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

Collocations for good and bad
Review Units 1-4

These exercises use collocations from units 1-4, and will help you see how many you have remembered. After each exercise, add up your score to see how well you have done.

1 Complete the sentences.

1 I went to bed, but it took me a long time to fall ... .

2 I was late because of the ... traffic.

3 She sustained serious ... in the accident.

4 I was late home and my mum was ... sick.

5 Our whole family moved to Australia to make a fresh ... .

6 It's not often I read a book that's funny enough to make me ... aloud.

7 When they hadn't come down from the mountain by 6p.m., I decided to ... the alarm.

8 Before then, I hadn't realised the ... extent of the problem.

9 Scientists have made a ... breakthrough in the battle to defeat the disease.

10 She was able to give the police a detailed ... of her attacker.

2 Underline the correct word to complete the collocations.

1 The police describe it as a rough/brutal/strong attack on an innocent woman.

2 The injuries that he obtained/retrieved/sustained were not life-­threatening.

3 Weather experts have issued/spread/proclaimed a warning of possible flooding in the area.

4 As I stepped out onto the stage, my heart was knocking/pounding/ crashing.

5 I slept really profoundly/soundly/strongly on holiday because I was so relaxed.

6 I wanted to make a favourable/important/delighted impression on my new boss.

7 They had no whole/considerable/conclusive proof of his guilt.

8 All the former shops and restaurants are standing/remaining/ leaning empty now.

9 I took a smart/bright/brisk walk around the park.

10 I can't imagine Sam flying into a rage - she's always so peaceful/ even/calm and collected.

3 Match the collocations 1-10 to the definitions a-j.

1 to make cars use a different route    a freshly baked

2 to be a danger to something or someone   b safe and sound

3 someone who has never done an activity before c nasty surprise

4 cooked very recently      d spread rumours

5 an unpleasant shock      e catalogue of errors

6 not harmed or damaged     f grow accustomed to

7 get used to        g pose a threat

8 with very little light      h complete beginner

9 a large number of mistakes    I dimly lit

10 to tell other people personal things about someone j divert traffic

4 Match the two halves of the sentences.

1 She was admitted to hospital    a as a brilliant public speaker.

2 The holiday company     b an area of great natural beauty.

3 She felt faint and      c is freely available from libraries.

4 He has travelled extensively    d denied responsibility for the boating accident.

5 Information of this sort    e her legs buckled under her.

6 After twelve hours of torrential rain,   f throughout Asia and Africa.

7 She's in the enviable position    g the centre of the town was flooded.

8 He opened his mouth and     h out came a torrent of abuse.

9 He quickly earned a reputation    i suffering from breathing difficulties.

10 The have a home in the Pyrenees -   j of not having to work.

5 Correct the word in italics to make a collocation with the word in bold in each sentence.

1 We live in a thickly populated area.  6 I was a bunch of nerves before the exam.

2 The attack happened in full daylight.  7 They keep their house tirelessly clean.

3 The film was launched in a blast of publicity. 8 My suggestion met with a burst of approval

4 I'm ill and tired of your excuses!   9 It was a decisive attempt to humiliate me.

5 There is a flowering romance between Joe and 10 I didn't expect to like the food. I was nicely surprised.

Linda.     

6 Complete the sentences with collocations from the box. Use the correct form of the verbs.

war breaks out • attach importance • talk openly • assume control • seize an opportunity • ignore warning • launch an attack • restore confidence • earthquakes strike • start afresh

1 He joined the army shortly after ... .

2 If we continue to ... about climate change, it will soon be too late.

3 He ... great ... to good manners.

4 These measures are an attempt by the government to ... in the economy.

5 The ... in the middle of the night, devastating the city centre.

6 I had to go to Sydney on business, so while I was there, I ... to visit my sister.

7 Many children find it difficult to ... with their parents about relationships.

8 She used the article to ... on the government's defence policy.

9 He had so many bad memories, he decided to move away and ... .

10 Since the latest coup, the military has ... of the country.

5. Collocations for good and bad

The good side ...

These exercises focus on adjective + noun collocations to do with positive things. Note that it is important to learn the correct adjectives, because it is often the case that other adjectives - even ones with similar meanings - would not sound right to a native speaker of English.

Sound natural

When you are learning new collocations, try to use your own examples to make them more memorable.

Classroom extra

In pairs, students answer the questions.

1 Name a film, book, etc, that has been a huge success in recent years.

2 Give an example of a remarkable sporting achievement.

3 Name someone who you think has a bright future.

4 Name a celebrity or politician that you have a high opinion of and give your reasons.

1 Circle the correct adjective to complete the collocation in each sentence.

1 Four members of staff interviewed her and she made a very ... impression on all of them.

a favourable   b encouraging c supportive

2 He got a ... reference from his previous employer.

a gleaming   b glittering  c glowing

3 Yes, he's good at his job and he's very good-looking but he has a rather ... opinion of himself

a tall    b high   c big

4 Germany's top tennis player gave another ... performance.

a solid    b secure  c firm

5 Spain got off to a ... start, scoring twice in the first ten minutes.

a optimistic   b happy  c promising

6 He won the award at the age of twenty-two which is a ... achievement.

a remarkable  b prominent c marked

7 With his qualifications and determination, this young man should have a very ... future in front of him.

a light    b bright  c shiny

8 She was a very ... student - in the top five percent in her year.

a able    b powerful  c worthy

9 His first novel sold over six million copies. It was a ... success.

a vast    b giant   c huge

10 This is a ... example of the architecture of the period.

a prime    b premium  c premier

2 Replace the underlined phrases with collocations from Exercise 1.

1 It is a very successful beginning to the game for France's top tennis player.

2 Running two marathons in two days is a very impressive thing to have done at any age.

3 She was twenty-two, with fantastic qualifications and a successful life to come ahead of her.

4 His teachers all described him as a very clever pupil,

5 I have a very good judgement of all the teachers at the school.

6 She worked for us for six years and I gave her an excellent description of her abilities and work when she left.

7 This is a perfect type of sixteenth century Italian sculpture.

8 Her latest film has been extremely popular.

9 The young Spanish actress gives another very good piece of acting.

10 From what John said, Nina had clearly made him admire her.

3 Complete the sentences 1-10 with the collocations you have learned above. Then match them with the people a-j.

a someone's boss  e teacher     i company director

b sports commentator f presenter at an awards ceremony j interviewer for a job

c university tutor  g colleague

d parents   h art specialist

4 Rewrite the sentences so that they mean the opposite, using the collocations in brackets.

1 This is a very poor beginning to the season for Arsenal. (promising start)

This is a very promising to the season for Arsenal ... .

2 The film was a complete failure in every country. (huge success)

The film was a ... .

3 She didn't do well at school. (able student)

She was an ... .

4 These companies have a very difficult time ahead of them. (bright future)

These companies ... .

5 His last employers gave a bad account of his time with them. (glowing reference)

... gave him ... .

6 When I first met her, I wasn't at all impressed by her. (favourable impression)

When I first met her, she made ... .

7 United played fairly badly this afternoon. (solid performance)

United gave ... .

8 Getting a degree at his age is nothing special. (remarkable achievement)

Getting a degree at his age ... .

9 He doesn't think his boss is very good. (high opinion)

He has a ... .

10 This is not a typical painting from this period. (prime example)

This is a ... .

The bad side ...

These exercises focus on adjective + noun collocations for negative things. Make sure you learn the correct adjectives to use in order to sound fluent and natural.

5 Match the people 1-8 with the sentences a-h that describe them.

a Maria made a glaring error.

b Carla has very painful memories of that period.

c William made a very lame excuse.

d Carole remarked on the poor quality of the food.

e Paolo suffered horrific injuries in the crash.

f Philip has had a rough time recently.

g Dad was in a foul mood.

h Dominique has had very shoddy treatment from her employers.

6 Cover Exercise 5 and complete the sentences using the collocations you have learned.

1 The real story here is the government's ... treatment of soldiers who have spent their lives fighting for this country.

2 A headache always puts Tom in a ... mood.

3 I corrected a few details in the text, but I didn't spot any ... errors.

4 I was increasingly concerned at the ... quality of his work.

5 It sounded like a ... excuse but I really did feel too ill to go out.

6 Going back to the hospital where her mother died brought back some ... memories.

7 He's having a ... time at work and doesn't feel supported by his boss.

8 Many people suffered ... injuries in the bomb blast.

Study tip

Notice that all the adjectives in these collocations ^could be replaced with bad. This shows how learning collocations can develop your vocabulary.

7 Complete the letters asking for advice with the collocations you have learned above.

8 Rewrite the sentences so that they mean the opposite, using collocations from the box. Note the verbs and prepositions that go with each collocation - you will need to learn these too in order to use the collocations.

suffer horrific injuries • have painful memories • lots of glaring errors • of poor quality • make a lame excuse • in a foul mood • have a rough time • receive shoddy treatment

1 She was barely hurt at all in the accident.

She suffered norrific injuries in the accident.

2 There were one or two little mistakes in the report.

3 The clothes were very well made.

4 Juan gave a very valid reason for not helping out.

5 She's been treated very well by the company she works for.

6 I remember my school days with great affection.

7 His life is going well at the moment.

8 She seemed very happy and pleased to see everyone this morning.

Classroom extra

Read the following questions and give yourself a moment to think about them. Then, in pairs, ask each other the questions and give your answers.

1 Has anyone ever given you a lame excuse?

2 What puts you in a foul mood?

3 Have you ever had shoddy treatment from an employer?

4 When did you last buy something that was of poor quality?