Using Collocations for Natural English - Elizabeth Walter, Kate Woodford 2010

Collocations for feelings
Review Units 17-20

Study tip

Notice that these collocations are used for emphasis, giving you strong ways to talk about feelings.

Say how you feel

You will already be familiar with many words connected with feelings and emotions. In this unit you will learn some collocations that will help you express those ideas in more interesting ways.

1 Match the sentences 1-5 to words from the box.

admiration • fear • sadness • guilt • happiness

1 My heart leaped when 1 saw that the letter was from Max.

2 I know I was unkind to Emma, and it's been weighing on my conscience.

3 I have a high regard for the teachers in this school.

4 When I saw the rock we had to climb, my courage failed me.

5 It was with a very heavy heart that I decided to resign from my job.

Classroom extra

Ask students to discuss whether they agree or disagree with the statements in Exercise 3.

2 Complete the sentences with words from the box.

admiration • happy • thrilled • scared • dislike

1 When I heard that I'd got the job, I was ... to bits.

2 He had an intense ... of any form of exercise.

3 We were blissfully ... in our new home.

4 She expressed her profound ... for the work of the firefighters.

5 I was ... stiff that my parents would notice the damage to the carpet.

3 Rewrite the sentences using the collocations in brackets.

1 I really admire people who work for charities. (profound admiration)

I have a profound admiration for people who work for charities.

2 I believe that Woody Allen's films are really good. (high regard)

3 I think I would be extremely happy living on a desert island. (blissfully happy)

4 If I had to give a speech at a wedding, I'd be really nervous. (scared stiff)

5 If I'm expecting a call from someone I love, I have a sudden feeling of happiness every time the phone rings. (heart leaps)

6 If I found a wallet full of money lying in the street and kept it, I'd feel guilty about it. (weigh on my conscience)

7 If I knew my friend had been stealing, I'd tell the police, but I'd do it with sadness. (heavy heart)

8 If someone offered me a million pounds, I'd be very happy indeed. (thrilled to bits)

9 When you climb to the top, there's a zip wire to come down. But if you find you're too scared, there's always a ladder. (courage fails you)

10 I really hate modern technology like mobile phones. (intense dislike)

4 Complete a short sentence about the situations 1-6, using the collocations you have learned above. Make sure you use the correct form of the verbs.

1 For my mum's birthday, we bought her a ticket to visit her sister in Canada. When she opened it, she started dancing around the room, shrieking with delight.

She was thrilled to bits ... .

2 When I was at school, I was involved with a gang who used to bully one particular girl. Last week, I heard that this girl still suffers from depression. I can't stop thinking about it, and I feel really bad.

It's ... .

3 I had just gone to bed when I heard a noise coming from downstairs. I was alone in the house, and I just froze in horror.

I was ... .

4 One of Sarah's friends kept asking to borrow money, but he never paid her back. In the end, she had to break off the friendship even though she really liked him and she was sorry about it.

She did it with ... .

5 Ivan was sick of the way his boss treated him. He made up his mind to go and tell him exactly what he thought, but when he got to the door of his boss's office, he just couldn't do it. He hated arguments, and he couldn't afford to lose his job.

His ... .

6 They met each other on holiday, and fell in love straight away. It was a match made in heaven - they absolutely adored each other, and loved spending time together.

They were ... .

5 Complete the sentences using the collocations you have learned above. Make sure you use the correct form of the verbs.

1 I was on a train last week when I noticed, sitting opposite me, none other than Katherine Stockwell! I've always had a ... for her poetry. I did think about speaking to her, but in the end my ... .

2 Olivia and I worked for the same company. It wasn't long before I noticed that my ... every time she came into my office to talk to my boss. Eventually, I managed to ask her out, and we've now had over ten years together.

3 Greta worked for my father for over twenty years, and I know that he always held her in ... . When the company began to fail, he was forced to make her redundant, but I know that he did it with a ... .

4 Kit was the most popular boy in our class, and I was ... when he invited me to tea. He showed me some things his grandfather had given him, including a lovely pocket watch, and for some reason, I was terribly jealous. Anyway, while I was looking at it, I dropped it and broke the glass. I pretended it was an accident, but it wasn't really. It's something that has ... ever since!

5 For some reason, all my children seem to have an ... of dogs. This Alsatian ran up to Millie in the park the other day and she was ... .

Classroom extra

Brainstorm words connected with emotions and feelings. For homework, ask students to look up these words in their dictionaries (making sure they are using a good monolingual learner's dictionary) and see if they can find any more collocations connected with feelings.

Verbs for emotions

These exercises focus on verbs that are used to form collocations with words to do with feelings.

6 Answer the questions. Use a dictionary to help you if necessary.

1 If you contain your anger, do you let other people see that you are angry?

2 If you bear a grudge against someone, do you forgive them?

3 If you derive pleasure from something, does it make you happy or unhappy?

4 If something comes as a shock, were you expecting it to happen?

5 If you dash someone's hopes, will they be pleased or disappointed?

6 If tempers fray, does everyone stay calm?

7 Is it easy to deal with a child who is throwing a tantrum?

8 If someone hurls abuse, do they say nasty or pleasant things?

7 Why is Louise so angry with her husband, Max? Put the verbs in bold in the right place to find out. You will need to change the form of some verbs. Listen to the recording to check your answers.

I know that becoming a father dashed a shock to you, but for goodness sake, you're thirty, not thirteen, and it's time you grew up a bit! It's hard enough dealing with Millie when she bears a tantrum, without you behaving like a spoilt child too. We're both tired, and it's easy for tempers to hurl, but you have to learn to derive your anger. That's just part of being a parent. It would be terrible if Millie grew up containing a grudge against you because you couldn't make the effort to play with her and look after her calmly. And she really shouldn't have to listen to you fraying abuse at me just because you're finding things hard. It makes me really sad that you don't seem to come as very much pleasure from having a child. I feel as if all my hopes for a happy family have been thrown.

8 Complete the sentences with the collocations you have learned above.

1 It's not healthy to bear ... - if you can't forgive others, you will never be happy.

2 It comes as quite a ... to some children to realise that their parents don't know everything.

3 If you have to spend a long time in a small space with other people, it's easy for ... to fray.

4 A lot of football fans seem to enjoy hurling ... at the referee.

5 What's the best thing to do if your child throws a ... in a supermarket?

6 He has his heart set on becoming a firefighter, and I can't bear to see his ... dashed.

7 She's the sort of person who seems to derive ... from the embarrassment of others.

8 There are some situations where, no matter how cross you feel, you just have to contain your ... .

9 What sort of person are you? Take this test set by our life coach Serena Smiles and find out!

What sort of person are vou?

1 If someone threw a surprise party for you, how would you feel?

a I'd be absolutely delighted!

b It would come as a bit of a shock, but I'd probably enjoy it.

c I'd be really angry. I hate parties and I hate surprises.

2 How would you feel if you were given six months paid holiday?

a Awful. I couldn't derive any pleasure from laziness.

b Really excited -1 can think of a hundred things I'd like to do.

c Quite pleased, though I'd miss my colleagues.

3 How do you feel about people who have upset you in the past?

a I'm happy enough now and I don't think it's healthy to bear grudges.

b If one of them walked into the room now, I'd probably punch them.

c Sometimes I feel a bit angry still, but mostly I don't think about them.

4 What would you do if a group of youths started insulting you?

a I'd hurl abuse back at them - it's what they'd deserve.

b I'd ignore them and get away as quickly as possible.

c I'd ask them calmly and firmly to stop.

5 How do you think you would react if you failed an important exam?

a Terrible - I'd feel as if all my hopes had been dashed.

b Disappointed, but I'm basically an optimistic person - I'd probably try again.

c As long as I have my health and my family, I don't really bother too much about anything else

6 Do you enjoy spending time with your family?

a I love it -I wish I could be with them all the time.

b It's OK now and then, but if we spent too long together, tempers usually start to fray.

c Frankly, I can't stand any of my relatives.

7 What would you do if your parents refused to lend you their car?

a I wouldn't expect them to - I'm old enough to make my own travel arrangements.

b To be honest, I'd probably still throw a tantrum like I did when I was little - it still seems to work.

c I'd try to persuade them by offering to clean it afterwards.

8 What would you do if you saw someone kick a dog?

a I don't think I'd be able to contain my anger -I hate people who are cruel to animals.

b Nothing - I'd be too scared that they would kick me too.

c I'd take a photo on my mobile phone and contact the police.

Add up your score

1 a4 b2 c0

2 a0 b4 c2

3 a4 b0 c2

4 a0 b2 c4

5 a0 b2 c4

6 a4 b2 c0

7 a4 b0 c2

8 a4 b2 c0

SERENA smiles SAYS:

10 The four collocations in sentences 1-4 are followed by a specific preposition. Choose the correct preposition to complete each sentence.

1 She seems to derive pleasure out of/from/by humiliating others.

2 Protesters outside the court hurled abuse at/to/on the accused.

3 It came as a shock with/of/to my mother to discover that I hadn't been going to school.

4 A medical error left him with limited sight in one eye, and he has borne a grudge against/for/to doctors ever since.

Study tip

When learning new collocations, pay particular attention ^to prepositions. Use a dictionary to check.