CmdType operation = queryDesc->operation;
 	MemoryContext oldcontext = NULL;
@@ -372,14 +355,8 @@ RouterExecutorRun(QueryDesc *queryDesc, ScanDirection direction, long count)
 	MaterialState *routerState = (MaterialState *) queryDesc->planstate;
 	bool sendTuples = operation == CMD_SELECT || queryDesc->plannedstmt->hasReturning;
 
-	/* router executor can only execute distributed plans with a single task */
-	Assert(list_length(taskList) == 1);
-	task = (Task *) linitial(taskList);
-
 	Assert(estate != NULL);
 	Assert(!(estate->es_top_eflags & EXEC_FLAG_EXPLAIN_ONLY));
-	Assert(task != NULL);
-
 
 	oldcontext = MemoryContextSwitchTo(estate->es_query_cxt);
 
@@ -415,7 +392,6 @@ RouterExecutorRun(QueryDesc *queryDesc, ScanDirection direction, long count)
 	 */
 	if (!routerState->eof_underlying)
 	{
-		bool resultsOK = false;
 		bool isModificationQuery = false;
 		bool requiresMasterEvaluation = workerJob->requiresMasterEvaluation;
 
@@ -430,13 +406,45 @@ RouterExecutorRun(QueryDesc *queryDesc, ScanDirection direction, long count)
 								   (int) operation)));
 		}
 
-		resultsOK = ExecuteTaskAndStoreResults(queryDesc, task,
-											   isModificationQuery,
-											   requiresMasterEvaluation,
-											   sendTuples);
-		if (!resultsOK)
+		if (requiresMasterEvaluation)
 		{
-			ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("could not receive query results")));
+			ListCell *taskCell = NULL;
+			Query *query = workerJob->jobQuery;
+			Oid relationId = ((RangeTblEntry *) linitial(query->rtable))->relid;
+
+			ExecuteMasterEvaluableFunctions(query);
+
+			foreach(taskCell, taskList)
+			{
+				Task *task = (Task *) lfirst(taskCell);
+				StringInfo newQueryString = makeStringInfo();
+
+				deparse_shard_query(query, relationId, task->anchorShardId,
+									newQueryString);
+
+				elog(DEBUG4, "query before master evaluation: %s", task->queryString);
+				elog(DEBUG4, "query after master evaluation:  %s", newQueryString->data);
+
+				task->queryString = newQueryString->data;
+			}
+		}
+
+		if (list_length(taskList) == 1)
+		{
+			Task *task = (Task *) linitial(taskList);
+			bool resultsOK = false;
+
+			resultsOK = ExecuteSingleTask(queryDesc, task, isModificationQuery,
+										  sendTuples);
+			if (!resultsOK)
+			{
+				ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("could not receive query results")));
+			}
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			ExecuteMultipleTasks(queryDesc, taskList, isModificationQuery,
+								 sendTuples);
 		}
 
 		/* mark underlying query as having executed */
@@ -483,8 +491,8 @@ out:
 
 
 /*
- * ExecuteTaskAndStoreResults executes the task on the remote node, retrieves
- * the results and stores them, if SELECT or RETURNING is used, in a tuple
+ * ExecuteSingleTask executes the task on the remote node, retrieves the
+ * results and stores them, if SELECT or RETURNING is used, in a tuple
  * store.
  *
  * If the task fails on one of the placements, the function retries it on
@@ -493,12 +501,11 @@ out:
  * failed), or errors out (DML failed on all placements).
  */
 static bool
-ExecuteTaskAndStoreResults(QueryDesc *queryDesc, Task *task,
-						   bool isModificationQuery,
-						   bool requiresMasterEvaluation,
-						   bool expectResults)
+ExecuteSingleTask(QueryDesc *queryDesc, Task *task,
+				  bool isModificationQuery,
+				  bool expectResults)
 {
-	CmdType commandType = queryDesc->operation;
+	CmdType operation = queryDesc->operation;
 	TupleDesc tupleDescriptor = queryDesc->tupDesc;
 	EState *executorState = queryDesc->estate;
 	MaterialState *routerState = (MaterialState *) queryDesc->planstate;
@@ -511,24 +518,27 @@ ExecuteTaskAndStoreResults(QueryDesc *queryDesc, Task *task,
 	bool gotResults = false;
 	char *queryString = task->queryString;
 
-	if (isModificationQuery && requiresMasterEvaluation)
+	if (XactModificationLevel == XACT_MODIFICATION_MULTI_SHARD)
 	{
-		PlannedStmt *planStatement = queryDesc->plannedstmt;
-		MultiPlan *multiPlan = GetMultiPlan(planStatement);
-		Query *query = multiPlan->workerJob->jobQuery;
-		Oid relid = ((RangeTblEntry *) linitial(query->rtable))->relid;
-		StringInfo queryStringInfo = makeStringInfo();
+		ereport(ERROR, (errcode(ERRCODE_ACTIVE_SQL_TRANSACTION),
+						errmsg("single-shard DML commands must not appear in "
+							   "transaction blocks which contain multi-shard data "
+							   "modifications")));
+	}
 
-		ExecuteMasterEvaluableFunctions(query);
-		deparse_shard_query(query, relid, task->anchorShardId, queryStringInfo);
-		queryString = queryStringInfo->data;
-
-		elog(DEBUG4, "query before master evaluation: %s", task->queryString);
-		elog(DEBUG4, "query after master evaluation:  %s", queryString);
+	/*
+	 * We could naturally handle function-based transactions (i.e. those
+	 * using PL/pgSQL or similar) by checking the type of queryDesc->dest,
+	 * but some customers already use functions that touch multiple shards
+	 * from within a function, so we'll ignore functions for now.
+	 */
+	if (operation != CMD_SELECT && xactParticipantHash == NULL && IsTransactionBlock())
+	{
+		InitTransactionStateForTask(task);
 	}
 
 	/* prevent replicas of the same shard from diverging */
-	AcquireExecutorShardLock(task, commandType);
+	AcquireExecutorShardLock(task, operation);
 
 	/*
 	 * Try to run the query to completion on one placement. If the query fails
@@ -538,6 +548,7 @@ ExecuteTaskAndStoreResults(QueryDesc *queryDesc, Task *task,
 	{
 		ShardPlacement *taskPlacement = (ShardPlacement *) lfirst(taskPlacementCell);
 		bool queryOK = false;
+		bool failOnError = false;
 		int64 currentAffectedTupleCount = 0;
 		PGconn *connection = GetConnectionForPlacement(taskPlacement,
 													   isModificationQuery);
@@ -564,11 +575,12 @@ ExecuteTaskAndStoreResults(QueryDesc *queryDesc, Task *task,
 		if (!gotResults && expectResults)
 		{
 			queryOK = StoreQueryResult(routerState, connection, tupleDescriptor,
-									   &currentAffectedTupleCount);
+									   failOnError, &currentAffectedTupleCount);
 		}
 		else
 		{
-			queryOK = ConsumeQueryResult(connection, &currentAffectedTupleCount);
+			queryOK = ConsumeQueryResult(connection, failOnError,
+										 &currentAffectedTupleCount);
 		}
 
 		if (queryOK)
@@ -642,6 +654,200 @@ ExecuteTaskAndStoreResults(QueryDesc *queryDesc, Task *task,
 }
 
 
+/*
+ * ExecuteMultipleTasks executes a list of tasks on remote nodes, retrieves
+ * the results and, if RETURNING is used, stores them in a tuple store.
+ *
+ * If a task fails on one of the placements, the transaction rolls back.
+ * Otherwise, the changes are committed using 2PC when the local transaction
+ * commits.
+ */
+static void
+ExecuteMultipleTasks(QueryDesc *queryDesc, List *taskList,
+					 bool isModificationQuery, bool expectResults)
+{
+	TupleDesc tupleDescriptor = queryDesc->tupDesc;
+	EState *executorState = queryDesc->estate;
+	MaterialState *routerState = (MaterialState *) queryDesc->planstate;
+	ParamListInfo paramListInfo = queryDesc->params;
+	int64 affectedTupleCount = -1;
+
+	/* can only support modifications right now */
+	Assert(isModificationQuery);
+
+	affectedTupleCount = ExecuteModifyTasks(taskList, expectResults, paramListInfo,
+											routerState, tupleDescriptor);
+
+	executorState->es_processed = affectedTupleCount;
+}
+
+
+/*
+ * ExecuteModifyTasks executes a list of tasks on remote nodes, and
+ * optionally retrieves the results and stores them in a tuple store.
+ *
+ * If a task fails on one of the placements, the transaction rolls back.
+ * Otherwise, the changes are committed using 2PC when the local transaction
+ * commits.
+ */
+int64
+ExecuteModifyTasks(List *taskList, bool expectResults, ParamListInfo paramListInfo,
+				   MaterialState *routerState, TupleDesc tupleDescriptor)
+{
+	int64 totalAffectedTupleCount = 0;
+	ListCell *taskCell = NULL;
+	char *userName = CurrentUserName();
+	List *shardIntervalList = NIL;
+
+	if (XactModificationLevel == XACT_MODIFICATION_DATA)
+	{
+		ereport(ERROR, (errcode(ERRCODE_ACTIVE_SQL_TRANSACTION),
+						errmsg("multi-shard data modifications must not appear in "
+							   "transaction blocks which contain single-shard DML "
+							   "commands")));
+	}
+
+	XactModificationLevel = XACT_MODIFICATION_MULTI_SHARD;
+
+	shardIntervalList = TaskShardIntervalList(taskList);
+
+	/* ensure that there are no concurrent modifications on the same shards */
+	LockShardListResources(shardIntervalList, ExclusiveLock);
+
+	/* open connection to all relevant placements, if not already open */
+	OpenTransactionsToAllShardPlacements(shardIntervalList, userName);
+
+	/* send command to all relevant shard placements */
+	foreach(taskCell, taskList)
+	{
+		Task *task = (Task *) lfirst(taskCell);
+		int64 shardId = task->anchorShardId;
+		char *queryString = task->queryString;
+		bool shardConnectionsFound = false;
+		ShardConnections *shardConnections = NULL;
+		List *connectionList = NIL;
+		ListCell *connectionCell = NULL;
+
+		shardConnections = GetShardConnections(shardId, &shardConnectionsFound);
+		Assert(shardConnectionsFound);
+
+		connectionList = shardConnections->connectionList;
+		Assert(connectionList != NIL);
+
+		foreach(connectionCell, connectionList)
+		{
+			TransactionConnection *transactionConnection =
+				(TransactionConnection *) lfirst(connectionCell);
+			PGconn *connection = transactionConnection->connection;
+			bool queryOK = false;
+
+			queryOK = SendQueryInSingleRowMode(connection, queryString, paramListInfo);
+			if (!queryOK)
+			{
+				ReraiseRemoteError(connection, NULL);
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	/* collects results from all relevant shard placements */
+	foreach(taskCell, taskList)
+	{
+		Task *task = (Task *) lfirst(taskCell);
+		int64 shardId = task->anchorShardId;
+		bool shardConnectionsFound = false;
+		ShardConnections *shardConnections = NULL;
+		List *connectionList = NIL;
+		ListCell *connectionCell = NULL;
+		int64 affectedTupleCount = 0;
+		bool gotResults = false;
+
+		/* abort in case of cancellation */
+		CHECK_FOR_INTERRUPTS();
+
+		shardConnections = GetShardConnections(shardId, &shardConnectionsFound);
+		connectionList = shardConnections->connectionList;
+
+		foreach(connectionCell, connectionList)
+		{
+			TransactionConnection *transactionConnection =
+				(TransactionConnection *) lfirst(connectionCell);
+			PGconn *connection = transactionConnection->connection;
+			int64 currentAffectedTupleCount = 0;
+			bool failOnError = true;
+			bool queryOK PG_USED_FOR_ASSERTS_ONLY = false;
+
+			/*
+			 * If caller is interested, store query results the first time
+			 * through. The output of the query's execution on other shards is
+			 * discarded if we run there (because it's a modification query).
+			 */
+			if (!gotResults && expectResults)
+			{
+				Assert(routerState != NULL && tupleDescriptor != NULL);
+
+				queryOK = StoreQueryResult(routerState, connection, tupleDescriptor,
+										   failOnError, &currentAffectedTupleCount);
+			}
+			else
+			{
+				queryOK = ConsumeQueryResult(connection, failOnError,
+											 &currentAffectedTupleCount);
+			}
+
+			/* should have rolled back on error */
+			Assert(queryOK);
+
+			if (!gotResults)
+			{
+				affectedTupleCount = currentAffectedTupleCount;
+				totalAffectedTupleCount += affectedTupleCount;
+			}
+			else if (currentAffectedTupleCount != affectedTupleCount)
+			{
+				char *nodeName = ConnectionGetOptionValue(connection, "host");
+				char *nodePort = ConnectionGetOptionValue(connection, "port");
+
+				ereport(WARNING,
+						(errmsg("modified "INT64_FORMAT " tuples, but expected "
+														"to modify "INT64_FORMAT,
+								currentAffectedTupleCount, affectedTupleCount),
+						 errdetail("modified placement on %s:%s", nodeName,
+								   nodePort)));
+			}
+
+			gotResults = true;
+		}
+	}
+
+	CHECK_FOR_INTERRUPTS();
+
+	return totalAffectedTupleCount;
+}
+
+
+/*
+ * TaskShardIntervalList returns a list of shard intervals for a given list of
+ * tasks.
+ */
+static List *
+TaskShardIntervalList(List *taskList)
+{
+	ListCell *taskCell = NULL;
+	List *shardIntervalList = NIL;
+
+	foreach(taskCell, taskList)
+	{
+		Task *task = (Task *) lfirst(taskCell);
+		int64 shardId = task->anchorShardId;
+		ShardInterval *shardInterval = LoadShardInterval(shardId);
+
+		shardIntervalList = lappend(shardIntervalList, shardInterval);
+	}
+
+	return shardIntervalList;
+}
+
+
 /*
  * ReturnRowsFromTuplestore moves rows from a given tuplestore into a
  * receiver. It performs the necessary limiting to support cursors.
@@ -929,7 +1135,7 @@ ExtractParametersFromParamListInfo(ParamListInfo paramListInfo, Oid **parameterT
  */
 static bool
 StoreQueryResult(MaterialState *routerState, PGconn *connection,
-				 TupleDesc tupleDescriptor, int64 *rows)
+				 TupleDesc tupleDescriptor, bool failOnError, int64 *rows)
 {
 	AttInMetadata *attributeInputMetadata = TupleDescGetAttInMetadata(tupleDescriptor);
 	Tuplestorestate *tupleStore = NULL;
@@ -947,7 +1153,7 @@ StoreQueryResult(MaterialState *routerState, PGconn *connection,
 	{
 		routerState->tuplestorestate = tuplestore_begin_heap(false, false, work_mem);
 	}
-	else
+	else if (!failOnError)
 	{
 		/* might have failed query execution on another placement before */
 		tuplestore_clear(routerState->tuplestorestate);
@@ -974,7 +1180,7 @@ StoreQueryResult(MaterialState *routerState, PGconn *connection,
 		{
 			char *sqlStateString = PQresultErrorField(result, PG_DIAG_SQLSTATE);
 			int category = 0;
-			bool raiseError = false;
+			bool isConstraintViolation = false;
 
 			/*
 			 * If the error code is in constraint violation class, we want to
@@ -982,9 +1188,9 @@ StoreQueryResult(MaterialState *routerState, PGconn *connection,
 			 * placements.
 			 */
 			category = ERRCODE_TO_CATEGORY(ERRCODE_INTEGRITY_CONSTRAINT_VIOLATION);
-			raiseError = SqlStateMatchesCategory(sqlStateString, category);
+			isConstraintViolation = SqlStateMatchesCategory(sqlStateString, category);
 
-			if (raiseError)
+			if (isConstraintViolation || failOnError)
 			{
 				RemoveXactConnection(connection);
 				ReraiseRemoteError(connection, result);
@@ -1056,7 +1262,7 @@ StoreQueryResult(MaterialState *routerState, PGconn *connection,
  * has been an error.
  */
 static bool
-ConsumeQueryResult(PGconn *connection, int64 *rows)
+ConsumeQueryResult(PGconn *connection, bool failOnError, int64 *rows)
 {
 	bool commandFailed = false;
 	bool gotResponse = false;
@@ -1086,7 +1292,7 @@ ConsumeQueryResult(PGconn *connection, int64 *rows)
 		{
 			char *sqlStateString = PQresultErrorField(result, PG_DIAG_SQLSTATE);
 			int category = 0;
-			bool raiseError = false;
+			bool isConstraintViolation = false;
 
 			/*
 			 * If the error code is in constraint violation class, we want to
@@ -1094,9 +1300,9 @@ ConsumeQueryResult(PGconn *connection, int64 *rows)
 			 * placements.
 			 */
 			category = ERRCODE_TO_CATEGORY(ERRCODE_INTEGRITY_CONSTRAINT_VIOLATION);
-			raiseError = SqlStateMatchesCategory(sqlStateString, category);
+			isConstraintViolation = SqlStateMatchesCategory(sqlStateString, category);
 
-			if (raiseError)
+			if (isConstraintViolation || failOnError)
 			{
 				RemoveXactConnection(connection);
 				ReraiseRemoteError(connection, result);
@@ -1118,8 +1324,11 @@ ConsumeQueryResult(PGconn *connection, int64 *rows)
 			char *currentAffectedTupleString = PQcmdTuples(result);
 			int64 currentAffectedTupleCount = 0;
 
-			scanint8(currentAffectedTupleString, false, &currentAffectedTupleCount);
-			Assert(currentAffectedTupleCount >= 0);
+			if (*currentAffectedTupleString != '\0')
+			{
+				scanint8(currentAffectedTupleString, false, &currentAffectedTupleCount);
+				Assert(currentAffectedTupleCount >= 0);
+			}
 
 #if (PG_VERSION_NUM < 90600)
 
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/executor/multi_utility.c b/src/backend/distributed/executor/multi_utility.c
index 8864a7b16..05182dbba 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/executor/multi_utility.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/executor/multi_utility.c
@@ -1292,7 +1292,8 @@ ExecuteDistributedDDLCommand(Oid relationId, const char *ddlCommandString,
 	{
 		ereport(ERROR, (errcode(ERRCODE_ACTIVE_SQL_TRANSACTION),
 						errmsg("distributed DDL commands must not appear within "
-							   "transaction blocks containing data modifications")));
+							   "transaction blocks containing single-shard data "
+							   "modifications")));
 	}
 
 	ShowNoticeIfNotUsing2PC();
@@ -1305,7 +1306,7 @@ ExecuteDistributedDDLCommand(Oid relationId, const char *ddlCommandString,
 		ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("could not execute DDL command on worker node shards")));
 	}
 
-	XactModificationLevel = XACT_MODIFICATION_SCHEMA;
+	XactModificationLevel = XACT_MODIFICATION_MULTI_SHARD;
 }
 
 
@@ -1359,7 +1360,7 @@ ExecuteCommandOnWorkerShards(Oid relationId, const char *commandString)
 	Oid schemaId = get_rel_namespace(relationId);
 	char *schemaName = get_namespace_name(schemaId);
 
-	LockShards(shardIntervalList, ShareLock);
+	LockShardListResources(shardIntervalList, ShareLock);
 	OpenTransactionsToAllShardPlacements(shardIntervalList, tableOwner);
 
 	foreach(shardIntervalCell, shardIntervalList)
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_modify_multiple_shards.c b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_modify_multiple_shards.c
index d54407341..169f22d91 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/master/master_modify_multiple_shards.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/master/master_modify_multiple_shards.c
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@
 #include "distributed/pg_dist_shard.h"
 #include "distributed/pg_dist_partition.h"
 #include "distributed/resource_lock.h"
+#include "distributed/shardinterval_utils.h"
 #include "distributed/worker_protocol.h"
 #include "optimizer/clauses.h"
 #include "optimizer/predtest.h"
@@ -55,11 +56,9 @@
 #include "utils/memutils.h"
 
 
-static void LockShardsForModify(List *shardIntervalList);
-static bool HasReplication(List *shardIntervalList);
-static int SendQueryToShards(Query *query, List *shardIntervalList, Oid relationId);
-static int SendQueryToPlacements(char *shardQueryString,
-								 ShardConnections *shardConnections);
+static List * ModifyMultipleShardsTaskList(Query *query, List *shardIntervalList,
+										   Oid relationId);
+
 
 PG_FUNCTION_INFO_V1(master_modify_multiple_shards);
 
@@ -83,14 +82,12 @@ master_modify_multiple_shards(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 	Query *modifyQuery = NULL;
 	Node *queryTreeNode;
 	List *restrictClauseList = NIL;
-	bool isTopLevel = true;
 	bool failOK = false;
 	List *shardIntervalList = NIL;
 	List *prunedShardIntervalList = NIL;
+	List *taskList = NIL;
 	int32 affectedTupleCount = 0;
 
-	PreventTransactionChain(isTopLevel, "master_modify_multiple_shards");
-
 	queryTreeNode = ParseTreeNode(queryString);
 	if (IsA(queryTreeNode, DeleteStmt))
 	{
@@ -163,183 +160,50 @@ master_modify_multiple_shards(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
 
 	CHECK_FOR_INTERRUPTS();
 
-	LockShardsForModify(prunedShardIntervalList);
-
-	affectedTupleCount = SendQueryToShards(modifyQuery, prunedShardIntervalList,
-										   relationId);
+	taskList = ModifyMultipleShardsTaskList(modifyQuery, prunedShardIntervalList,
+											relationId);
+	affectedTupleCount = ExecuteModifyTasks(taskList, false, NULL, NULL, NULL);
 
 	PG_RETURN_INT32(affectedTupleCount);
 }
 
 
 /*
- * LockShardsForModify command locks the replicas of given shard. The
- * lock logic is slightly different from LockShards function. Basically,
- *
- * 1. If citus.all_modifications_commutative is set to true, then all locks
- * are acquired as ShareLock.
- * 2. If citus.all_modifications_commutative is false, then only the shards
- * with 2 or more replicas are locked with ExclusiveLock. Otherwise, the
- * lock is acquired with ShareLock.
+ * ModifyMultipleShardsTaskList builds a list of tasks to execute a query on a
+ * given list of shards.
  */
-static void
-LockShardsForModify(List *shardIntervalList)
+static List *
+ModifyMultipleShardsTaskList(Query *query, List *shardIntervalList, Oid relationId)
 {
-	LOCKMODE lockMode = NoLock;
+	List *taskList = NIL;
+	ListCell *shardIntervalCell = NULL;
+	uint64 jobId = INVALID_JOB_ID;
+	int taskId = 1;
 
-	if (AllModificationsCommutative)
-	{
-		lockMode = ShareLock;
-	}
-	else if (!HasReplication(shardIntervalList))
-	{
-		lockMode = ShareLock;
-	}
-	else
-	{
-		lockMode = ExclusiveLock;
-	}
-
-	LockShards(shardIntervalList, lockMode);
-}
-
-
-/*
- * HasReplication checks whether any of the shards in the given list has more
- * than one replica.
- */
-static bool
-HasReplication(List *shardIntervalList)
-{
-	ListCell *shardIntervalCell;
-	bool hasReplication = false;
+	/* lock metadata before getting placment lists */
+	LockShardListMetadata(shardIntervalList, ShareLock);
 
 	foreach(shardIntervalCell, shardIntervalList)
 	{
 		ShardInterval *shardInterval = (ShardInterval *) lfirst(shardIntervalCell);
-		uint64 shardId = shardInterval->shardId;
-		List *shardPlacementList = FinalizedShardPlacementList(shardId);
-		if (shardPlacementList->length > 1)
-		{
-			hasReplication = true;
-		}
-	}
-
-	return hasReplication;
-}
-
-
-/*
- * SendQueryToShards executes the given query in all placements of the given
- * shard list and returns the total affected tuple count. The execution is done
- * in a distributed transaction and the commit protocol is decided according to
- * the value of citus.multi_shard_commit_protocol parameter. SendQueryToShards
- * does not acquire locks for the shards so it is advised to acquire locks to
- * the shards when necessary before calling SendQueryToShards.
- */
-static int
-SendQueryToShards(Query *query, List *shardIntervalList, Oid relationId)
-{
-	int affectedTupleCount = 0;
-	char *relationOwner = TableOwner(relationId);
-	ListCell *shardIntervalCell = NULL;
-
-	OpenTransactionsToAllShardPlacements(shardIntervalList, relationOwner);
-
-	foreach(shardIntervalCell, shardIntervalList)
-	{
-		ShardInterval *shardInterval = (ShardInterval *) lfirst(
-			shardIntervalCell);
 		Oid relationId = shardInterval->relationId;
 		uint64 shardId = shardInterval->shardId;
-		bool shardConnectionsFound = false;
-		ShardConnections *shardConnections = NULL;
 		StringInfo shardQueryString = makeStringInfo();
-		char *shardQueryStringData = NULL;
-		int shardAffectedTupleCount = -1;
-
-		shardConnections = GetShardConnections(shardId, &shardConnectionsFound);
-		Assert(shardConnectionsFound);
+		Task *task = NULL;
 
 		deparse_shard_query(query, relationId, shardId, shardQueryString);
-		shardQueryStringData = shardQueryString->data;
-		shardAffectedTupleCount = SendQueryToPlacements(shardQueryStringData,
-														shardConnections);
-		affectedTupleCount += shardAffectedTupleCount;
+
+		task = CitusMakeNode(Task);
+		task->jobId = jobId;
+		task->taskId = taskId++;
+		task->taskType = SQL_TASK;
+		task->queryString = shardQueryString->data;
+		task->dependedTaskList = NULL;
+		task->anchorShardId = shardId;
+		task->taskPlacementList = FinalizedShardPlacementList(shardId);
+
+		taskList = lappend(taskList, task);
 	}
 
-	/* check for cancellation one last time before returning */
-	CHECK_FOR_INTERRUPTS();
-
-	return affectedTupleCount;
-}
-
-
-/*
- * SendQueryToPlacements sends the given query string to all given placement
- * connections of a shard. CommitRemoteTransactions or AbortRemoteTransactions
- * should be called after all queries have been sent successfully.
- */
-static int
-SendQueryToPlacements(char *shardQueryString, ShardConnections *shardConnections)
-{
-	uint64 shardId = shardConnections->shardId;
-	List *connectionList = shardConnections->connectionList;
-	ListCell *connectionCell = NULL;
-	int32 shardAffectedTupleCount = -1;
-
-	Assert(connectionList != NIL);
-
-	foreach(connectionCell, connectionList)
-	{
-		TransactionConnection *transactionConnection =
-			(TransactionConnection *) lfirst(connectionCell);
-		PGconn *connection = transactionConnection->connection;
-		PGresult *result = NULL;
-		char *placementAffectedTupleString = NULL;
-		int32 placementAffectedTupleCount = -1;
-
-		CHECK_FOR_INTERRUPTS();
-
-		/* send the query */
-		result = PQexec(connection, shardQueryString);
-		if (PQresultStatus(result) != PGRES_COMMAND_OK)
-		{
-			WarnRemoteError(connection, result);
-			ereport(ERROR, (errmsg("could not send query to shard placement")));
-		}
-
-		placementAffectedTupleString = PQcmdTuples(result);
-
-		/* returned tuple count is empty for utility commands, use 0 as affected count */
-		if (*placementAffectedTupleString == '\0')
-		{
-			placementAffectedTupleCount = 0;
-		}
-		else
-		{
-			placementAffectedTupleCount = pg_atoi(placementAffectedTupleString,
-												  sizeof(int32), 0);
-		}
-
-		if ((shardAffectedTupleCount == -1) ||
-			(shardAffectedTupleCount == placementAffectedTupleCount))
-		{
-			shardAffectedTupleCount = placementAffectedTupleCount;
-		}
-		else
-		{
-			ereport(ERROR,
-					(errmsg("modified %d tuples, but expected to modify %d",
-							placementAffectedTupleCount, shardAffectedTupleCount),
-					 errdetail("Affected tuple counts at placements of shard "
-							   UINT64_FORMAT " are different.", shardId)));
-		}
-
-		PQclear(result);
-
-		transactionConnection->transactionState = TRANSACTION_STATE_OPEN;
-	}
-
-	return shardAffectedTupleCount;
+	return taskList;
 }
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/transaction/multi_shard_transaction.c b/src/backend/distributed/transaction/multi_shard_transaction.c
index 09d251c0e..054900469 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/transaction/multi_shard_transaction.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/transaction/multi_shard_transaction.c
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ BeginTransactionOnShardPlacements(uint64 shardId, char *userName)
 
 		transactionConnection->groupId = workerNode->groupId;
 		transactionConnection->connectionId = shardConnections->shardId;
-		transactionConnection->transactionState = TRANSACTION_STATE_INVALID;
+		transactionConnection->transactionState = TRANSACTION_STATE_OPEN;
 		transactionConnection->connection = connection;
 		transactionConnection->nodeName = shardPlacement->nodeName;
 		transactionConnection->nodePort = shardPlacement->nodePort;
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/utils/connection_cache.c b/src/backend/distributed/utils/connection_cache.c
index 8f852fdd4..28f97a8a7 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/utils/connection_cache.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/utils/connection_cache.c
@@ -125,21 +125,9 @@ void
 PurgeConnection(PGconn *connection)
 {
 	NodeConnectionKey nodeConnectionKey;
-	PGconn *purgedConnection = NULL;
 
 	BuildKeyForConnection(connection, &nodeConnectionKey);
-	purgedConnection = PurgeConnectionByKey(&nodeConnectionKey);
-
-	/*
-	 * It's possible the provided connection matches the host and port for
-	 * an entry in the hash without being precisely the same connection. In
-	 * that case, we will want to close the provided connection in addition
-	 * to the one from the hash (which was closed by PurgeConnectionByKey).
-	 */
-	if (purgedConnection != connection)
-	{
-		PQfinish(connection);
-	}
+	PurgeConnectionByKey(&nodeConnectionKey);
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/utils/resource_lock.c b/src/backend/distributed/utils/resource_lock.c
index f9048ccf9..e7af6f27a 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/utils/resource_lock.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/utils/resource_lock.c
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 #include "distributed/listutils.h"
 #include "distributed/master_metadata_utility.h"
 #include "distributed/metadata_cache.h"
+#include "distributed/multi_router_executor.h"
 #include "distributed/relay_utility.h"
 #include "distributed/resource_lock.h"
 #include "distributed/shardinterval_utils.h"
@@ -28,9 +29,8 @@
 
 /*
  * LockShardDistributionMetadata returns after grabbing a lock for distribution
- * metadata related to the specified shard, blocking if required. ExclusiveLock
- * and ShareLock modes are supported. Any locks acquired using this method are
- * released at transaction end.
+ * metadata related to the specified shard, blocking if required. Any locks
+ * acquired using this method are released at transaction end.
  */
 void
 LockShardDistributionMetadata(int64 shardId, LOCKMODE lockMode)
@@ -126,12 +126,11 @@ UnlockJobResource(uint64 jobId, LOCKMODE lockmode)
 
 
 /*
- * LockShards takes shared locks on the metadata and the data of all shards in
- * shardIntervalList. This prevents concurrent placement changes and concurrent
- * DML statements that require an exclusive lock.
+ * LockShardListMetadata takes shared locks on the metadata of all shards in
+ * shardIntervalList to prevents concurrent placement changes.
  */
 void
-LockShards(List *shardIntervalList, LOCKMODE lockMode)
+LockShardListMetadata(List *shardIntervalList, LOCKMODE lockMode)
 {
 	ListCell *shardIntervalCell = NULL;
 
@@ -143,10 +142,28 @@ LockShards(List *shardIntervalList, LOCKMODE lockMode)
 		ShardInterval *shardInterval = (ShardInterval *) lfirst(shardIntervalCell);
 		int64 shardId = shardInterval->shardId;
 
-		/* prevent concurrent changes to number of placements */
 		LockShardDistributionMetadata(shardId, lockMode);
+	}
+}
+
+
+/*
+ * LockShardListResources takes locks on all shards in shardIntervalList to
+ * prevent concurrent DML statements on those shards.
+ */
+void
+LockShardListResources(List *shardIntervalList, LOCKMODE lockMode)
+{
+	ListCell *shardIntervalCell = NULL;
+
+	/* lock shards in order of shard id to prevent deadlock */
+	shardIntervalList = SortList(shardIntervalList, CompareShardIntervalsById);
+
+	foreach(shardIntervalCell, shardIntervalList)
+	{
+		ShardInterval *shardInterval = (ShardInterval *) lfirst(shardIntervalCell);
+		int64 shardId = shardInterval->shardId;
 
-		/* prevent concurrent update/delete statements */
 		LockShardResource(shardId, lockMode);
 	}
 }
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/connection_cache.h b/src/include/distributed/connection_cache.h
index 54fb97a22..7623cafb2 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/connection_cache.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/connection_cache.h
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ typedef enum
 	XACT_MODIFICATION_INVALID = 0, /* placeholder initial value */
 	XACT_MODIFICATION_NONE,        /* no modifications have taken place */
 	XACT_MODIFICATION_DATA,        /* data modifications (DML) have occurred */
-	XACT_MODIFICATION_SCHEMA       /* schema modifications (DDL) have occurred */
+	XACT_MODIFICATION_MULTI_SHARD  /* multi-shard modifications have occurred */
 } XactModificationType;
 
 
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/multi_router_executor.h b/src/include/distributed/multi_router_executor.h
index 236222f5c..61c3e0c67 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/multi_router_executor.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/multi_router_executor.h
@@ -39,4 +39,8 @@ extern void RouterExecutorFinish(QueryDesc *queryDesc);
 extern void RouterExecutorEnd(QueryDesc *queryDesc);
 extern void RegisterRouterExecutorXactCallbacks(void);
 
+extern int64 ExecuteModifyTasks(List *taskList, bool expectResults,
+								ParamListInfo paramListInfo, MaterialState *routerState,
+								TupleDesc tupleDescriptor);
+
 #endif /* MULTI_ROUTER_EXECUTOR_H_ */
diff --git a/src/include/distributed/resource_lock.h b/src/include/distributed/resource_lock.h
index 17319a079..454e8085f 100644
--- a/src/include/distributed/resource_lock.h
+++ b/src/include/distributed/resource_lock.h
@@ -75,7 +75,10 @@ extern void UnlockShardResource(uint64 shardId, LOCKMODE lockmode);
 extern void LockJobResource(uint64 jobId, LOCKMODE lockmode);
 extern void UnlockJobResource(uint64 jobId, LOCKMODE lockmode);
 
-extern void LockShards(List *shardIntervalList, LOCKMODE lockMode);
+/* Lock multiple shards for safe modification */
+extern void LockShardListMetadata(List *shardIntervalList, LOCKMODE lockMode);
+extern void LockShardListResources(List *shardIntervalList, LOCKMODE lockMode);
+
 extern void LockMetadataSnapshot(LOCKMODE lockMode);
 
 #endif /* RESOURCE_LOCK_H */
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_modifying_xacts.out b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_modifying_xacts.out
index a7f030076..28f338a1b 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_modifying_xacts.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_modifying_xacts.out
@@ -168,13 +168,13 @@ ABORT;
 BEGIN;
 INSERT INTO labs VALUES (6, 'Bell Labs');
 ALTER TABLE labs ADD COLUMN motto text;
-ERROR:  distributed DDL commands must not appear within transaction blocks containing data modifications
+ERROR:  distributed DDL commands must not appear within transaction blocks containing single-shard data modifications
 COMMIT;
 -- whether it occurs first or second
 BEGIN;
 ALTER TABLE labs ADD COLUMN motto text;
 INSERT INTO labs VALUES (6, 'Bell Labs');
-ERROR:  distributed data modifications must not appear in transaction blocks which contain distributed DDL commands
+ERROR:  single-shard DML commands must not appear in transaction blocks which contain multi-shard data modifications
 COMMIT;
 -- but the DDL should correctly roll back
 \d labs
@@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ SELECT * FROM labs WHERE id = 12;
 BEGIN;
 \copy labs from stdin delimiter ','
 ALTER TABLE labs ADD COLUMN motto text;
-ERROR:  distributed DDL commands must not appear within transaction blocks containing data modifications
+ERROR:  distributed DDL commands must not appear within transaction blocks containing single-shard data modifications
 COMMIT;
 -- the DDL fails, but copy persists
 \d labs
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_shard_modify.out b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_shard_modify.out
index d722c3ad3..328b6ce33 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_shard_modify.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_shard_modify.out
@@ -22,11 +22,27 @@ SELECT master_create_worker_shards('multi_shard_modify_test', 4, 2);
 
 COPY multi_shard_modify_test (t_key, t_name, t_value) FROM STDIN WITH (FORMAT 'csv');
 -- Testing master_modify_multiple_shards
--- Verify that master_modify_multiple_shards cannot be called in a transaction block
+-- Verify that master_modify_multiple_shards can be rolled back
 BEGIN;
 SELECT master_modify_multiple_shards('DELETE FROM multi_shard_modify_test WHERE t_key > 10 AND t_key <= 13');
-ERROR:  master_modify_multiple_shards cannot run inside a transaction block
+ master_modify_multiple_shards 
+-------------------------------
+                             3
+(1 row)
+
+SELECT master_modify_multiple_shards('DELETE FROM multi_shard_modify_test WHERE t_key = 202');
+ master_modify_multiple_shards 
+-------------------------------
+                             1
+(1 row)
+
 ROLLBACK;
+SELECT count(*) FROM multi_shard_modify_test;
+ count 
+-------
+    27
+(1 row)
+
 -- Check that master_modify_multiple_shards cannot be called with non-distributed tables
 CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE temporary_nondistributed_table (col_1 integer,col_2 text);
 INSERT INTO temporary_nondistributed_table VALUES (37, 'eren'), (31, 'onder');
diff --git a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_truncate.out b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_truncate.out
index 09fb65e06..0e17df7de 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/expected/multi_truncate.out
+++ b/src/test/regress/expected/multi_truncate.out
@@ -138,11 +138,15 @@ SELECT shardid FROM pg_dist_shard where logicalrelid = 'test_truncate_range'::re
  1210005
 (3 rows)
 
--- command can not be run inside transaction
-BEGIN; TRUNCATE TABLE test_truncate_range; COMMIT;
-ERROR:  master_modify_multiple_shards cannot run inside a transaction block
-CONTEXT:  SQL statement "SELECT master_modify_multiple_shards(commandText)"
-PL/pgSQL function citus_truncate_trigger() line 17 at PERFORM
+-- verify that truncate can be aborted
+INSERT INTO test_truncate_range VALUES (1);
+BEGIN; TRUNCATE TABLE test_truncate_range; ROLLBACK;
+SELECT count(*) FROM test_truncate_range;
+ count 
+-------
+     1
+(1 row)
+
 DROP TABLE test_truncate_range;
 --
 -- truncate for hash distribution.
@@ -226,11 +230,15 @@ SELECT shardid FROM pg_dist_shard where logicalrelid = 'test_truncate_hash'::reg
  1210009
 (4 rows)
 
--- command can not be run inside transaction
-BEGIN; TRUNCATE TABLE test_truncate_hash; COMMIT;
-ERROR:  master_modify_multiple_shards cannot run inside a transaction block
-CONTEXT:  SQL statement "SELECT master_modify_multiple_shards(commandText)"
-PL/pgSQL function citus_truncate_trigger() line 17 at PERFORM
+-- verify that truncate can be aborted
+INSERT INTO test_truncate_hash VALUES (1);
+BEGIN; TRUNCATE TABLE test_truncate_hash; ROLLBACK;
+SELECT count(*) FROM test_truncate_hash;
+ count 
+-------
+     1
+(1 row)
+
 DROP TABLE test_truncate_hash;
 -- test with table with spaces in it
 CREATE TABLE "a b hash" (a int, b int);
diff --git a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_shard_modify.sql b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_shard_modify.sql
index 9b1fabf26..6564e6f11 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_shard_modify.sql
+++ b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_shard_modify.sql
@@ -46,11 +46,15 @@ COPY multi_shard_modify_test (t_key, t_name, t_value) FROM STDIN WITH (FORMAT 'c
 \.
 
 -- Testing master_modify_multiple_shards
--- Verify that master_modify_multiple_shards cannot be called in a transaction block
+
+-- Verify that master_modify_multiple_shards can be rolled back
 BEGIN;
 SELECT master_modify_multiple_shards('DELETE FROM multi_shard_modify_test WHERE t_key > 10 AND t_key <= 13');
+SELECT master_modify_multiple_shards('DELETE FROM multi_shard_modify_test WHERE t_key = 202');
 ROLLBACK;
 
+SELECT count(*) FROM multi_shard_modify_test;
+
 -- Check that master_modify_multiple_shards cannot be called with non-distributed tables
 CREATE TEMPORARY TABLE temporary_nondistributed_table (col_1 integer,col_2 text);
 INSERT INTO temporary_nondistributed_table VALUES (37, 'eren'), (31, 'onder');
diff --git a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_truncate.sql b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_truncate.sql
index 4abc9f27e..dcd5ea306 100644
--- a/src/test/regress/sql/multi_truncate.sql
+++ b/src/test/regress/sql/multi_truncate.sql
@@ -89,8 +89,10 @@ SELECT count(*) FROM test_truncate_range;
 -- verify 3 shards are still present
 SELECT shardid FROM pg_dist_shard where logicalrelid = 'test_truncate_range'::regclass;
 
--- command can not be run inside transaction
-BEGIN; TRUNCATE TABLE test_truncate_range; COMMIT;
+-- verify that truncate can be aborted
+INSERT INTO test_truncate_range VALUES (1);
+BEGIN; TRUNCATE TABLE test_truncate_range; ROLLBACK;
+SELECT count(*) FROM test_truncate_range;
 
 DROP TABLE test_truncate_range;
 
@@ -136,8 +138,10 @@ SELECT count(*) FROM test_truncate_hash;
 -- verify 4 shards are still presents
 SELECT shardid FROM pg_dist_shard where logicalrelid = 'test_truncate_hash'::regclass;
 
--- command can not be run inside transaction
-BEGIN; TRUNCATE TABLE test_truncate_hash; COMMIT;
+-- verify that truncate can be aborted
+INSERT INTO test_truncate_hash VALUES (1);
+BEGIN; TRUNCATE TABLE test_truncate_hash; ROLLBACK;
+SELECT count(*) FROM test_truncate_hash;
 
 DROP TABLE test_truncate_hash;
 
@@ -173,4 +177,4 @@ TRUNCATE TABLE "a b append";
 -- verify all shards are dropped
 SELECT shardid FROM pg_dist_shard where logicalrelid = '"a b append"'::regclass;
 
-DROP TABLE "a b append";
\ No newline at end of file
+DROP TABLE "a b append";