English Collocations Intermediate, Apuntes de Idioma Inglés

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Collocations Michael McCarthy Felicity O'Dell C A M B R I D G E in Ise o How words work together for fluent and natural English Self-study and classroom use Contents Acknowledgements 3 To the student (and the teacher) 4 Learning about collocations 1 What is a collocation? 2 Finding, recording and learning collocations 3 Using your dictionary 4 Types of collocation 5 Register Grammatical aspects of collocations 6 Intensifying adverbs highly unlikely, utterly ridiculous, strongly object 7 Everyday verbs 1 make a mistake, do your best, do damage 8 Everyday verbs 2 go bald, become extinct, fall ill 9 Everyday verbs 3 have fun, take action, pay a compliment Special aspects of collocation 10 Synonyms and confusable words 1 close a meeting, antique furniture, only child 11 Synonyms and confusable words 2 gain power, achieve your goals, defeat an opponent 12 Metaphor sunny smile, ideas flow, heated discussion Topics: Travel and the environment 13 Weather strong wind, blanket of fog, river bursts its banks 14 Travel tiring journey, aisle seat, family-run hotel 15 Countryside surrounding countryside, well worth seeing 16 Towns and cities lined with shops, sprawling city, volume of traffic Topics: People and relationships 17 People: character and behaviour have a vivid imagination, lose your patience 18 People: physical appearance slender waist, immaculately groomed 19 Families distant cousin, expecting a baby, stable home 20 Relationships casual acquaintance, love at first sight 21 Feelings and emotions lasting happiness, worried sick, emotional wreck Topics: Leisure and lifestyle 22 Houses, flats and rooms move into a flat, spacious living room 23 Eating and drinking nourishing meal, spoil your appetite, dying of hunger 24 Films and books film critic, go on the stage, renew a library book 25 Music give a performance, go on tour, strum a guitar 26 Sport go snowboarding, take a penalty 11 Health and illness catch a cold, vigorous exercise, be taken ill Topics: Work and study 28 Computers forward a message, e-mail bounces 29 Study and learning do research, attend a lecture, first draft 30 Work high-powered job, hand in your notice 31 Business set up a business, launch a product, rival company English Collocations in Use I Exercises I. I Read A and B and answer these questions. 1 What is a collocation? 2 Which of these words does fast collocate with: car, food, glance, meal? 3 Which of these are compounds: computer, narrow-minded, teapot, ancient monument, car park ? 4 Wha t do we call expressions like pass the buck and be over the moon} 1.2 Make ten collocations from the words in the box. an effort ancient bitterly make breakfast cold dark engine forbidden mistakes have make meal monument pitch powerful strictly substantial TV watch 1.3 Are these statements about collocations true or false? 1 Learning collocations will make your English sound more natural . 2 Learning collocations will help you to express yourself in a variety of ways. 3 Learning collocations will help you to write better English. 4 Using collocations properly will get you better marks in exams. 5 You will not be understood unless you use collocations properly. 1.4 Put the expressions from the box into the correct category in the table below. make a mistake a storm in a tea cup live music checkpoint key ring pull somebody's leg heavy snow valid passport teapot bitterly disappointed compound collocation idiom 1.5 Underline the collocations in this text. When I left university I made a decision to take up a profession In which I could be creative. I could play the guitar, but I'd never written any songs. Nonetheless I decided to become a singer-songwriter. I made eome recordings but I had a rather heavy cold so they didn't sound good. I made eome more, and sent them to a record company and waited for them to reply. So, while I was waiting to become famous, I got a job in a fast-food restaurant. That was five years ago. I'm still doing the same job. English Collocations in Use 7 2 Finding, recording and learning collocations Finding collocations There are two main ways in which you can find collocations. • You can train yourself to notice them whenever you read or listen to anything in English. Look at the collocations that are worth learning from this short text in English. After giving Mark a lift to the airport, Cathy m a d e h e r w a y home. What an exciting life he led! At times Cathy felt despera te ly jea lous of him. She spen t he r t i m e doing little more than t ak ing care of him and the children. Now her sister was ge t t ing divorced and would doubtless be m a k i n g d e m a n d s on her too. Cathy had promised to give her sister a call as soon as she got home but she decided to run herself a ba th first. She had a sharp pain in her side and hoped that a hot bath might ease t h e pain. a Get into the habit of making a note of any good collocations you come across in any English text you read. • You can find them in any good learner's dictionary. For example, if you look up the word sharp you will find some of these collocations: a sharp pain a sharp bend/ turn a sharp contrast/difference/distinction a sharp rise/increase/drop U When you look up a new word make a point of noting it down in several different collocations. B Recording collocations The best way to record a collocation is in a phrase or a sentence showing how it is used. Highlight the collocation by underlining it or by using a highlighting pen. For example: I don' t have access to that kind of secret information. Or: Jim gave me a very useful piece of advice. C Learning collocations Learning collocations is not so different from learning any vocabulary item. The key things are to: • regularly revise what you want to learn • practise using what you want to learn in contexts that are meaningful for you personally • learn collocations in groups to help you fix them in your memory. You might group together collocations relating to the same topic. Or you might group collocations based on the same word, for example: I must find a way to help him. Can you find your way back to my house? I learnt the hard way that Jack can't be trusted. Please tell me if I 'm getting in your way. You must give way to traffic from the left. I've tried every possible way to get him to change his mind. 8 English Collocations in Use Exercises 2.1 Underline 11 collocations in this text. My f r iend Beth Is desperately worried about her son at trie moment. He wants to enrol on a course of some sort but j u s t can't make a decision about what to studu.. I gave Beth a, ring and we had a long chat about It last night. She scad he'd Like to study for a degree. but i.s a f ra i d he won't meet the requirements for university entry. Beth thinks he should do a course In Management because he'd tike to set up his own business In the future,. I agreed tha t tha t would be a wise choice. 2.2 Match the beginning of each sentence on the left with its ending on the right. 1 She's having her duty. 2 She's taking a lecture. 3 She's giving a party. 4 She's making an exam. 5 She's doing good progress. 2 .3 Correct the eight collocation errors in this text. Use a dictionary to help you if necessary. In the morning I made some work in the garden, then I spent a rest for about an hour before going out to have some shopping in town. It was my sister's birthday and I wanted to do a special effort to cook a nice meal for her. I gave a look at a new Thai cookery book in the bookshop and decided to buy it. It has some totally easy recipes and I managed to do a good impression with my very first Thai meal. I think my sister utterly enjoyed her birthday. 2.4 Look at this entry for the verb lead in the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary. What collocations could you learn from this entry? Underline or highlight them. Then write one new sentence for each of them. lead ICONTRQLI © /li:d/ verb [I or T] (led, led) to control a group of people, a country, or a situation: / think we've chosen the right person to lead the expedition, o I've asked Gemma to lead the discussion, o Who will be lead- ing the inquiry into the accident? • lead sb by the nose INFORMAL to control someone and make them do exactly what you want them to do See also Unit 3, Using your dictionary. i Use a dictionary to find three or four other good collocations for each of these words: desperately pain wise run Write the collocations you find in an appropriate way in your vocabulary notebook. English Collocations in Use 9 Types of collocation There are many different types of collocations. Here are some examples. Adjectives and nouns Notice adjectives that are typically used with particular nouns. Jean always wears red or yellow or some other bright colour. We had a brief chat about the exams but didn' t have time to discuss them properly. Unemployment is a major problem for the government at the moment . Improving the health service is another key issue for government. Nouns and verbs Notice how nouns and verbs often go together. The examples below are all to do with economics and business. The economy boomed in the 1990s, [the economy was very strong] The company has grown and now employs 50 more people than last year. The company has expanded and now has branches in most major cities. The two companies merged in 2003 and now form one very large corporat ion. The company launched the product in 2002 . [introduced the product] The price increase poses a problem for us. [is a problem] The Internet has created opportunities for our business, [brought new opportunities] Noun + noun There are a lot of collocations with the pattern a ... of... . As Sam read the lies about him, he felt a surge of anger, [literary: a sudden angry feeling] Every parent feels a sense of pride when their child does well or wins something. I felt a pang of nostalgia when I saw the old photos of the village where I grew up. Verbs and expressions wi th prepositions Some verbs collocate with particular prepositional expressions. As Jack went on stage to receive his gold medal for the judo competition you could see his parents swelling with pride, [looking extremely proud] I was filled with horror when I read the newspaper report of the explosion. When she spilt juice on her new skirt the little girl burst into tears, [suddenly started crying) Verbs and adverbs Some verbs have particular adverbs which regularly collocate with them. She pulled steadily on the rope and helped him to safety, [pulled firmly and evenly) He placed the beautiful vase gently on the window ledge. 'I love you and want to marry you, ' Derek whispered softly to Marsha . She smiled proudly as she looked at the photos of her new grandson. Adverbs and adjectives Adjectives often have particular adverbs which regularly collocate with them. They are happily married. I am fully aware that there are serious problems. [I know well] Harry was blissfully unaware that he was in danger. [Harry had no idea at all, often used about something unpleasant] 12 English Collocations in Use Exercises 4.1 Complete each sentence with a collocation from A. 1 Come to my office ten minutes before the meeting so we can have . . . 2 With her lovely dark hair Uma looks best when she wears ... 3 In your essay on the influence of TV, don' t forget to discuss these ... 4 There is some crime in our town but it isn't ... 4 .2 Replace the underlined words with a collocating verb from B. 1 We are going to introduce an exciting new product in June. 2 The economy was extremely high 20 years ago. 3 The new university they are planning will provide a lot of job opportunit ies. 4 There are always some problems when two companies join together but I think it will be worth it in the long run. 5 The increase in oil prices certainly creates a problem for us. 6 The company got bigger and has now added children's clothing to its product range. 4.3 Choose the correct feeling from the box to complete each sentence. anger horror tears nostalgia pride pride 1 Most older people feel a slight pang of as they think back on their schooldays. 2 Carla's father was filled with when he saw that she had dyed her beautiful black hair blonde. 3 When Paul saw how harshly the poor were treated by the wealthy landowners he felt a surge of 4 Swelling with , Dan watched his daughter pick up her violin and play. 5 When she saw her exam results, Kate burst into 6 If people have a sense of in their town, they are more likely to behave well there. 4 .4 Look at E and F and choose the correct adverb to complete these sentences. 1 Perhaps it's a good thing that Ken's unaware of what people really think of him. 2 I am aware that there will be problems whatever we decide. 3 Nadya smiled as she watched the children playing happily in the garden. 4 My grandparents have been married for 45 years. 5 Place the glasses in the box - they're very fragile. 6 Paul whispered in Anna's ear that he would always love her. 4 .5 Which of the sections A-F on the opposite page would each of these collocations fit into? 1 make a decision 6 roar with laughter 2 blissfully happy 7 a key factor 3 tread carefully 8 prices rise 4 a surge of emotion 9 a ginger cat 5 acutely embarrassing 10 burst into song i Make a page in your vocabulary notebook for each of the types of collocations listed on the opposite page. English Collocations in Use 13 Register Often, collocations rather than individual words suggest a particular register. For example, phrases using pretty meaning fairly sound informal when used with negative adjectives (pretty awful, pretty dreadful, pretty dull), and are typical of spoken English. Spoken English Here are some more collocations which are almost exclusively found in spoken English. I'm bored stiff in this lesson! 7W You badly need a haircut! Fll have a think about it and let you know. 1/ extremely bored Give me a ring2 when you get home. M give me a phone ca Formal English Some collocations are typical of formal English and are most likely to be found in an official, often legal, context, such as in notices. Passengers must not a l ight f rom the bus whi lst i t is in mot ion . Cyclists must dismount here (get off the bus) (get off their bicycles] Trespasse r s will b e p r o s e c u t e d [people who go onto someone's land or enter their building without permission Please dispose of unwanted items in the receptacle2 provided 'throw away Container used for storing will be taken to court] or putting objects in Newspaper English Some collocations - particularly ones that use short , dramatic words - are found mainly in newspapers. In most cases they would not normally be used in everyday conversation. COMPUTER FACTORY TO AXE JOBS [make staff redundant] AIRLINE SLASHES PRICES leuts prices drastically] GOVERNMENT SPENDING WILL ROCKET THIS YEAR POLICE CRACK DOWN ON SPEEDING [start dealing with it in a more severe way] POLICE Q U I Z 16-YEAR- OLD IN MURDER ENQUIRY |ask questions] FLU OUTBREAK HITS SOUTHERN EUROPE Business English Some collocations are characteristic of business English. to submit a tender [present a document offering to do a job and stating the price] to raise capital [get money to put into a business] to go into partnership with someone [agree to start or run a business with someone] to start up a business 14 English Collocations in Use Exercises Choose an adverb from the box to replace very in each of these expressions. utterly strongly bitterly ridiculously highly deeply 1 very ashamed 2 very cheap 3 very controversial 4 very stupid 5 very successful 6 very disappointing 7 very opposed 8 very ridiculous 9 very easy 10 very concerned Use a collocation from exercise 6.1 to complete each of these sentences. 1 The flight from London to Rome was It only cost 20 euros. 2 Some people love her new book, others are very angry about it. It is to war. for the whole class. We had all 3 His father was a pacifist all his life and was 4 The exam results were expected to do much better. 5 When I realised how much my selfish behaviour had upset everyone, I was company which made outstanding remark 6 In the 1990s she ran a(n) profits. 7 Everyone got more than 9 5 % correct in the test; it was 8 You must apologise immediately. It was a(n) t o m a k e . 9 She has always been about the environment and would like to work for a conservation agency. 10 That you should even think that I would steal money from you is ! You must be crazy! In each of these sets of phrases, one is not a correct collocation. Cross out the incorrect one. 1 strongly recommend strongly influence strongly love strongly dislike 2 highly educated highly profitable highly unusual highly exhausted 3 bitterly regard bitterly regret bitterly resent bitterly criticise 4 absolutely convinced absolutely tired absolutely devastated absolutely absurd 5 deeply unhappy deeply religious deeply successful deeply committed In this short text, the writer has often misused the word strongly. Correct the wrong collocations using adverbs from the box. Use each adverb once only. bitterly strictly deeply utterly Everyone was complaining strongly when they heard about the new plan. People were strongly shocked to hear that children would be strongly forbidden to use the sports ground and most people were strongly opposed to the new rules. Even people w h o normally never expressed an opinion were strongly appalled by the proposals. English Collocations in Use 17 Everyday verbs I This unit deals with make and do, two verbs that many learners have problems with. If you remember that the basic meaning of make is about producing something and the basic meaning of do is about performing an action, then the collocations on this page may seem more logical. Make collocation make arrangements for make a change / changes make a choice make a comment / comments make a contribution to make a decision make an effort make an excuse make friends make an improvement make a mistake make a phone calf make progress example The school can make arrangements for pupils with special needs. The new manager is planning to make some changes. Jill had to m a k e a choice between her career and her family. Would anyone like to make any c o m m e n t s on the talk? She made a useful contr ibut ion to the discussion. I'm glad it's you who has to make the decision, not me. Joe is really making an effort wi th his maths this term. I'm too tired to go out tonight. Let's make an excuse and stay at home. Karen is very good at making friends. Repainting the room has really made an improvement . They've made a mistake in our bill. I've got to make some phone calls before dinner. Harriet is making progress wi th all her schoolwork. Do collocation do your best do damage do an experiment do exercises do someone a good turn / do someone a favour do harm do your hair do your homework do the ironing/shopping/ washing, etc. do some work example All that matters in the exam is to do your best. The storm did some damage to our roof. We are doing an exper iment to test how the metal reacts wi th water. We'l l do some exercises practising these collocations tomorrow. Scouts and guides are supposed to do someone a good t u r n every day. • Changing the rules may do more h a r m than good. No, I'm not ready. 1 haven't done my hair yet. My son has to do his h o m e w o r k straight after school. I'll do the washing if you do the ironing. We'll do some w o r k on our project and then we'll go to the cinema. I Notice all the patterns that you can see in these tables. For example, make a comment, make an excuse and make a contribution to a discussion are all connected wi th saying things. Noticing connections like this may help you to remember the correct collocation. 18 English Collocations in Use Exercises 7.1 Use a collocation with make and a noun instead of the underlined words in each of these conversations. 1 Miriam: The bill says we've had three desserts. We only had two. Rosa: The waiter must have been mistaken. 2 Kim: It's so difficult. Should I take the job or not? Todd: I know it's difficult. But you have to decide one way or the other. 3 Jane: Can you and Brian come to dinner on Saturday? Jill: Yes, we'll have to arrange to get a babysitter, but it should be OK. 4 Brona: Did you hear about the air traffic controllers ' strike in the USA? Aaron: Yes. We had to change our travel itinerary because of it. 5 Pete: Can I have chips and rice with my lunch? Clare: N o , you have to choose, chips or rice, but not both. 6 Fran: Do you intend to speak at the meeting? Gloria: Yes, I hope I can contribute to the debate. 7.2 Choose the correct collocation, do or make. 1 Did the fire do / make much damage to the factory? 2 I hate doing I making my homework at the last minute. 3 You must do I make an effort to work harder. 4 Did you do I make any work at the weekend? 5 We are trying to do I make improvements to the system for registering. 6 Do you think it would do I make any harm if I cut some leaves off this plant? 7.3 You are designing a questionnaire for your school magazine. Complete each question with do or make. ffm MZ M*t t{0nf 1 Do you always your best to be on t ime when meeting a fr iend? 2 Do you ever the cooking at home? 3 Do you excuses if someone asks you to a big favour for them? 4 Do you ever negative comments about your fr iends' hair, clothes, etc? 5 Do you f ind it easy to friends? Give yourself three points for 'always', two for 'sometimes', one for 'never'. Turn the page to f ind out how nice you really are. ALWAYS • • • a a SOMETIMES • • • • • NEVER a • • • • English Collocations in Use 19 Everyday verbs 3 Have Note that these verbs collocate with have rather than any other verb (e.g. get or make). collocation have an accident have an argument / a row have a break have a conversation/chat have difficulty have a dream/nightmare have an experience have a feeling have fun / a good time have a look have a party have a problem / problems have a try/go example Mr Grey had an accident last night but he's OK now. We had an a r g u m e n t / a row about how to fix the car. Let's have a break when you finish this exercise. 1 hope we'll have time to have a chat after the meeting. The class had difficulty understanding what to do. 1 had a n ightmare last night. 1 had a frightening experience the other day. 1 have a feeling that something is wrong. I'm sure you'll have fun on the school trip. The teacher wanted to have a look at what we were doing. Let's have a par ty at the end of term. Ask the teacher if you have problems wi th the exercise. I'll explain what to do and then you can have a go/try. Take Hi, Jean, Were eo glad we decided to take a holiday here. Yesterday we took a trip to the mountains.. First we took a train to a little town and then we took a bus going to various villages and got off when we saw one that we took a Irking to . Of course, we were taking a risk as we didn't know exactly what wed find there. f3ut we were lucky. Some kids took an interest in us and ; showed us some great places. \ We took a lot of photos. Have you done anything ye t about your job? Id take a chance and leave if I were you. No point in staying somewhere where t h e boss has taken a dielike to youl Take advantage of being in London - there are always plenty of jobs there. You'll soon find something else, so take action, that's my advicel Good luck! Ellen Pay collocation pay attention pay a compliment pay your (last) respects pay tr ibute [formal] example You must pay a t tent ion to the teacher. 1 was trying to pay her a compl iment but she misunderstood. At a funeral people pay their last respects to the person who has died. When Jack retired, his boss made a speech paying t r ibute to all he had done for the company. 1 There are other common verbs in English which have strong and possibly surprising collocations. Notice any that you find wi th, for example, break, fall, run and take. 22 English Collocations in Use Exercises Complete the questions using collocations from A opposite. 1 You want a friend to look at a letter you have written before you send it. YOU: Could you ? 2 You want to know why your two friends aren't speaking to each other. YOU: Why aren't you speaking to Rosa? Did you ? 3 A friend comes to school on crutches with a bandage round her head. YOU: What happened? Did you ? 4 You want to know if a friend did lots of enjoyable things on their recent holiday. YOU: H o w was the holiday? Did you ? 5 You are having a meeting with some colleagues. You think it is time to stop for half an hour or so. YOU: Shall we ? 6 A friend has just bought a new bicycle. You'd like to ride it to see what it's like. YOU: Nice bike! Can I ? 7 You want to talk informally to your teacher about what to do next year. YOU: When you're free, could I ? 8 A friend is trying with difficulty to read your address, which you have just written down for them. YOU: What 's the matter? Are you ? Choose the correct collocation. 1 She bad I took I paid attention to what I told her and started working harder. 2 I bad /made I took over a hundred photographs on my trip to Antarctica. 3 She made / paid I brought me a nice compliment yesterday. 4 I got I made I bad a bad dream last night and woke up sweating. 5 The President made I gave /paid tribute to all the people who had supported him. 6 I got t took / bad a liking to our new teacher the moment I met her. 7 I gave I made / bad a feeling I had met Richard before, but I couldn't remember where. 8 I went to Douglas Farnham's funeral to give I take I pay my last respects to a fine man. 9 I think I'll take I make I do a chance and leave my flight booking till the last minute. I may get a cheaper ticket. 10 Shall we make I get I have a party for Jane? She's leaving the school next week. 11 We need to make I get I take action immediately! 12 1 bad I got I took a feeling that he was trying to hide something from me. Which collocations in this text could be replaced by collocations with take instead of the verbs used? Next time you go on a trip to the coast, why not get the train? Why suffer endless delays in long traffic jams? And why run risks when you're travelling - travel by train and arrive safely. What's more, if you decide to have a holiday in the capital city, you'll have a more relaxing time if you go by rail. Or why not pay a surprise visit to an old friend during an off-peak time? Call now and make use of our special offers. 0800 347655 English Collocations in Use 23 I 0 Synonyms and confusable words I C o m m o n synonym pairs The (a) and (b) words in each pair in the table have similar meanings. Sometimes either word can be used in a sentence to give the same meaning, but in the collocations below onlj one word is possible. synonyms (a) cfose (b) shut (a) start (b) begin (a) big (b) large (a) end (b) finish (a) example The chairperson closed the mee t ing at 4.30. [We close meetings/discussions/ conferences, etc.] It was a cold morning and 1 could not s tar t my car. [Start, N O T begin, is used for engines and vehicles. It was a big decision to make. There were some big problems to solve. The f i lm ended wi th the hero dying. They ended their relationship a year ago. [End here means decide to stop.] (b) example She was very rude. She said 'Shut your mouth! ' [impolite way of telling someone not to speak] A dentist might ask you to close your mouth. Shut is generally more informal. Before the universe began, t ime and space did not exist. [Begin is preferred in more formal and abstract contexts.] 1 wanted the sweater in the large size but they only had medium. 1 haven't finished my h o m e w o r k yet. [Finish here means complete.] Groups of words wi th similar meanings W o r d s m e a n i n g ' o l d ' I met an old friend the other day. It's a very old building. She studied ancient history. In ancient times, life was very hard. This shop sells antique furniture. She collects antique jewellery, [old and valuable] I helped an elderly person who was trying to cross the road, [elderly is more polite than old] W o r d s m e a n i n g 'w i th n o o n e o r n o t h i n g else o r w i th n o t h i n g similar* Donna is a single parent; it's difficult for her to work full time. He lives in a very lonely place/spot up in the mountains. At first I felt desperately lonely when I moved from London to the countryside. I live alone, but I don ' t like travelling alone; it's nice to be with someone. There was just one solitary figure on the otherwise deserted beach, [one person on their own] She was the sole survivor of the crash. Everyone else died, [only survivor) I am an only child; I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a brother or sister. This is a unique occasion, with three past Prime Ministers all together in one room. C O t h e r synonym pairs synonyms (a) charge (b) load (a) injure (b) damage (a) grow (b) raise (a) example 1 need to charge my phone. [used for batteries, electrical items] Three injured people were taken to hospital after the accident. [collocates with words to do with people] In the south the farmers grow crops. [collocates with crops, plants] (b) example They loaded the lorry and drove away. [used for cargoes, lorries, vans, ships, etc. and for weapons] The shop tr ied to sell me a damaged sofa but 1 noticed it just in t ime. [collocates with words for things] In the north the farmers mostly raise cattle. [collocates wi th animals, children] 24 English Collocations in Use Exercises I I. I Look at A. Use a verb from the box in the correct form to complete each collocation. achieve beat earn gain make win 1 I don't have ambitions to a lot of money, I just want to be happy in life. 2 Jack has already a very good reputation as a talented lawyer. 3 Kim has several prizes for her singing. 4 It is important to have goals even if you do not always them. 5 Chris a lot of money when he sold some old shares on the stock exchange. 6 In the tournament Hannah all her opponents and the gold medal. 7 Nowadays John a very good salary. 8 In the cycle race, Henrik an advantage when several of his opponents had punctures. I 1.2 Look at the picture and answer the questions 1 What is the woman wearing? 2 What is the woman carrying? 3 What is the woman using? 4 What is the man wearing? 5 What is the man carrying? 6 What is the man using? I 1.3 Correct the nine collocation errors in this paragraph. Last year I got a new job and started gaining a lot more money. I realised I could afford to use more money on my holiday than I usually do and decided to pass a month in Australia. I knew it would be hot there and so I wouldn't need to carry warm clothes with me. In fact, I used a t-shirt and jeans all the time I was there. I carried a hat all the time too, of course, to protect me from the sun. It was fantastic there. I passed a week sightseeing in Sydney and then stayed the rest of the time travelling round the country. I even did my lifelong ambition of stroking a koala. I 1.4 Change the underlined words so that each sentence has the opposite meaning. 1 The Democratic Party lost the election. 2 The ruling power has lost control of the situation. 3 Our team was defeated in the match. 4 I spent a lot of money last month. 5 Our company made a loss last year. I 1.5 Complete these questions. Then answer them. 1 Where did you your last holiday? 2 H o w much money did you last week? 3 What do you always with you when you go out? 4 Have you ever a trophy? 5 What aim would you particularly like to in life? English Collocations in Use 27 12 Metaphor If someone uses a metaphor, they use a word in a way that is slightly different from its basic meaning. For example, the first meaning of sunny is connected with the weather, so we talk about a sunny day. However, sunny can also be used in expressions like a sunny smile, the children's sunny faces to mean happy; in these collocations sunny is used in a metaphorical way. Metaphors are more common in written than spoken English and often have the effect of sounding quite poetic. Light and dark Light in English is associated with happiness. So a face shines with pleasure and eyes shine with excitement or delight. If someone's face lights up or their eyes light up, they show that they suddenly feel happy. If an atmosphere lightens or a mood lightens, it becomes more relaxed or cheerful than it was. Darkness is associated with unhappiness and negative feelings. Dark thoughts are gloomy or sinister ones and dark days or dark times are unpleasant times to live through. If someone's face darkens or their eyes darken or someone's expression darkens, then we know that that person is unhappy, often because they are feeling angry. Water collocation ideas flow, conversation flows a f lood / floods of tears, tears streaming down someone's face people pour/stream somewhere people trickle a stream of visitors/ traffic example It was a very successful meeting. The ideas flowed. The little girl was in floods of tears. Tears were streaming down her face. People poured out of the hall at the end of the lecture. People tr ickled into the concert hall. There was a s t ream of traffic outside our room all night. comment Flow suggests that things progress easily, wi thout effort. Both of these metaphors about tears suggest the girl is crying a lot. Pour and stream suggest lots of people moving smoothly. Trickle suggests a few people moving slowly. Stream suggests continuous movement. Fire and heat Words associated with fire and heat often suggest anger in English. A heated debate, a heated discussion or a heated conversation is one in which people disagree in an angry way with each other. If you say that someone has a fiery temper, you mean that they often get suddenly angry. The word flare means show a bright light in the dark. If you say tempers flared, you mean that people became angry with each other. Similarly violence flares up and troubles flare up. These all mean that problems which existed in the past suddenly become serious again. However, not all metaphors relating to fire suggest anger. If you feel very embarrassed, your cheeks burn with embarrassment. A blaze is a very bright fire. We talk about a blaze of glory or a blaze of publicity meaning there is a lot of it and it is spectacular. 1 When you are reading English, t ry to notice metaphorical uses of language.This will help you to see how familiar words can be used in extra, interesting ways. 28 English Collocations in Use 12 Metaphor If someone uses a metaphor, they use a word in a way that is slightly different from its bask meaning. For example, the first meaning of sunny is connected with the weather, so we talk about a sunny day. However, sunny can also be used in expressions like a sunny smile, the children's sunny faces to mean happy; in these collocations sunny is used in a metaphorical way. Metaphors are more common in written than spoken English and often have the effect of sounding quite poetic. Light and dark Light in English is associated with happiness. So a face shines with pleasure and eyes shine with excitement or delight. If someone's face lights up or their eyes light up, they show that they suddenly feel happy. If an atmosphere lightens or a mood lightens, it becomes more relaxed or cheerful than it was. Darkness is associated with unhappiness and negative feelings. Dark thoughts are gloomy 01 sinister ones and dark days or dark times are unpleasant times to live through. If someone's face darkens or their eyes darken or someone's expression darkens, then we know that that person is unhappy, often because they are feeling angry. Water collocation Ideas flow, conversation flows a f lood / floods of tears, tears streaming down someone's face people pour/stream somewhere people tr ickle a stream of visitors/ traffic example It was a very successful meeting. The ideas flowed. The little girl was in floods of tears. Tears were streaming down her face. People poured out of the hall at the end of the lecture. People tr ickled into the concert hall. There was a s t ream of traffic outside our room all night. comment Flow suggests that things progress easily, wi thout effort. Both of these metaphors about tears suggest the girl is crying a lot. Pour and stream suggest lots of people moving smoothly. Trickle suggests a few people moving slowly. Stream suggests continuous movement. Fire and heat Words associated with fire and heat often suggest anger in English. A heated debate, a heated discussion or a heated conversation is one in which people disagree in an angry way with each other. If you say that someone has a fiery temper, you mean that they often get suddenly angry. The word flare means show a bright light in the dark. If you say tempers flared, you mean that people became angry with each other. Similarly violence flares up and troubles flare up. These all mean that problems which existed in the past suddenly become serious again. However, not all metaphors relating to fire suggest anger. If you feel very embarrassed, your cheeks burn with embarrassment. A blaze is a very bright fire. We talk about a blaze of glory or a blaze of publicity meaning there is a lot of it and it is spectacular. I When you are reading English, t ry to notice metaphorical uses of language.This will help you to see how familiar words can be used in extra, interesting ways. 28 English Collocations in Use Exercises 13.1 Look at A and B opposite and complete these weather collocations. 1 crisp 5 a hard 2 patches of 6 torrential 3 strong 7 unbroken 4 a biting 8 a blanket of 13.2 Look at A and B opposite. Change the underlined words so that each sentence has the opposite meaning. 1 There was a light wind yesterday. 2 The wind picked up in the evening. 3 The weather is likely to improve tomorrow. 4 It was scorching hot here yesterday. 5 There may be some light rain later on today. 6 The mist came down at about midday. I 3.3 Replace the underlined words in this letter with collocations from the opposite page. I wish I'd worn a warmer jacket. There's a very cold wind. At l eas t i t 's n o t raining heavily t oday . I g o t extremely we t yes terday. I wish I was sunbath ing on a Mediterranean beach. 13.4 Answer these questions about the collocations on the opposite page. 1 What might make a river burst its banks? 2 What can you probably see if someone says, 'It looks like rain'? 3 What kind of wind is a freak wind? 4 Is it harder to drive if there's dense fog or if there are patches of fog? 5 What kind of weather conditions have you got if the rain is described as driving rain? 6 If we talk about severe weather conditions hitting or striking an area, what kind of image is created? 7 What , apar t from wind, can blow or whistle? 8 Which of these verbs suggests most destruction and which least? The storm destroyed I damaged I devastated the town. 13.5 Look up these words in your dictionary. Note down two more collocations for each one. wind 4 rain snow 9 Either listen to the weather forecast on an English language TV or radio channel or go to the website www.bbc.co.uk/weather. (You can enter the name of your own country to get information about the weather there.) Make a note of any other useful weather collocations that you find. English Collocations in Use 3 I Travel Travel, journey, trip Look at these e-mails and note the different collocations for travel, journey and trip. • mm Jane, Have you made your travel arrangements for the sales conference yet? If you want a good travel agent, I can recommend Atlas World. They specialise in business travel. Their number is 2587996. They're very helpful. Rickie t e a t e e Hi Mel, I'm finally here after an extremely tiring journey! The flight was three hours late, they lost my luggage, then there were no taxis at the airport. I hope my return journey1 is better! I'm at the Hotel Rex, room 1305, tel: 987745. Give me a call. Simon Hi Karen, I know next week is a business trip, but you must do some sightseeing too while you're here. I suggest wetak* a day trip to Canamuca on the Sunday. It's about two hours by car, and we can take a boat trip to the island in the middle of the lake and have lunch there. Looking forward to seeing you on Monday. Safe journey2. David said to someone who is about to make a joun t e e 1 The opposite of return journey is outward journey. Janine, I got some travel brochures with details of camping trips. Want to meet for lunch to look at them? One of them is in Chile, but it's a long overnight journey from the capital to get there, so maybe we should look nearer home? Nice to dream of holidays during work time! Loma Flights These collocations are all rather formal ones connected with flying: Palair offers excellent in-flight entertainment, with the latest films and music. The in-flight magazine includes maps and information about major airports. [announcement by a cabin attendant] Ladies and gentlemen, we'll shortly be landing at Dublin Airport. Please fasten your seatbelts. The passenger boarded the plane on time, but it was delayed taking off and she missed her connecting flight in Amsterdam. Domestic flights are often more expensive than international ones, [flights within a country] Do you normally prefer a window seat or an aisle seat when you fly? We managed to get a charter1 flight; it was half the price of the scheduled2 flight. 'flight on a plane rented for special use 2regular flight organised by the company which owns the plane The weather en route is fine, and we anticipate a smooth flight3 to Stockholm today. 3The opposite is a bumpy flight A c c o m m o d a t i o n We stayed in a small, family-run hotel. The Panorama is a rather run-down hotel in a back street near the city centre. The Palace is a luxury hotel on the main square of Porto Alegre. As a student, I can ' t afford to stay in smart hotels. I always have to look for budget accommodation, [very cheap] I'd advise you to make a reservation before you go. The hotels near the beach are very popular and get fully booked during the summer. 32 English Collocations in Use Exercises 14.1 Complete each sentence with trip, travel or journey. 1 I'll get some brochures today and we can start planning our holiday. 2 John is away on a business all week. 3 It's a rather difficult overnight to the mountains but it's well worth it. 4 I prefer to arrange my holidays myself rather than use a agent. 5 On Saturday we went on a day to an interesting old castle. 6 Was it a tiring from Seoul to Los Angeles? 7 On summer weekends we often used to go on camping 8 Do you use a special firm to arrange business for your staff? 9 Do you make your own arrangements or does your secretary do it all? 10 I hope your flight is on time tomorrow. Safe ! See you at the airport . 14.2 Complete these sentences. 1 We couldn' t a reservation; all the hotels were booked. 2 As I've got long legs I usually ask for an seat on a long flight, but on the flight to New York I had a seat and I got a great view of Manha t t an as we came in, even though I didn't have much leg-room. 3 We're only scheduled to have about half an hour in Dubai, so I hope we don ' t miss our flight. 4 They seem to have much better in-flight on that airline; they have the latest films and you can play video games. 5 Passengers must their seatbelts before take-off and landing. 6 Passengers with seats in rows one to 25 are now invited to the plane. 7 The Principality Hotel was rather -down and we were very disappointed. 8 You can spend a lot of money and stay in a hotel or you can look for budget 14.3 Answer these questions about travel collocations. 1 What is the opposite of a smooth flight? 2 Which of these two kinds of flight do most people prefer and why? 3 What do we call a flight which is not a charter flight? 4 Wha t do airlines often provide for passengers to read? 5 What is the difference between a business trip and business travel} 6 What is the opposite of outward journey} 7 If a hotel is family-run, is it especially trying to attract families as guests? 14.4 Write about 100 words describing a recent personal travel experience. Use the collocations from this unit. Next time you fly, look at the signs at the airports you pass through, which are often in English as well as the local language(s). Find and make a note of three useful collocations. 1 English Collocations in Use 33 Towns and cities D e s c r i b i n g t o w n s a n d ci t ies f o r v is i tors Look at these extracts from a magazine article about tourist cities. The city skyline is a wonderful mix of old and new, and the city itself has a lot of busy, narrow cobbled1 streets. The old town is a conservation area and it has a lot of quaint2 old buildings dating back to the city's foundation in the 1500s. made of a regular pattern of stones attractive because of being unusual and especially old-fashioned Doradella Street has a lot of upmarket3 shops and rather pricey4, sometimes overpriced, restaurants, but not far away is the Genasia district, where you'll find restaurants which offer good value and a more relaxed atmosphere. 3 for people with expensive tastes 4 expensive, in a negative sense Royal Avenue runs from north to south, and is lined with shops. Behind it, the streets are full of lively bars and fashionable clubs. The pavement cafes and shops of Luna Square are pleasant but very expensive. As you drive into the city, the tree-lined avenues of the residential areas are soon replaced by the high-rise flats of the inner city5. Then come the imposing buildings of the Parliament and government departments. 5 central part of a city where poorer people live and where there are often social problems B Towns and cit ies and t h e i r p r o b l e m s Here are some descriptions of the more negative aspects of towns and cities. Some of the inner-city areas are an urban wasteland1 and are somewhat dangerous for visitors. In fact some streets have become no-go 2 areas, with high crime. Many streets are strewn with litter and there are numerous run-down3 buildings. There are some deprived4 areas round the city centre with huge social problems. The industrial zones which lie on the edge of the city are grey and polluted. a city area which is empty and in a bad condition where the police and other authorities are afraid to enter in very bad condition not having the things that are necessary for a pleasant life, e.g. enough money, good living conditions Triope is a sprawling5 city with bumper-to-bumper6 traffic all day long.The exhaust fumes can be a nightmare.The volume of traffic has increased in recent years and the incessant roar7 of trucks and buses makes the city centre an extremely noisy place. The comfortable suburbs8 away from the city centre contrast sharply with the poor shanty towns9 one sees on the way to the airport. spread over a large area (slightly negative) so many cars and so close that they are almost touching each other very loud noise which never stops a place from which many people travel in order to work in a bigger town or city very poor houses made of discarded materials (e.g. tin, cardboard, plastic, etc.) 36 English Collocations in Use Exercises 16.1 Which of the collocations in A opposite do these drawings illustrate? 16.2 Which of the collocations in the box have a positive meaning (+) and which have a negative meaning (-)? relaxed atmosphere lively bar over-priced restaurants urban wasteland no-go area imposing building shanty town fashionable club run-down buildings 16.3 Answer these questions using collocations from the opposite page. 1 What might prevent you from sleeping in a house near a busy motorway? 2 Exhaust fumes will get worse if what increases? 3 What is the opposite of a restaurant which is good value? 4 What kind of area with poor, home-made houses could certainly be called a deprived area? 5 If an area is very interesting historically, what may it officially be called? 6 What is another way of saying an expensive restaurant? 7 What do we call blocks of flats which have many storeys, perhaps 20 or more? 8 What adjective could be used about an attractive and perhaps slightly unusual old building? 16.4 Match the beginnings of each sentence on the left with its ending on the right. 1 It is a sprawling 2 It is full of upmarket 3 There was bumper-to-bumper 4 I get asthma from the terrible exhaust 5 I live in a residential 6 Some of the more deprived 7 The main street in town 8 The main street is lined 9 On the outskirts are some industrial 10 The streets were strewn traffic all the way to the airport . runs from the castle to the river. zones and some large supermarkets. with shops and cafes. city covering an enormous area. with litter. area but work in the city centre. areas are not far from the city centre. fumes in the city centre. shops, which are too expensive for me. Find a description in an encyclopaedia, tourist brochure or guide book of a city that you know well or are interested in. Make a note of any interesting collocations that you find there. 1 English Collocations in Use 37 I 7 People: character and behaviour A Your month of bir th and your character I January J u n e ] You are good company' but you I may have a selfish streak2. I You have an outgoing personality and a good sense of humour. I You have a vivid imagination, but you tend to lose your temper too easily. You are highly intelligent with a razor-sharp mind. ; You set high standards for yourself and are fiercely3 loyal to your friends. I The best aspect of your personality is the way you always put others first. Ju ly A u g u s t S e p t e m b e r O c t o b e r N o v e m b e r D e c e m b e r Although you can be painfully shy in social situations, at work you give the impression of being supremely confident. You have a tendency to make snap decisions4. You have a strong sense of responsibility and always keep your word5. You are good at keeping secrets and never bear a grudge6. You find it hard to keep your temper7 if you think someone is making a fool out of you8. You can be brutally honest9 and sometimes hurt others' feelings. 1 people enjoy being with you 2 you sometimes act in a selfish way 3 stronger than extremely 4 quick decisions 5 do what you say you will do, keep your promises Behaviour: verb + noun collocations 6 resent for a long time bad things others have done to you 7 not get angry 8 trying to deceive or trick you 9 honest in a way that may hurt collocation play a joke/trick take a joke swallow your pride th row a tantrum lose your patience come to terms with reveal your true character example The children played a joke on the teacher by hiding under their desks before she came into the room. Fortunately, the teacher could take a joke and didn't punish them. Jane swallowed her pride and admitted that she was wrong. The child th rew a t a n t r u m when 1 wouldn't buy him any sweets. Finally 1 lost my patience and shouted at her. Nick has found it hard to come to t e r m s wi th his illness. Jack's failure to support her has certainly revealed his t rue character. comment N O T make a joke/trick = didn't mind a joke being played on her = she did it even though it was embarrassing for her = behaved in a very uncontrolled manner = lost my temper, became angry = accept something psychologically opposite = conceal/hide your true character s Associating these collocations with people you know may help you to learn them. 38 English Collocations in Use Exercises I 8.1 Put the words from the box into the 'fat ' or ' thin ' column, then answer the questions. portly lanky slender dumpy slim chubby 'fat' words 'thin'words 1 Which words could be used to describe someone's waist? 2 Which word is likely to be used of a rather physically awkward young person? 3 Which word means 'fat but in a pleasant way'? 4 Which word is more likely to be used to describe a man rather than a woman? 5 Which word is more likely to be used to describe a woman rather than a man? 18.2 Look at B. Then match the adjectives in the first box below with the nouns in the second box. bushy tiny oval striking broad droopy chubby dishevelled cheeks moustache shoulders hair eyebrows resemblance to t face 18.3 Fill the gaps with appropriate collocations. You are sometimes given the first letter(s). I hadn ' t seen W i l l since he was just a (1) t t , so I was surprised to see t h a t he was n o w a ta l l young man . He was (2) im gr , smart and e legant . He was w i t h a p re t ty y o u n g w o m a n w i t h (3) j -black, (4) shoulder- hair and a (5) I com She cou ld have been a mode l , she had such a (6) str ap He had his a rm round her (7) s wa W i t h t h e m was a (8) po g , w h o looked as t h o u g h he en joyed g o o d f o o d , and w h o was probab ly her father. W h e n I in t roduced myself to Wi l l , he smi led. 'Of course, I remember you , ' he said. 'You used to w o r k w i t h my father. But you haven ' t aged at a l l ! You have a much more (9) y a t h a n my f a the r n o w does. Dad has (10) very grey.' I f e l t very pleased w h e n he said tha t ; he obviously d idn ' t not ice I was beg inn ing to (11) ba ld . Everyone likes to t h i nk they look young w h e n they get older. 18.4 Use the words from the box to fill the gaps to give contrasting meanings. round coarse upturned fair pointed straight dark sleek 1 Her hair's not , it's quite , in fact it's almost black. 2 She has an nose but her brother has a nose. 3 Her mother has a face but her father has a face. 4 My hair is so and ugly; Sally's is so and lovely. Find a description of the hero or heroine in an English novel or short story. No te down any interesting collocations that you find there. I English Collocations in Use 41 Families Family relationships Sociologists talk about nuclear and extended families. A nuclear family is just parents and children. An extended family is a wider network including grandparents , cousins, etc. Close relatives are those like parents, children, brothers or sisters. Distant relatives are people like second cousins [the children of a cousin of your mother or father] or distant cousins. Close/immediate family refers to people who are your nearest blood relatives: I don' t have much close/immediate family. She's a distant cousin of mine; she's not a blood relative. Close can also be used to mean that the relationship is a very strong one: We are a very close family, or We are a very close-knit family. These adjectives also collocate with family: loving, respectable, dysfunctional [unhappy, not working in a healthy way] Simon came from a respectable family, so Mary's parents felt happy about the marriage. Someone's late husband/wife is one who has died. An estranged [formal] husband/wife is one who lives in a different place and has a difficult relationship with their husband/wife. They may be having a trial separation and may eventually decide to get a divorce. In some cases it can be a bitter/acrimonious divorce, [full of anger, arguments and bad feeling] A person's ex-husband/ex-wife is a man/woman that she/he used to be married to. Children whose parents have separated or divorced are said to come from a broken home. If their family is a strong, loving one it can be called a stable home. If it is a poor one, not having the things that are necessary for a pleasant life, such as enough money, food or good living conditions, it can be called a deprived home. A confirmed bachelor is a man who seems to have no intention of ever marrying. Parents and children collocation start a family have children expect a baby have a baby the baby is due single parent/mother raise / bring up children / a family apply for custody of give/grant [formal] custody provide for your family set up home example They are hoping to start a family soon. I'd like to have three children. Soraya is expecting a baby. Jill had her baby yesterday. The baby is due next week. It's hard being a single parent. Helen had to bring up four young children on her own. The father applied for custody of the children, but the judge gave/granted custody to the mother. Nick works very long hours to provide for his family. We live wi th my mum now, but we'll set up h o m e on our own soon. comment N O T begin a family N O T ge€ children N O T wait (for) a baby N O T get a baby = expected to arrive may be either unmarried or divorced Raise a family is more common in US than in UK English. custody: the legal right or duty to care for a child after its parents have separated or died = to earn enough money to support your family = to start an independent life in one's own flat or house 42 English Collocations in Use Exercises 19.1 Fill the gaps in this old man's memories about his life with words from A. I grew up in an (1) family as my grandparents and a couple of aunts and an uncle, who was a (2) bachelor, lived with us. We saw a lot of our (3) relatives as well as our close ones. I think that families tended to be much more (4) then - we talked to each other more and did things together more. I'm sure there are far more (5) families now than there used to be - you know, where parents hardly spend any time with their children, or with each other - and a lot of parents w h o are divorced. My (6) wife, who died two years ago, used to say that it is not fair on children to let them grow up in (7) homes. Charles and I are hoping to begin a family soon. We both want to get lots of children. Ideally, I'd like to have my first baby next year, when I'll be 2 5 . My sister is waiting a baby now. It's coming next month . She's going to be a sole parent and it'll be hard for her to grow up a child on her own. I 9.3 Match the two parts of these collocations. 1 apply for 2 get 3 estranged 4 nuclear 5 provide for 6 distant 7 set up 8 trial cousin separation custody home wife family your family a divorce I 9.4 Answer these questions. 1 W h o do you have in your immediate family? 2 Do you have much contact with your distant relatives? If so, when? 3 Where did your parents first set up home? 4 Which would most children prefer to live in, and why, a stable home or a deprived home? 5 What collocation means the same as to be pregnant} 6 Can dysfunctional families also be respectable ones? 7 What can be put before the words wife and husband to indicate that they are no longer married to someone? 8 What is a more formal alternative for give custody} I 9 .5 Write a paragraph about your own family using as many as possible of the collocations from this unit. Read some English language women's magazines and note down any other interesting family collocations that you find. English Collocations in Use 43 19.2 Look at B. Correct the six collocation errors in this young woman's plans for the future. • Feelings and emotions Feeling happy Look at these messages in cards sent to Brian and Helen on their wedding day. Note the collocations in bold. H-ave fl QYtat dau. i fei^ow you'll be bl issful ly ' happy together. .SLUA-OIA, Dear Helen and Brian, We Hope mtwrlage brings yotA lasting happiness Jake and IWarla, ' very/extremely To Br ian and Helen — 3ee>t wishes to the happy couple2, Jack with love e?iA,d best wishes OIA, this hap-py occasion, Hyv.de 6ric a standard way of referring to a newly married couple Feeling sad and upset In these letters to the problem page of Good Life magazine, useful collocations are in bold. I Dear Good Life, My grandmother died six months ago and I've felt desperately sad and deeply depressed ever since. Is this normal for a 26-year-old? Karen Young Dear Good Life, I felt a great sadness when I had to say goodbye to my friends at the end of our three years in university. The farewell party was such a sad occasion. What can I do? My life feels empty without them. Jo Hart Dear Good Life, I was bitterly1 disappointed recently when a friend let me down badly. How can I express my disappointment to her without appearing silly or childish? I'm not very good at showing my feelings. Yolanda Reed Dear Good Life. I failed an exam recently and it was a huge disappointment to me. Now I'm feeling increasingly anxious that I'll fail the next one. In fact I'm worried sick. What should I do? David Wright 'deeply disappointed is also common Anger and emot ion There is mount ing [growing] anger over the new tax, along with widespread condemnatioi of it [a lot of people in many different places have condemned it]. It has especially aroused feelings of resentment among professional people. I lost my temper and was seething with anger when she called me an idiot. [I suddenly became very angry] Divorce is a highly emotional experience for all those involved. It's hard not to give a pure emotional response. The emotional involvement of both parties is intense, and the emotional impact on children is huge, [these are rather formal collocations] Jack was an emotional wreck [informal: in a bad emotional state] after his girlfriend finished with him. 1 This page gives a number of synonyms for very/reallyfterribly and for big, words which learners sometimes use too much. Make a special note of them. 46 English Collocations in Use Exercises 21.1 21.2 How many words meaning very or extremely can you remember from the opposite page? Use them instead of very or extremely in these sentences. 1 I was very disappointed, (give two answers) 2 Jess is a very emotional individual. 3 She felt extremely sad. 4 Her childhood was extremely happy. 5 I was extremely worried. 6 She felt very depressed. Improve the style of these e-mails by replacing the underlined words with collocations from the opposite page. • 66 0 a © Delete Reply Reply All Forward Print Dear James I have to tell you that there is general condemnation and growing anger over the news that the company pension is to be closed down. The issue has brought out strong feelings among the staff. I am personally becoming more anxious that the situation might get out of control, and ask you to act immediately. With best wishes, Joanne Withers Staff representative scheme and more Dear Joanne, I too am full of anger over this pension question. I tried to show my disappointment over it to the Board, but they simply dismissed the issue and that just made me extremely angry. I feel very let down. I shall continue to do what I can. Yours sincerely, James Horgan (Resource Manager) Gareth, You probably know I didn't get the job I applied for. It's a very big disappointment. Christina Dear Winston, I felt a big sadness when I heard of Patrick's death. Will you be going to the funeral? It will be such a sad thing, won't it? Pamela ^r> ( ^ M N YOU HELPC/S ? HE'S LOST HIS TEMPER.3 3&S3 21 .3 Answer the questions. 1 Give two examples of a happy occasion. 2 What phrase can refer to two people who have just got married? 3 What adjective collocates with happiness to mean 'which continues for many years'? 4 What other noun meaning 4effect' can collocate with emotional} 5 What is an informal way of saying / was extremely worried} i Go to the Cambridge University Press website at www.cambridge.org and enter the word temper in the Search Cambridge Dictionaries box.Then click on Look it up. If you cannot use the web, look up temper in a good dictionary. What collocations can you find in addition to lose your temper7. English Collocations in Use 47 Houses, flats and rooms Finding somewhere to live Look at these notices on a university notice-board. Useful collocations are in bold. available v/ve0r uwtLvcrsLty. won* a^d studio f l a ts . Tel: 80&5++- "Are you looking to move Into a flat or house next term? The Harmer Agency has a wide range of suitable accommodation. Call us on 44-46677. ^W retutenfeu. ore*. *800 per col^dar nonih Tel: 897G33 cfUr 5pm. Ne*ly-built apartment available soon. Spacious accommodation, fully-fitted kitchen3. Off-road parking. To let furnished or unfurnished. Would suit single academic or mature student. Tel: 3215766 1 can be rented for short periods of time small flats designed for one person kitchen that is already equipped with modern cooker, washing machine, cupboards, etc. Describing your ho use/flat/ r o o m In these e-mails people are describing their living accommodat ion. • ee 0 m D«let« Reply Reply All Forward Prinl Hi Mave, Luke and I have just moved into our dream home. It's a big old four-storey house. It's got a spacious living room which has a wonderful view of the park, and a cosy study where we can both work. And there are some lovely light, airy bedrooms which overlook the garden. There is a separate basement flat, which we might turn into a granny flat for my mother. And if we want to add an extension' there's room for that too. ft needs to be completely refurbished, but Luke and I have always wanted to do up Come and visit. Love, Julia an old house e ^ o Delete m m m & Reply Reply All Forward Print Hi Julia, You're so lucky! I'd love to move out of my awful one- room flat. It's in such a dilapidated building. You go into a draughty hall, down a chilly corridor and into this really cramped room. I want to buy a place of my own but there's a shortage of affordable housing here and I don't want to take out a big mortgage. I'd love to see your house. I hope you'll invite me to your house-warming party. Big hug, Mave 1 we can also say build an extension = build an extra room or two onto an existing house 2 repair, repaint and decorate (a house) Collocations wi th home She left home to go to university, but moving away from her family made her feel homesick. Peter's back from a year abroad. His family are throwing a party to welcome him home. (To a guest who's just arrived) Come in and make yourself at home while I finish getting dinner ready, (relax and make yourself comfortable) I haven't lived in Oxford for long but I already feel at home there. I'd like to buy a second home near the coast, [house used only for weekends, holidays, etc.] 48 English Collocations in Use Exercises 23.1 Match the words on the left with their collocations on the right. 23.3 23.4 1 2 3 4 5 set food junk ready fresh additives food produce menu meals 23.2 Complete these sentences using the collocations from exercise 23.1 to fill the gaps. 1 such as artificial flavours and colouring can cause allergies. 2 may be unhealthy, but it's quick and easy and fills you up. 3 People who don' t have much time to cook often buy from the supermarket. 4 It's always better to buy instead of canned or frozen foods. 5 The is usually cheaper than ordering dishes separately in a restaurant. Read these remarks by different people, then answer the questions. Richard: I've got some cheese and milk. Is there a fridge here I could put them in? Archie: I feel so hungry! I can' t believe it! Polly: I've been sick and my stomach is aching. Must be something I ate. Ken: No matter how much I eat, I always want more. Suzie: All these vegetables have been grown without any chemicals at all. Nina: I always enjoy my food and look forward to it. 1 W h o has organic food? 2 W h o has an insatiable appetite? 3 W h o has perishable food? 4 W h o has a healthy appetite? 5 W h o has food poisoning? 6 W h o is dying of hunger? name Replace the underlined words with suitable collocations from the opposite page. 1 Foods which are changed or treated as part of an industrial operation may damage our health in the long term. 2 Some people always have three full, satisfying meals a day, but I prefer a large breakfast and then a small meal around midday and a more sizeable meal in the evening. 3 There are some overpriced restaurants in the city centre, but down at the beach, there are some nice, not too expensively priced ones. 4 On my birthday my parents took me out for a big, good meal. They wanted to go for a very high quality meal but I said I'd prefer something more ordinary. 5 Iced tea is a drink that cools you and makes you feel less tired on a hot day, and is probably better for you than non-alcoholic drinks such as cola or lemonade. 6 Let me take you out to dinner on your birthday. Or would you prefer a meal prepared at home? I could make dinner for you at my place. English Collocations in Use 5 I 24 Films and books Talking about films and books When a new book or film comes out, newspapers will review it. The people who review the book/film are called book reviewers / film critics and they write book/film reviews. If they don ' t like a book/film they give it a bad review. We can say that a novel or film is based on a true story. We say that a book/film captures an atmosphere or that a book/film deals with a topic. We talk about the opening/closing scenes of a film and the opening/closing chapters of a book. We talk about the beginning and end of a book/film ( N O T start and finish). If everything works out well for the central characters, we say that the book/film has a happy ending. You may recommend a book/film that you enjoyed to a friend. If a lot of people have enjoyed it, it is highly recommended. Just about films and acting I've never had any desire to go on the stage1 myself but I*d love to produce a film. I think historical dramas work particularly well on the big screen2 and I'd love to make a film about Vikings in Britain. There 'd be plenty of opportunities to use special effects3 during battle scenes. I'd want the male lead4 to be played by Hugh Grant , while Nicole Kidman could have the female lead. Sean Penn could play the role of a Viking warrior and I'd like Judi Dench to take on a cameo role5. I 'm sure that, as always, she would give an excellent performance. My dream is to make a film that would be nominated for an Oscar6 . Of course, I'd also like it to be an immediate box-office hit7, playing to full houses8 worldwide. become an actor small but special part 2 the cinema 6 put on the official list of people in the film world 3 powerful visual effects, who may receive a special prize (an Oscar) often created using technology 7 extremely successful with audiences 4 main male part cinemas/theatres with no empty seats Other strong collocations are cast a film [select the actors for a film], star in a film, shoot a film, make a film. Just about books collocation be engrossed/absorbed in a book compulsive reading bedtime reading an easy read take out / bor row / return / renew a library book flick/skim through a book beautifully wr i t ten example Sal was so engrossed/absorbed in her book that she didn't hear me. Many people find articles about the private lives of film stars compulsive reading, [so interesting you can't stop reading] 1 don't think a horror story makes good bed t ime reading. Detective stories are good for train journeys as they're an easy read. You can take out /borrow six l ibrary books at one time.You should re turn your l ibrary book tomorrow. I'm going to r e n e w my library book for another week. Mona f l icked/skimmed through the book wi thout reading it in detail. The book is beautifully wr i t t en - 1 highly recommend it. ERROR W A R N I N G Critics review books and films, N O T criticise them.To criticise a book or film means to say negative things about it. Remember that you watch television, N O T see television, but you can see or watch a f i lm or p r o g r a m m e on television. We usually say see a f i l m at the cinema. 52 English Collocations in Use Exercises 24.1 Use collocations from A opposite instead of the underlined words in this conversation. The conversation has no errors, but the changes will improve it. Matthew: Have you read that new book that has just appeared about Ireland? Lorna: N o , I don ' t go to bookshops and I don' t read articles discussing new books. What 's it about? Matthew: Well, it concerns the Irish War of Independence. It's very authentic and it manages to give the atmosphere of Ireland at the beginning of the 20th century. Lorna: Is it just historical facts, then? Mat thew: N o , the main people are two brothers who have different opinions about the war and this divides their family. In the first chapters they're happy and do everything together, but by the last chapter they have become enemies. Lorna: M m , it sounds a bit depressing to me. Mat thew: Well, it certainly doesn't finish in a happy way, but I liked it, and it's recommended very much by all the critics. Lorna: So, a book with a pleasant start and a sad finish. N o t for me, I'm afraid. I prefer the opposite. 24.2 Complete the crossword. 1 3 7 5 6 7 4 Across 3 I was completely in my book and didn't realise how late it had got. 5 An alternative to 3 across. 6 He wants to go on the He's always wanted to be an actor. 7 W h o played the male in Destination Saturn} Down 1 role means 'small but special part in a film/play'. 2 The film was for an Oscar but it didn't win. 4 It was an amazing film about space travel, with fantastic special 24 .3 Match the words in the box on the left with their collocations on the right. full big bedtime female box-office screen reading lead hit house 24 .4 Complete these collocations. 1 shoot / star in / make a 2 renew / borrow / return a 3 flick / skim through a 4 compulsive / bedtime • Online bookshops, for example, Amazon, often have mini-reviews and descriptions of books and DVDs. Find a review of a book or film that you know and note down any interesting collocations in it. English Collocations in Use 53 Sport Do, play and go The table below gives examples of common sporting collocations with do, play and go. You do You play You go gymnastics, judo, weightlifting, aerobics, yoga, wrestling, circuit training, archery, athletics games, badminton, billiards, hockey, bowls, rugby, golf, (table) tennis, cricket, baseball, chess, darts, cards, dominoes fishing, skiing, bowling, cycling, skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, hang-gliding, climbing, hill walking, sailing, jogging, swimming You can also say you go to aerobics/judo/yoga/karate — this means that you go to a class in this sport. ERROR WARNING Learners often make mistakes with some common collocations connected wi th sport. Make a point of learning these commonly used collocations. • You do or play sport. (NOT make sport) • You do exercises. (NOT make exercises) • You play c o m p u t e r or other games. (NOT de games) • You have/piay a game of cards. (NOT make a game) • You go skiing. (NOT make skiing) • You do activities. (NOT make or practise activities) If you are a serious sportsperson, you will certainly practise your sport, but that has a specific meaning, which is to do something again and again in order to get better at it, in other words to t ra in. If you are a footballer you might practise taking a penalty, for example. Winning and losing Sportsmen and sportswomen want to win matches, not lose matches. But you can' t win all the time! Sometimes a team or player deserves to win, but gets narrowly defeated/beaten. Before they go in for / enter a competition, athletes train hard. They probably attend/do at least five training sessions a week. They are likely to put up a fight to gain/get a place in the next stage/round of the competition. Of course, a sportsperson's ultimate aim is to break the world record in their sport. If they succeed, they set a new world record and become a world record holder. They are sure to come up against fierce/intense competit ion as they try to achieve their ambitions. Sometimes they are satisfied if they just achieve a personal best. Some sports people so desperately want to win that they take drugs to enhance their performance. This will be discovered when they fail a drugs test. Football You can play or have a (football) match / game (of football). It might be a home or an away match depending on whether you're playing on your team's home ground or not. The aim is to score a goal. Players may tackle an opponent to try to take possession of the ball1. If you tackle in an illegal way, you foul your opponent . This will lead to the referee blowing his whistle and an opponent taking a penalty or taking a free kick. If someone isn't playing very well the manager may decide to drop the player from the team or bring on a substitute2 . Both teams hope that they will have taken the lead3 by half-time. 1 get the ball 2 replace one player with another 3 be in a winning position 56 English Collocations in Use Exercises 26.1 Look at A. Complete the sentences with doy play or go in the correct form. New Sports Club Opening Next Week You can judo! You can badminton! You can swimming! You can weight lifting! You can circuit training! You can table tennis! You can skateboarding! You can even darts! Vj 26.2 In fact, you can almost any sport you can think of. So join now! Look at B and C. Make ten collocations by matching a word from the box on the left with a word or phrase from the box on the right. 26.3 personal blow bring on fail enter set achieve train enhance take the lead best a substitute a record a whistle a competit ion your performance a drugs test hard your ambitions Look at the error warning. There are six verb + noun errors in this e-mail. Find and correct them. enr> Forward Print Delete Reply Reply All Hi, Jose, Do you fancy coming on a sporting weekend with me next month? It sounds great - would make a change from playing computer games. You can make lots of different activities. You could even do fishing, I think. You can't go skiing at this time of year but you can make water skiing, if you like. Everyone has to make general exercises first thing in the morning and then you can make whatever sport you like, more or less. I've never practised badminton so I think I'm going to do that. Then in the afternoon I'm looking forward to the chance to practise my tennis serve with their professional coach. Please try to come! Giorgio 26 .4 Complete the collocations in this report of a rugby match. Cambridge were happy to (1) their last match 6:0. Oxford, the opposing team, put up a good (2) and some people thought they (3) to win. They were fearless in (4) their opponents, but every time they took (5) of the ball, Cambridge managed to win it back. Cambridge have now (6) a place in the next (7) of the competition. They will undoubtedly come up against some fierce (8) However, they have already managed to (9) an interesting world record by having four members of the same family in their winning team! i Make a section in your vocabulary notebook for your own favourite sport. Find an English language website connected with that sport.Write down any useful collocations you notice there. Ld English Collocations in Use 57 27 Health and illness Verb collocations referring to illnesses and injuries In most everyday situations you can use the verbs get or have with the names of illnesses, but you will improve your written style if you can use these alternative verbs and expressions. verb catch contract [formal] develop [formal] suffer f rom have an attack of be diagnosed with suffer / sustain [formal] common collocations a cold, the flu, a chill, pneumonia a disease, malaria, typhoid (lung/breast) cancer, diabetes, AIDS, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease asthma, hay fewer, backache bronchitis, asthma, hay fever, diarrhoea (lung/breast) cancer, AIDS, leukaemia, autism (major/minor/serious/head) injuries example 1 got soaking wet and c a u g h t a co ld . Uncle Jess c o n t r a c t e d m a l a r i a while he was working in Africa. My grandfather d e v e l o p e d A l z h e i m e r ' s disease and could no longer remember things or recognise people. She has suf fered f r o m a s t h m a all her life. She h a d an a t t a c k of hay feve r and was sneezing non-stop. He was d iagnosed w i t h l u n g c a n c e r and died a year later. The driver sus ta ined ser ious head in ju r ies in the crash. Fitness and good health Look at this magazine questionnaire and note the collocations relating to fitness. Are you in good shape? 1 Do you t a k e regular v i g o r o u s exerc ise? • 2 Do you eat a b a l a n c e d d ie t? • 3 Do you care about h e a l t h y ea t ing? • 4 Do you fo l low a personal f i t n e s s p r o g r a m m e ? • 5 Do you always s t i c k to y o u r p r o g r a m m e ? • 6 In general, have you kept fit over the last t w o years? • ^ Talking about sickness and pain My poor friend Gina is terminally ill. (She will die soon.] She suffers excruciating/unbearable pain most of the time. Apparently it's an incurable illness that runs in her family. Paul annoys everyone at work. He takes days off even for the most trivial/minor ailments. It's a serious illness, but probably not life-threatening. For a few days it was acutely/intensely painful, but now it's just a dull ache. My doctor prescribed me some tablets and they relieved/alleviated the pain. Lorna was taken ill the other day. She's in hospital. They're not sure what it is yet. I had a heavy cold and a splitting headache, so I wasn't in a good mood, (the opposite of a heavy cold is a slight cold] ERROR W A R N I N G In accidents, wars, etc., t h ings get d a m a g e d and peop le get i n j u red : Their ca r w a s s l igh t l y d a m a g e d but luckily no o n e was i n j u red . 58 English Collocations in Use Exercises 28.1 Look at A. Match the words on the left with their collocations on the right. 1 browse 2 be connected 3 enter 4 access 5 compose 6 attach 7 go 8 visit 9 select a file online to the Internet a chat room the web a website an option the web address a message 2 8 . 2 Choose the correct collocation. 1 It is very important for websites to be maintained I hacked into. 2 Sam spends hours every evening accessed / connected to the Internet. 3 I don ' t crash I receive as much spam as I used to. 4 Is it an easy website to navigate I reinstalls 5 H o w can I burn I enter a CD on this computer? 6 It's a good idea to keep a hard I fast copy of all important documents . 7 Be very careful not to select I delete your work. 8 Do you do a lot of computer I online shopping? 2 8 . 3 Answer this computer quiz using collocations from the opposite page. 1 What may you have to do with your computer programs if your computer crashes? 2 What must you do regularly so you don' t lose the document you are working on? 3 What must you be careful not to do accidentally? 4 What should you check if you're not able to access a web page you want to look at? 5 What is Google? 6 If you don' t put the right address on an e-mail, what will happen? 7 H o w do you reply to an e-mail that you have received? 8 If you want to get a picture from the Internet and save it to your own computer, what do you have to do? 9 If you want to send a message you have received on to someone else, what do you do? 10 If you want to e-mail a document to someone, what do you normally do? 11 If you want to work on a document at home, where will you e-mail the document? 12 What feature on a mobile phone allows you to text someone more rapidly? 2 8 . 4 Complete these sentences. 1 Her phone has got a very irritating tone. 2 Has your computer got a broadband ? 3 Some people think that too many records about us are on computer these days. 4 Did you read about that teenager who into the Pentagon's main computer? 5 I want a mobile phone that will let me my e-mails when I am away from home. 6 My sister e-mailed me this wonderful video of her new baby. 7 This computer screen has great resolution and so displays very well. 8 In this computer exercise you have to the right answer, A, B, C or D. i Go to the website of the make of computer or mobile phone that you use. Select a page that interests you - perhaps something about a new product. Make a note of any interesting collocations that you see there. English Collocations in Use 6 I Study and learning Alternatives to do and get You can improve your written style by using alternative collocations instead of do and get. expression with do/get do an exam do research, do a research project do a course do a degree/diploma do a subject (e.g. law) do an essay/assignment do a lecture/talk get a degree/diploma get a grade get a qualification get an education alternatives 1 have to sit/take an e x a m in biology at the end of term. Ou r class carried out / conducted a research project into the history of our school. 1 decided to enrol on / take a course in computer programming. She studied for / took a degree in engineering. 1 studied/took history and economics in high school. Al l students have to wr i te an essay/assignment at the end of term. Professor Parkinson gave a lecture on the American Civil War. He obtained / was awarded a d ip loma in Town Planning in 1998. Her essay received / was given an A-grade. You wil l need to obtain/acquire a qualif ication in social work. The country is poor; only 27% of children receive a basic education. ERROR W A R N I N G Don't confuse pass an exam wi th sit/take an exam. Pass means to be successful in an exam or test. Say 'I did my homework', N O T 'I made my homework.' Look at these conversations between a teacher and students. Note how the teacher uses more formal collocations to repeat what each student says. Student: Do we have to go to all the lectures to do the course or just yours? Teacher: You must attend all the lectures to complete the course. Student: Excuse me. Where will next week's class be? In this room? Teacher: N o . Next week's class will be held in Room 4 0 5 . Student: When do we have to give you our essays? Teacher: You have to hand in your essays on Friday. Student: When do we have to send in our university applications? Teacher: You have to submit your application by December 1st. Student: What do I have to do if I want to leave the course? Teacher: If you want to wi thdraw from the course, you have to go to the College Office. More collocations connected wi th study and learning Do you keep a vocabulary notebook? It's a good way of recording new collocations. I did the first draft of my essay last week and the final draft this week. I have to hand it in tomorrow. Then the teacher gives us feedback after about a week. We don't have exams at my school. We have continuous assessment, [system where the quality of a student's work is judged by pieces of course work and not by one final examination] The local technical college provides training for young people in a variety of professions. After secondary school, 3 0 % of the population go on to higher/tertiary education, and 20% of adults do some sort of further education course during their lives. Does your government recognise foreign qualifications for school teachers? 62 English Collocations in Use Exercises 29 .1 Replace all the uses of do or get in this paragraph with more interesting words . I have three daughters. The oldest one did a degree in economics at Birmingham University. She got her bachelore degree last year and is now doing some research on taxation laws In different countries. The second one is doing a course at Newcastle University. She's doing history. She loves it, though she says she has to do far too many assignments. My youngest daughter is still at school. She's doing her school-leaving exams in the summer. She'll go to university next year if she gets good enough grades in her exams. She wants to do sociology and then get a social work qualification. My daughters are all getting a much better education than I ever had. 2 9 . 2 Complete these questions. 1 What homework do we have to tonight? 2 In which month do students usually their final exams in your country? 3 Who do we have to our essays in to? 4 Who is today's lecture on Shakespeare? 5 What do we need to do if we want to from the course? 6 In which room is the translation class going to be ? 7 Have you done the first of your essay yet? 8 Do you prefer exams or continuous ? 9 Do you always to all your lectures? 10 Does the college training in computer skills? 2 9 . 3 Choose the correct collocation. 1 I'm happy to say that you have all sat I taken I passed your maths test. 2 Will the teacher give /provide I make us some feedback on our essays? 3 The university agrees / recognises I takes the school-leaving exams of most other countries. 4 It isn't compulsory to assist I attend I listen all the lectures at this university. 5 H o w long will it take you to complete / carry out I fulfil your degree? 6 You must submit I send I write your application in before the end of June. 7 Several students have decided to withdraw /go / leave the course this year. 8 I want you all to write / hold I keep a vocabulary notebook. 2 9 . 4 Answer these questions about education. 1 At what age do children in your country sit their final school exams? 2 H o w long does it take in your country to do a degree in medicine? 3 Give one advantage you think continuous assessment has over traditional exams. 4 What sort of feedback might a teacher give a student w h o has just given a presentation in class? 5 Give one advantage for a learner of English of doing homework. 6 What advice about keeping a vocabulary notebook would you give to someone starting to learn English? 7 Wha t is the difference between further education and higher or tertiary education? 8 Wha t would you expect to be the difference between the first draft of an essay and the final draft? English Collocations in Use 63 3 I Business Harris: Interviewer Harris: Going into business Interviewer: When did you first go into business? I set up a small business selling office supplies in 1989, filing systems, office equipment, that sort of thing. In 1991 I went into partnership with my old friend, James Britten. We made a loss for the first two years, but then things got better and we've made a profit most years ever since. But there have been bad times too . In what way? Well, during the economic recession of the early 1990s, a lot of small businesses were going under ' , and I thought our business would fold2, but we survived. All around us, small firms were going bankrupt 3 . But in 1994 we won a contract, despite stiff competit ion, to supply the local government offices, and that was an important moment for us. We took on staff and expanded. And we were proud that we had created jobs for local people at a time when unemployment was high. O u r sales figures improved steadily, and soon we had an annual turnover4 of more than ten million pounds . So what 's the secret of your success? Well we're quite cautious. For instance, we always carry out5 market research before launching a new product. But also, we set a high value on customer service, especially after-sales service. But at the end of the day, running a successful business is a combination of hard work, luck and intuition. Finally, there are rumours that you may float the company 6 on the stock market. At the moment we have no intention of going public7, and people shouldn't believe everything they read in the newspapers! failing financially 2 close because of failure unable to pay debts, so the company's property is sold by order of a court of law amount of business a company does in a year the formal equivalent would be conduct market research and 7 start selling shares in a business or company for the first time Interviewer: Harris: Interviewer: Harris: More business collocations Owing to the economic crisis, many small firms ceased trading, [closed their business]. There is cut-throat competition in the music industry these days, [very severe competition) Marke t forces have caused many factories to close as businesses move overseas, [forces not influenced by government that decide price levels in an economy] Our local dressmaker has gone out of business. People buy ready-made clothes these days. Her clothes boutique is doing brisk business since the shopping centre was renovated. Business is booming for Internet-based travel companies as more people book travel online. [business is doing extremely well| She resigned and went to work for a rival company. I struck/did a deal with the car salesman and got a 1 5 % discount for cash. It's quite difficult sometimes to balance the budget because of increased costs. O u r company have put in a bid for the new leisure centre contract, [offered to do the work for a particular amount of money] ERROR W A R N I N G Remember, the collocation is do business, N O T mo Ice business: We're doing a lot of business in Asia these days. 66 English Collocations in Use Exercises 31 .1 Look at A. Complete these collocations. 1 to a company on the stock market 2 to a new product 3 to a profit 4 to bankrupt 5 to into business 6 to into partnership 7 to market research 8 to public 9 to up a business 10 to a loss 3 1.2 Match the newspaper headlines 1-6 with the topics of the stories a—f. 1 BUSINESS GOES UNDER 2 STIFF C O M P E T I T I O N FOR LOCAL FIRM 3 B U S I N E S S B O O M I N G IN T H E A R E A 4 JACKSON'S STRIKE SUCCESSFUL DEAL W I T H JAPAN 5 ICE CREAM COMPANY TO BE FLOATED 6 PAPER COMPANY EXPECTED TO FOLD a) a company wins a promising new contract b) a rival company is causing problems c) a firm is going to sell shares for the first time d ) a company has ceased trading e) a company may go out of business f) local companies ' sales figures are looking good 3 1 . 3 Choose the correct collocation. 1 O u r company sets a high value I price I cost on after-sales service. 2 Competit ion to earn I win I achieve the contract was strong I stiff I hard. 3 You need a wide range of skills in order to work / run I go a successful business. 4 H o w long have you been doing I making I getting business with China for? 5 The annual takeover I overtake I turnover I overturn of our company is growing rapidly. 6 It's my job to weigh I balance I add the budget. 7 We've put in a very competitive offer I bid I deal so I hope we'll get the job. 8 We've been doing rapid I stiff'I brisk business all morning. 3 1.4 Fill the gaps in this local magazine article. Jan Vickers now (1) a successful bicycle company in the t o w n . He set it (2) ten years ago to cater for students and he has done extremely wel l . He (3) a lot of rental business w i th the tourist trade at local hotels. In his first year of operations he (4) a loss, but his sales (5) for his second year showed an upturn and he has never looked back since. Indeed you could say that (6) is currently booming as he has just (7) an important new contract w i th a chain of fitness centres. There was stiff (8) but Jan (9) in a bid which was more attractive than anything that (10) companies could offer. So, the deal was (11) As a result Jan's company is planning to (12) 20 new jobs. When asked to explain the (13) of his success, Jan puts it down to his company's emphasis on after-sales (14) Choose an article f rom the magazine Management Today, some of which are available online at www.clickmt.com/public/home/. Make a note of any interesting collocations you find. ®||sfe^ Mr Daffy got very few customers after he decided to float his business. English Collocations in Use 67 Academic wri t ing I: giving opinions Reviewing the work of academics Look at these extracts from reviews in academic journals. In 1998, Lucas Georgescu published the results of his groundbreaking research on genetics. His latest paper also makes a significant contribution to the field. He sets out some powerful arguments which will shape1 our thinking for years to come. 1 influence Partridge strenuously defends her theory, which has come under attack recently in several journals. She argues that the Prime Minister played a central role in the political crisis of 1811, and goes into great detail to support her argument. In this latest book. Marina Kass gives an account of Karl Marx's philosophy and provides evidence to support the claim that Garpov seriously misinterpreted Marx. In addition, the book offers a concise2 summary of the present state of Marxist philosophy. 2 short and clear Nathan Peel attempts to establish a connection between mobile phone use and physical damage to users' brains, but he does not offer irrefutable proof3 and the statistics do not show any significant trends. absolute proof, impossible to prove wrong Stating things strongly and less strongly The sentences below express opinions, either strongly or less strongly. Strong expressions of opin ion The invention of the steam engine was the key factor in the birth of the industrial revolution. The events of 1954 are a perfect example of how political leaders make misjudgements that have serious long-term effects. This is a clear illustration of the importance of a strong monetary policy. Less strong express ions of op in ion The figures offer a tentative explanation of the causes of acid rain pollution, [an explanation given by someone who is not totally certain that it is the correct explanation] The statistics broadly support the view that the economy is heading towards recession. O t h e r general academic collocations There is a strong tendency in the work of some linguists to suggest that spoken language is inferior to written language. We must first gather evidence, then carry out a detailed study of all the factors that play a part in social conditioning. You cannot expect your claim to be accepted if you cannot offer supporting evidence. Simon Hart challenges the theory of social change put forward by Professor Kemp. It is important in academic writing always to acknowledge your sources. If you fail to do this, you will commit plagiarism, [use another person's idea or a part of their work and pretend that it is your own] ERROR WARNING We do research or carry out research, NOT make research. Someone puts forward a theory or proposes a theory, NOT gives a theory. 68 English Collocations in Use Exercises 33 .1 Look at A and fill the gaps in this article about collocations. Collocations in English (1) into a n u m b e r of different categories. In this article I should like to d raw a (2) be tween 'ord inary ' collocations and those that are so fixed that they can be called idioms. Al though my main focus is on 'ord inary ' collocations, I shall also to some extent (3) idioms into considerat ion too. I plan to (4) a n u m b e r of quest ions abou t learning collocations in a foreign or second language. I shall a t tempt to answer these quest ions by (5) reference to the work of the leading writers in the field. My in ten t ion is to m a k e a strong (6) for a m o r e intensive focus on collocation in the language learning process. I shall also (7) on issues such as p ronunc ia t ion . 3 3 . 2 Look at B and C and complete these collocations. 1 the significance of a factor 6 firmly to a belief 2 argue something very 7 attention to a new trend 3 an analogy 8 emphasis on one factor 4 support to an argument 9 disagree with someone 5 put an argument 10 a conclusion 3 3 . 3 Choose the correct collocation. 1 This paper proposes I presents I offers the case for the complete revision of the theory. 2 Recent research hints / explains / suggests that Jackson's theory of economic development is flawed. 3 The author of the book adopts f adapts I affects an unusual position on the topic. 4 The writer of the article explains t states / declares his opinion very clearly. 5 The article concludes by briefly I shortly I precisely summarising the main points that the author wishes to put across. 6 The writer does I draws I creates some interesting parallels between life now and life in the Middle Ages. 7 I keep I take / hold firmly to my belief in the importance of basic human rights. 8 The book rises I arises I raises some key questions but fails to deal with them in a satisfactory manner. 3 3 . 4 Correct the nine collocation errors in this review of an academic article. Kerr takes in a controversial position in his latest this. He pulls attention to recent research which, he article. He gets forward the argument that claims, makes support for his argument. However, differences in behaviour between the sexes can be he fails to draw a number of important factors into explained totally by the genes. He attempts to do a consideration. He also gives no reference to the case for educating boys and girls separately in their important work of Potter and Sinclair in this field. I primary school years. He argues, occasionally am sure that I will not be alone in disagreeing highly persuadingly, that both sexes would benefit from with many of his conclusions. i Look up the words theory, research and argument (with its academic meaning) in a good learner's dictionary. Make a note of any other interesting collocations that you find. English Collocations in Use 71 34 Laws and punishments Verbs t h a t c o l l o c a t e w i t h law uphold/enforce^ We must all observe the law at all times, [formal] People who refuse to obey the law should be punished, [less formal] A new law has been introduced/passed forbidding the use of mobile phones while driving. The company acted within the law as regards the rights of its employees, [formal] It is the job of the police to uphold/enforce the law. [make sure that people obey the law] Noun and verb collocations The new law forbids/prohibits smoking in all public places, [the law does not allow] The rules permit/al low members to bring guests into the club only at weekends. These rules/regulations apply to all students, not just new ones, [the rules are for] If we follow the rules, at least 20 people must be present at the meeting, [do what the rules say] The regulations require/stipulate that all students must register for the course, [formal: the rules say that] We have to comply with the regulations concerning the testing of equipment, [formal: do what the rules say] I hope we can bend the rules and let her take the exam on another day. [informal: break the rules in a way that is not considered important] Punishments collocation carry out an investigation appear in court go on trial reach a verdict a fair trial be severely punished pay/face a heavy fine face the death penalty act as a deterrent suffer the consequences a harsh penalty/sentence a hard legal battle win a case example Police are carrying out an investigation into a major theft in a factory in Woodvale. The trial starts today but the witnesses will be appearing in court tomorrow. George Ar thur Lode, accused of murdering his wife, went on tr ial today. The jury are expected to take several days to reach a verdict. It now seems impossible that Harold Graves can receive a fair t r ia l , given the media publicity surrounding his case. That judge believes that all shoplifters should be severely punished. People who park on double yellow lines face a heavy fine. If he is found guilty of murder, he will have to face the death penalty. People often support the death penalty because they say it acts as a deterrent. Anyone who commits a crime has to suffer the consequences. Some judges are more likely to give harsh sentences than others. Af ter a hard legal bat t le , she won compensation for the accident. You will need a very good lawyer if you are going to have any hope of winning your case. 11 English Collocations in Use Exercises 34 .1 Choose the correct verb from A to fill the gaps in this paragraph. Use each verb once only and put it in the correct form. In law-abiding societies ordinary citizens are usually happy to (1) or (2) the law. But there are also rather different societies w h e r e most people feel that it is not such a serious mat te r to (3) t h e law. In such places, people do not seem to (4) the law and even the most honest of citizens does not expect always to (5) wi thin it. The rulers of such societies have no difficulty in (6) or (7) n e w laws but the police have considerable problems w h e n it comes to (8) or (9) those laws. 3 4 . 2 Match the beginning of each sentence on the left with its ending on the right. 1 The rules apply with the regulations. 2 The rules prohibit to all students in the college. 3 The rules allow students the rules to allow Mary to submit her coursework a little late. 4 The regulations stipulate to book college guestrooms at weekends. 5 Most students follow the use of mobile phones in class. 6 The authorities bent that coursework must be handed in on time. 7 All students must comply the rules without too many complaints. 3 4 . 3 Put these events in a crime story in order. a) A number of witnesses appear in court. b) Bill Sikes goes on trial. c) Bill Sikes is found guilty. d) Bill Sikes is severely punished. e) Bill Sikes robs a bank. f) The jury reaches its verdict. g) The police carry out an investigation. 3 4 . 4 Answer these questions using one of the collocations from C opposite. 1 Wha t does every lawyer in a trial hope to do? 2 Wha t does every wrongly accused person who appears in court hope to receive? 3 Wha t do the police do after a major crime is committed? 4 Wha t may happen to people in some countries if they are found guilty of a very serious crime like murder or terrorism? 5 H o w might the death penalty help to prevent serious crime? 6 Wha t does the jury have to do at the end of a trial? 7 What kind of punishments does a hard-hearted judge give? 8 What kind of fine might a judge impose if the offence is quite serious? 3 4 . 5 Rewrite each sentence using the word in brackets, so that it keeps the same meaning. 1 Everyone must observe these regulations. (COMPLY) 2 All citizens must obey these rules, (APPLY) 3 The jury found the accused guilty, (REACHED) 4 The police are investigating the bank robbery. (INVESTIGATION) 5 Our company would never break the law. (ACTS) 6 The rules prohibit eating and drinking in the classrooms. (ALLOW STUDENTS) English Collocations in Use 73 News Collocations about newspapers collocation a (news) story breaks news comes in news leaks out hit the headlines make headlines front-page headline the latest news be headline/front-page news item of news run a story [publish a story] flick through the newspaper example The singer was out of the country when the story about his wife broke. TV newscaster: News has just c o m e in of an earthquake. Although the two stars tr ied to keep their relationship secret, news of it soon leaked out. The scandal is expected to hi t t h e headlines tomorrow. A dramatic story like that wil l make headlines wor ld-wide. The scandal was the front-page headline in all the newspapers. T h e latest news f rom the earthquake zone is more hopeful. Any story about the Royal Family wil l be headline/front-page news in Britain. The main i t e m of news today is the earthquake in Broskva City. The Daily Times recently ran a story about an affair between a famous rock star and a politician. He flicked through the newspaper as he didn't have time to read it properly. T h e language of news stories MINISTER GIVES THE GO-AHEAD TO PLANS In a surprising turn of events last night, the government agreed to plans for the development of the City. Interested parties1 will hold talks throughout the week. 1 people or groups who have a connection with a particular situation, event, etc. MINISTER QUITS The Arts Minister has resigned after only six months in the t o p job. He has attracted a t tent ion over his controversial dec is ion to re-introduce charges for museum entry. PEACE TALKS END IN FAILURE Peace ta lks between the Eastern Liberation Army and the government of Karavia b r o k e d o w n last night. Civil war is now likely. ANTI-SMOKING CAMPAIGN The Minister for Health today outlined plans for a national anti-smoking campaign. The government intends to launch the campaign in the new year. T O U R I S T T A K E N C A P T I V E A tourist was taken hostage when rebel troops seized control of St Pips Airport last night. The government has lost control of the area. Our reporter in St Pips is keeping a close watch on the situation and we shall be keeping you informed as the news develops. LIGHTNING STRIKES A building caught fire when lightning struck a farm in Hampshire yesterday. Fortunately there was no loss of life. ER W A R N I N G Note that we say the latest news, NOT the tes* news. 76 English Collocations in Use Exercises 36.1 Complete the collocations in these descriptions of TV programmes. 'Pick of the week' means 'most highly recommended programmes for the week*. Our Dick of the week Monday 7.00-7.30pm BBC1 Tuesday 8.15-9.00pm ITV2 Wednesday 10.25-11.25pm DTV Thursday 8.00-8.45pm KTV3 Friday 9.15-9.55pm MBC Saturday 6.30-7pm QSRTV Sunday 5.30-6.30pm LAK3 The news from the world solo balloon attempt in this 30-minute documentary with live pictures from the balloon. Through the Window: a unique look at the private residences of the celebrities who headlines around the world. Last year, rock star Izzy Arbuttle was news. But where is he now? Jo Prees investigates the star who became a very private person. When news out that singer Millie Logan was seeking a divorce from Hal Daker, no one believed it. Millie tells her own story. The Deenazon drug scandal which the headlines last year left 10,000 people with health problems. A major newspaper a story claiming that scientists had not done proper tests. But who was to blame? The famine in Geura was the - headline on every major newspaper last year. But what is life like for the people of Geura now? Next Sunday, European Heads of State will a news conference to end their summit. It could contain important developments. 3 6 . 2 Complete the crossword. Across 1 The parties could not agree and the talks broke 4 The plan got the -ahead yesterday. 6 We must keep a watch on the dollar-euro exchange rate. 7 Big news stories do this. Down 2 The Minister outlined for a new university funding system. 3 I don' t really read the newspaper, I usually just through it. 5 There was an interesting news in the local paper yesterday. 3 6 . 3 Complete the collocations. 1 In a horrific of events, ten people who were taken hostage have been murdered in cold blood. We will you informed as more news in. 2 Rebel troops control of the capital of Jalamaa last night. Meanwhile , five police officers were captive by rebels in the south of the country. 3 Lightning a house yesterday which immediately fire. 4 The government will talks with all parties to try to end the strike. 5 Charles Ankram is to quit the job of personal adviser to the President. He recently objected to a decision to cut next year's health budget. 6 The government has a campaign to clean up the countryside. English Collocations in Use 77 Money Spending money Here are some verbs which often collocate with money. collocation spend money (on) save money waste/squander money (on) change money throw money around th row money at donate money (to) meaning give money as payment for something keep money for use in the future spend money in a bad way; squander is stronger and is only used about large sums of money exchange one currency for another, e.g. dollars for euros spend money in an obvious and careless way on unnecessary things spend a lot of money, possibly more than necessary, trying to solve a problem give money to help society in some way example Juan spends a lot of money on travelling. We're saving a l itt le m o n e y each month to buy a new car next year. Sara wasted/squandered all her money on clothes and fast cars. You can change some money at the airport. If Jim keeps on throwing his money around like that, he soon won't have any left. The government think they can solve the problem by th rowing m o n e y at it. The business donates a lot of money each year to charity. Prices Many collocations including the word price are connected with height. Prices can be high or low. If they are very low, they may be called (usually by advertisers) rock-bottom prices. Prices may increase, prices go up and prices rise. If they go up very fast we say that prices soar. Occasionally prices go down. If you say that something is reasonably priced, you think it is neither too cheap nor too expensive. Calling something a ridiculous price may mean it is much too cheap or much too expensive. Getting money Henry and his brother grew up in a family where money was always tight1. Henry hoped that when he was grown-up, money would be never be in short supply for him. Henry's brother only wanted a steady income but Henry wasn' t interested in just earning a good salary, he wanted to make big money2 , to be seriously rich3. He started making money at school when he sold the sandwiches his mother had made him to other children. He also worked in his school holidays to earn money. He put this money in a bank account and hardly ever made a withdrawal4 from it. When he left school, he raised enough money through the bank to buy his first shop. He got a really good deal5 because he found a shop that was going cheap6 . By the time he was twenty he had already made a small fortune7 though, of course, most of his money was tied up 8 in his business. there wasn't much money informal: a lot of money informal: very rich took money out of the bank informal: got a bargain informal: selling for a low price made a large amount of money not available for spending because it was needed for his business SEfl & « F J 78 English Collocations in Use Exercises 38 .1 Use a word from the box in the correct form to complete the extracts from news broadcasts. go horrors join avert fight open rage 38.2 1 The president said he is ready to to war against CoUocania. He said he had done everything possible to war, but now there was no alternative. A two hour battle in the Raguni district today after troops fire on rebel positions. J The army will continue to the war against the drug barons . The president said that young persons who the army must expect to fight to defend their country. They would experience the of war, but they must be brave. Rewrite the sentences, replacing the words in brackets with collocations from the opposite page. 1 The war between Adverbia and CoUocania (started) in 1983 after a dispute over territory in the northern province. At first there were just (small events) but it soon turned into (a full- scale war). The war ended after (a battle which finally decided the course of events) in 1987. 2 There was (very violent fighting) in the capital city yesterday. United Nat ions (forces who will maintain peace) are expected to enter the city as soon as (the armies say they will stop firing at each other). 3 Forces sent in to (make the peace continue) in the troubled region of Phrasalia had to (turn back) after they came (within the firing distance) of rebel artillery. 4 The Sornak Republic today (officially stated that it was at war) against Hobrania . 5 Armed troops were sent in to (bring order again) after the riots and violence of last week. 6 Even though the two sides (put their names to a document officially stating that the war was at an end) last July, fighting has started again and hopes for (a peace which might continue for a long time) are fading. 7 As more of our soldiers were killed or (captured and put in prison), (people who were actively promoting peace) organised demonstrat ions against the unpopular war. 8 Representatives of the two sides are meeting in Zurich in an at tempt to (make peace) in the troubled region. It is hoped that they will (have negotiations and agree the details for peace) which both governments can accept. 38.3 Correct the collocation errors in these sentences. 1 The police fought a walking battle with a group of violent demonstrators . 2 I feel we are missing the battle to persuade the management to increase our salaries. 3 The students made up a heroic fight against the plan to increase course fees. 4 I was surprised that the Management Committee sent no resistance to our demands. 5 A tiny baby with a rare heart condit ion is fighting his life in the General Hospital tonight. 38.4 Use your dictionary to find two more collocations for each of these words . army soldier battle weapon to fight peace 1 Look at the Peace section of the United Nations website — www.un.org/peace/. Make a note of any interesting collocations that you find there. English Collocations in Use 8 I Global problems The environment Look at these extracts from letters to an international magazine. Your article on climate change was excellent. Rising sea levels and the increase in greenhouse gases1 are the result of our actions. We are disturbing the ecological balance everywhere, as can be seen in the decrease in fish stocks2 in the oceans. 1 gases which cause the greenhouse effect, especially carbon dioxide 2 the number of fish It is clear thai we must tackle pollution before it is too late. Exhaust fumes from millions of vehicles cw\ci the burning of fossil fuels are causing irreparable4 damage to our environment. 3 fuels such as gas, coal and oil 4 which cannot be repaired (also irreversible) We must accept that we have seriously depleted the ozone layer in the last few decades by our selfish actions. Embracing green politics may be our best hope in the long term, but we Deed urgent short-term measures too. 5 reduced something in size or amount, especially supplies of energy, money, etc. Crops fail year after year in some of the poorest parts of the world. This has brought devastating6 famines to some regions and equally devastating floods to others. We call these natural disasters, but it is human beings who are causing them. 6 causing a lot of damage or destruction Poverty Look at this radio interview with Pascal Delrio, an international expert, talking about poverty. Interviewer: Mr Delrio, do you believe we can solve the problem of world poverty? I am more optimistic now than before. Millions of people have succeeded in escaping poverty in the last decade, but it is also true that in some regions, more people than ever are living below the poverty line, and we must help these people to lift them out of poverty. But how can we achieve that? I accept that there is no simple solution. The widening gulf between rich and poor in some countries is often due to external forces beyond their control. Some of the most deprived regions have large populations living on the margins of society, and it is for these specific groups that we can do most. But poverty is not just an issue for developing countries, is it? We have thousands sleeping rough2 every night in cities like London and New York, and street children in a lot of big cities around the world. I agree, and I accept that children and adults who live on the streets are in desperate need, and that these social conditions breed crime. But so much depends on the global economy. Right now, we have a golden opportunity to combat poverty. Perhaps we cannot eradicate3 poverty altogether, but we can certainly alleviate4 poverty, and that is our challenge. Mr Delrio, thank you very much. 1 an important difference between the ideas, opinions, or situations of two groups of people 2 in the open, without shelter 3 get rid of completely 4 make less serious Delrio: Interviewer: Delrio: Interviewer: Delrio: Interviewer: Other global problems Thousands of people seek political asylum in other countries every year. Most are genuine asylum seekers, but some are economic migrants looking for a better life. Hundreds of people took to the streets to demonstrate about third-world debt repayments. A terrible earthquake hit the region last year. The death toll was massive. The sexual exploitation of children is a world-wide problem, as is child labour. 82 English Collocations in Use Exercises 39.1 Complete the collocations. 1 a rise in the number of asylum 2 to deplete the ozone 3 bad social conditions crime 4 increasing amounts of greenhouse 5 a golden to combat poverty 3 9 . 2 Match sentences 1-5 with sentences a-e . 1 There was a big protest against child labour. 2 There is new evidence of a widening gulf between the wealthy and more deprived sectors of society. 3 There has been some small success in tackling marine pollution. 4 The problem of street children in big cities has become a global crisis. 5 A spokesperson for one of the biggest charities said access for economic migrants should be made easier. 3 9 . 3 Fill in the gaps in this announcement. 6 people w h o rough 7 a massive toll 8 to be in desperate 9 to people out of poverty 10 below the poverty a) There is some evidence to suggest that fish stocks are beginning to rise slightly in the North Sea. b) People wanting to come to this country to escape poverty should be welcomed. c) Large numbers of people took to the streets yesterday to demonstrate against the increasing employment of children in appalling conditions. d) A worldwide study of young people w h o sleep rough has raised universal alarm. e) Figures published today indicate that the divide between the rich and the poor is getting bigger. \ - NV1RONNAENT I — CONCERN Environment Concern is a new magazine for people interested in (1) politics. The first issue includes an article on what happened to local crops when the earthquake (2) Santa Graziela last year. Another feature looks at the problems which (3) repayments are causing for (4) countries and how this affects people who live on the (5) of society there. We appreciate that there is no simple (6) to the problem of poverty in today's wor ld but we have asked four experts what they wou ld do to (7) poverty. Their answers make stimulating reading. 3 9 . 4 Answer these questions about the collocations in A. 1 W h a t will happen if crops fail in an important agricultural area? 2 N a m e two fossil fuels. 3 Name three types of natural disaster. 4 What might a devastating flood do to an area? 5 What could governments do in response to a devastating famine? 6 Wha t are green politics concerned with? 7 What is the cause of rising sea-levels? 8 Why are exhaust fumes an increasing problem? 1 There are many articles on global problems in the New Internationalist magazine. Choose one f rom their website (www.newint.org/) and note any interesting collocations that you find. The magazine also has special articles wr i t ten in an easy style for learners of English. Go to its Teaching Global Issues page. English Collocations in Use 83 It was a lovely place for a picnic.There was a little babbling2 stream and birds were singing in the trees. Then we heard the patter of rain on the leaves above us. Sadly, it was turning into a typical British summers day. low, continuous noise of water flowing over stones No sound broke the silence of the wintry landscape. Then suddenly two shots rang out and we heard the piercing3 cry of a dying bird. The hunting season had begun. 3 high, loud and unpleasant collocation deafening, ear-splitting excessive background muffled1 shril l2 raucous3 dull grating4 loud/almighty roar music/radio machine sound, noise (used as a countable noun) noise (used uncountably) noise sound voice, laugh laughter thud noise, sound bang, explosion traffic blare (out) hum , whir r example We heard the ear-splitting/deafening sound/noise of three huge military aircraft passing low over our heads. People who make excessive noise after 10 p.m. are very antisocial. When you work in a big office you get used to constant background noise. We could hear the muff led sound of music from the flat above us. Marie has such a shrill voice. 1 can't listen to her for long. 1 could hear raucous laughter coming f rom the party next door. The heavy box fell off the shelf on to the carpet with a dull thud. The big old iron door made a grat ing noise as it opened. Suddenly there was a loud / an a lmighty bang, the lights went out and smoked poured f rom the back of the TV set. 1 couldn't sleep wi th the constant roar of the traffic outside my window. Loud music was blaring out of the radio in the kitchen. As we talked to the factory owner, the machines hummed/wh i r red in the background. 1 made quieter/or less clear (e.g. by the walls) 4 harsh, unpleasant sound 2 loud, high sound that is unpleasant or painful 5 make a continuous low sound to listen to 6 make a low, soft, continuous sound loud and unpleasant Verbs and sounds A person can give a sigh, a laugh, a loud cry, a cry of pain/surprise/alarm, a gasp, a groan. A person, animal or thing can make a scratching/clicking/rustling/crackling sound. 86 English Collocations in Use 41 Sound Sounds in nature Look at these extracts from short stories. Ai first mere was an eerie1 silence, then there was a rumble of thunder in the distance. So«>n the wind was whistling through the trees and we could hear the waves crashing on the beach. The storm had begun. 1 strange in a frightening and mysterious way B Ever/da/ sounds Exercises 41.1 Look at A. Choose the correct collocation. My friends and I went camping this weekend. We put up our tent in a lovely spot beside a (1) babbling / whistling stream. The birds were (2) piercing /singing and it felt great to be so far from the noisy traffic of the town. The weather wasn't very good but it was cosy listening to the (3) rumble /patter of rain on the roof of the tent. When it eventually stopped there was (4) an eerie /a piercing silence all around us. The silence was suddenly (5) broken /closed when a shot (6) crashed I rang out. Someone was shooting rabbits. 4 1 . 2 Are these noises loud or soft? Write L (loud) or S (soft) after each collocation. 1 a deafening sound 7 an almighty bang 2 a dull thud 8 an ear-splitting noise 3 music blaring out 9 a machine humming 4 a machine whirring 10 someone giving a sigh 5 raucous laughter 11 leaves making a rustling sound 6 a shrill voice 12 a muffled sound 4 1.3 Match each statement 1-8 with a response a-h . 41.4 1 think those people might have had too much to drink. Yes, it really is too much to play such loud music after midnight. Did the group react negatively to the news that the flight was delayed? Yes, 1 thought I heard a rumble of thunder in the distance. Our neighbours really make excessive noise, I think. I hate it when chalk makes that horrible noise on the board. Yes, she gave a cry of pain. Yes, the roar of the traffic kept me awake most of the night. I think this wonderful weather is going to change soon. Yes, you can tell by their raucous laughter. It's a comfortable hotel but it's a bit noisy, isn't it? Yes, I was woken by what sounded like a loud explosion. ' Did you hear that almighty bang in the middle of the night? Yes, they all gave a groan of disappointment. <S Did the child react when she had the injection? Yes, it's a horrible grating sound, isn't it? \> Answer these questions. 1 What is more likely to make a dull thud - a person falling out of bed onto a carpeted floor in the room above you or a heavy metal box falling onto a stone floor? 2 Who is more likely to have shrill voices - primary schoolchildren or old age pensioners? 3 If waves are crashing on the beach, are they more likely to be little waves or big waves? 4 If you hear a piercing cry, is it more likely to be from a machine or from a bird? 5 What is more likely to make an ear-splitting noise - a group of motorbikes roaring past or a large waterfall in a fast-running river? English Collocations in Use 87 Distance and size Distance collocation a considerable/long/short distance from within commuting/ walking distance cover/travel (a distance of) x kilometres far-off/far-flung places at close range neighbouring town/ country/area example The hotel is a considerable distance f rom the beach, [quite a long way] We have to live wi th in c o m m u t i n g distance of my husband's office. [where it is possible to travel to work every day] On our cycling tour we managed to cover (a distance of) about 40 ki lometres a day. Bill is always travelling to far-off/far-flung places, [distant] I've never seen a member of the royal family at such close range before. [so near] Many people who work here actually live in neighbouring towns. Little, small and large We talk about low prices, low wages, low levels. ( N O T small) We say small quantities, small numbers, small amounts , a small increase. ( N O T little) The opposite is large quantities, large numbers , large amounts , a large increase. Similarly, we talk about problems or objects being on a large scale or on a small scale: If you are walking in the mountains you need a large scale map. The UK has similar problems to the USA, but on a smaller scale. In informal spoken English we often use little after another adjective to make it sound more friendly, e.g. poor little Joe, dear little dog, nice little room. Little can also mean young, e.g. little brother [informal: younger brother, N O T small brother; the opposite is big brother] . Sometimes little or small suggests that something is not very important , e.g. a little problem, I've got a lot of little things to do , to make someone look small, to make small talk [talk socially, about unimportant subjects]. O t h e r size collocations We can talk about fat books and slim books as well as fat people and slim people. Only people (not books) can be p lump or skinny or painfully thin. We use a great deal of ( N O T large or -big) in contexts like this: She should be able to help you because she has a great deal of time / a great deal of money / a great deal of energy / a great deal of enthusiasm. Major and minor often collocate with words relating to problems or points in an argument, e.g. major/minor difference, major/minor change, major/minor effect, major/minor difficulty, major/minor point, major/minor issues, major/minor factor. Take care with the different collocations that go with tall and high.We talk about tall people, tall trees, tall buildings, but high mountains, high prices, high interest rates, high heels, high t ide, high j u m p . Make a note of any collocations wi th tall or high as you notice them. 88 English Collocations in Use Exercises 4 3 . 1 Look at A and choose the right collocation to complete each of these sentences. 1 Shocking pink, lime green and orange are very and I personally prefer to wear more 2 I think I'll wear my dark blue sweater and those grey trousers. The well together. 3 When I washed my red and white football shirt, the and it's ruined now! 4 I don' t think it is a good idea to wear a purple top with orange trousers and red shoes - the terribly, in my opinion. 5 I like that red brooch on your black dress - it adds a lovely - 6 My son always washes new jeans so that the before he wears them. 4 3 . 2 Match the t w o halves of each collocation. 1 a candle 2 a beam 3 pitch 4 a faint 5 a star 6 pale 7 green 8 a grey 9 cast 10 blacken dark glow area someone's name of light a shadow green flickers twinkles issues 4 3 . 3 Rewrite each sentence using the word in brackets, so that it keeps the same meaning. 1 The police are looking for someone who can explain how the accident happened, (SHED) 2 He has always been in an inferior position to his world-famous father, (SHADOW) 3 In the east the sky had some golden shades in it. (TINGE) 4 Joe's crazy behaviour certainly brightens up our dull office. (COLOUR) 5 Very bright sun can make driving difficult at this time of day. (GLARE) 6 She walked until the fire was just a little light in the distance, (PINPOINT) 7 Darkness was falling and Jill began to feel a little afraid, (GROWING) 8 The newspapers seem to be trying to destroy the minister's reputation. (BLACKEN) 4 3 . 4 N o w answer these questions about the collocations in exercise 43.2 1 W h a t probably causes a candle to flicker? 2 A beam of light is often used about the headlights of a car or the light of a torch. What similar phrase is used about sunlight? 3 Would you use pitch black to describe someone's hair or the night? 4 If you see a light as a faint glow is it likely to be far away or near to you? 5 What is the difference in meaning between saying that a star shines and a star twinkles} 6 What kind of issues are green issues? 7 W h a t do you feel about something if you say that it is a grey area? 8 W h a t sort of thing might cast a shadow over a special celebration? 9 If Mark accuses Karen of 'blackening his name ' , what has Karen done? 10 If something adds colour to someone's life or to a story, what happens to the life or the story? English Collocations in Use 91 Texture Adjectives and their opposites for describing textures adjective + noun dry hair dry skin smooth skin, surface, complexion smooth water, sea smooth road, flight soft pillow, bed, ground tender meat sharp pencil, knife opposite adjective + noun greasy hair oily skin rough skin, surface, complexion choppy or rough water, sea bumpy road, flight hard or f i rm pillow, bed, ground tough meat blunt pencil, knife example You need to wash greasy hair more often than you need to wash dry hair. This cream is good for dry skin — that one would be better for oily skin. Use this cream and the rough skin on your hands wil l soon become smooth 1 hope the sea wi l l be smooth today - 1 hate rough seas. The outward fl ight was very bumpy. 1 hope the return flight is smoother . I'd much rather sleep with a f i r m pil low than a very soft pillow. It's deliciously tender m e a t - how did you cook it? My steak is always tough. This pencil's blunt — 1 can't work unless 1 have a good sharp pencil. Verbs relating to textures When the temperature gets warmer, ice melts but snow melts or snow thaws. As time goes by, fruit goes soft and bread goes hard. A voice softens or hardens [gets more friendly or gets Jess friendly] and an at t i tude softens or hardens, (gets less severe or gets more severe] Other texture words with their collocations HAVEVOUR PHOTOS PRINTED H E R E MATT FINISH OR GLOSS FINISH1 r TRY OUR YOGURT - smooth, creamy texture delicious with finely chopped2 cucumber, coarse grain3 sea saJt and crushed garlic. NATURAL HAIR PRODUCTS for beaut i fu l glossy hair. A 0 i 0 * CLEANO POLISH will get rid of those marks on paint and wallpaper made by greasy hands and sticky fingers. some today. J 1 You can paint your walls using either matt paint or gloss paint. Gloss paint and gloss photos have a shinier finish than matt. 2 cut into small pieces, opposite would be coarsely chopped 3 large grains of salt rather than small or fine grains D Metaphorical uses of texture words If things go smoothly, they go well. If someone has a sharp tongue, they say unkind things. If you're in a difficult position, you can say that you're in a sticky situation, [informal] Coarse jokes are vulgar jokes, jokes in bad taste. Velvety sky is dark and deep with a beautiful soft smooth quality like the cloth velvet. 92 English Collocations in Use Exercises 44 .1 Can you remember the pairs of adjectives at A on the opposite page? Change the underlined words to their opposite meaning. 1 I always prefer to sleep on a soft pillow. H o w about you? 2 My grandmother had very rough skin, which surprised me as a child. 3 Remember the Parazo restaurant? It was where we had the really tender lamb chops. 4 I found an old sharp penknife in the pocket of a jacket I hadn ' t worn for years. 5 The surface of the lake was very rough as we set out on our fishing trip. 6 Can you help me? I'm looking for a shampoo for dry hair. 7 I've always had rather dry skin, so I always use Milona face cream. 8 We had a smooth flight over the mountains. 4 4 . 2 Use collocations from the opposite page to complete the second speakers ' answers. 1 Customer: (In a photo-lab) Is there a choice of finish for the prints? Assistant: Yes. You can either have or 2 Roger: The temperature was minus five yesterday; it's plus eight today! Nelly: Yes. And the ice on the lake has already 3 Hilda: What 's that loaf of bread like now? It's about four days old. Bill: I'm afraid it has 4 Tim: I think the protesters are very angry about this new road, and getting angrier. Elana: Yes, I think attitudes 5 Sheila: There are some oranges in the bowl, but I'm afraid they may be old. Kate: M m . Yes. They are rather old. They're beginning 4 4 . 3 Complete the crossword. Across 3 the texture of yogurt 4 the texture of large grains of sand 5 It's warm; the snow's beginning to 6 The little child had fingers after eating chocolate. Down 1 adjective meaning 'has a beautiful soft, smooth quality or appearance, usually dark or deep' 2 The couple spoke very angrily at first, but their softened when they realised it was a mistake. 4 4 . 4 Find four collocations on the opposite page that have positive associations and four that have negative associations. i Find more collocations describing texture in English language magazine articles or advertisements about beauty and health products, or about fabrics and furnishings. English Collocations in Use 93 46 1 Number and frequency C o m m e n t i n g on how much or how many These adjectives collocate strongly with both number and amount. Try to use them instead of small or large where appropriate. Talking about numbers minute /main ' ju i t / enormous substantial y tiny- NUMBER, A M O U N T significant surprising considerable collocation odd/even numbers a decline/drop in the number of an increase/rise in the number of come to a total of birth rate rises/falls a unit of currency/ measurement example 51 is an odd n u m b e r - 50 is an even n u m b e r There's been a recent decline in the n u m b e r of boys joining the army. The increase in the n u m b e r of homeless people is worrying. If we add up all the figures it comes to a to ta l of 794. Over the last few years the b i r th ra te has been falling. The standard unit of currency in most EU countries is the euro. comments odd numbers = 1,3,5 etc. even numbers = 2,4, 6 etc. Drop is more informal than decline. Rise is slightly more informal than increase. A calculation comes to a tota l of x; the person calculating arrives at a total of x. A ra te can also drop or decline as well as fall. We also talk about a unit of electricity, unit of length. Frequency Widespread [existing or happening in many places or among peoplej collocates strongly with a lot of words relating to either atti tude (widespread interest, widespread support) or problems (widespread damage, widespread poverty): There has been widespread support for the government's new policy on education. The heavy winds at the weekend have caused widespread damage. Rare (infrequent and special] collocates with things in the natural world (rare disease, rare bird, rare species) and also with collectable items of special interest (rare stamps). If someone repeatedly does something that annoys you, you can use the expression keeps asking, keeps interrupting, keeps hitting, etc. This is common in informal spoken English: Please don ' t keep interrupting me when I'm trying to work. The children keep asking me when we're going to buy a new computer. Constant and continual also convey the idea of something happening repeatedly: I couldn' t get on with my work today because of constant interruptions - the phone kept ringing every five minutes. It was a mistake to go on holiday with them. Their continual complaining drove us mad. Describing graphs and charts Profits rose sharply/steeply in July, but fell sharply/steeply in September. There was a dramatic rise/fall in the number of students applying to university this year. Numbers of mature students have increased steadily/gradually since the 1960s. The number of crimes committed in the city has remained constant/stable since 2 0 0 1 . 96 English Collocations in Use Exercises 46.1 Use adjectives from A opposite instead of the underlined words to complete the collocations. 1 I only put a very small amount of chilli in the soup but it was still too hot for some people. 2 There was an extremely large amount of information to read, 5,000 pages, which was far too much for one person to absorb. 3 We can't ignore the fact that a small but important number of people disagree with the plan. 4 There was an unexpected number of people at the meeting who had never voted in their lives. 5 The government's new budget will mean that a rather large number of people will have to pay more in taxes. (Give two answers.) 4 6 . 2 Choose the correct collocation. 1 17, 29 and 395 are all strange / odd / unequal numbers. 2 Many European countries use the euro as their standard unit of money I value f currency. 3 26 , 8 and 192 are all equal I level I even numbers. 4 The bill comes /arrives I gets to a total of 287 dollars. 5 The unemployment rate is falling / decreasing / lowering. 4 6 . 3 Use words from the box to complete the news reports. You may use the words more than once. decline rare keep widespread drop fall rise Following (1) criticism of the government's environmental policy and a recent report showing a (2) in the numbers of seabirds along the nation's coastline, a scheme has been announced which, it is hoped, will result in a (3) in the population of birds, especially of those (4) species which are seriously threatened with extinction. Unfortunately, last year's storms did (5) damage to homes in the north, and the damage is still visible in many places. One local resident complained 'We (6) asking the authorities when we will be compensated. They (7) promising to sort it out but then nothing happens.' There has been a steady (8) in the number of severe storms in the area, with an average of two per year recorded in the 1980s and more than five per year now. A l t h o u g h only a relat ively small number of people die f r om (9) diseases each year, a p lan to bu i ld a research centre in to such diseases has received (10) suppor t f r om all pol i t ical parties. ' I 'm g lad to say t ha t we ZT*?&a have seen a steady (11) in the incidence of these diseases/ a medical expert said. 'But we must be careful . The numbers could (12) again i f we do not cont inue to suppor t research.' 4 6 . 4 Write sentences describing the sales figures in the chart. Use all the collocations from D. Sales of mobile phones 35000 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 •111IHI..1I I I I 1 1 1 1 I I I I I I Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec English Collocations in Use 97 1 Movement and speed S y n o n y m s of fast adjective fast quick rapid* speedy* swif t* p rompt* brisk hasty collocations car, train, lane, computer, pace look, glance, answer, decision, shower, lunch growth, decline, change, progress, increase, movement recovery, conclusion, response, access action, response, reaction, recovery payment, reply, response walk, pace, business, efficiency decision, exit, conclusion, words examples The fast t ra in to London only takes 45 minutes. 1 don't like driving in the fast lane on the motorway. We had a quick glance at the menu and went in. 1 think I'll have a quick shower before going out. There has been a rapid decline in the number of sea-birds visiting the island each year. The builders made rapid progress with the new stadium. She made a speedy recovery after her operation. The new web pages provide speedy access to airline and train timetables for 52 countries. The government took swift action to change the law. This is an extremely urgent matter. 1 hope you will be able to give us a swift response. P r o m p t payment of bills is a good idea. 1 was happy that my letter received such a p r o m p t reply. We had a brisk walk before lunch. She does everything with brisk efficiency. We should not make a hasty decision; we may regret it later. He made a hasty exit when he saw his wife enter the room. * these are more formal Note also these collocations with speed: This car has a top speed of 180 kilometres per hour, [maximum speedj He drove at breakneck speed along the motorway and was soon stopped by the police. (carelessly fast and dangerous] Slow movement and stopping It was fascinating to see the winning goal again in slow motion. We were stuck in slow-moving traffic for an hour on our way to the airport . After the accident the traffic slowed to a crawl and then finally came to a standstill. He always does everything in an unhurried manner, (slow; implies slight criticism] We got up late and had a leisurely breakfast, [done in a relaxed way, without hurrying] I'm trying to learn the violin, but my progress is painfully slow. Changes in speed, movement and direction As it left the city, the train gathered/picked up speed and headed north. We took a shortcut through a nar row side-street and saved ourselves a 15-minute walk. Several roads were closed, so we had to make/ take a detour, [a different or indirect route] I lost my balance and fell off my bike. I lost my footing and fell down the bank into the river. I tried to steer the conversation away from my terrible exam results, [change the subject] She took a few steps towards the bus, then changed her mind and decided not to go after al I turned my bike upside down and tried to repair it. One of the packages I posted went astray and never arrived, [got lost] 98 English Collocations in Use