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ENGLISH

COLLOCATIONS
How words work
together for fluent
and natural English
Self-study and
classroom use

IN USE

Second Edition

Intermediate
Michael McCarthy
Felicity O’Dell

English

collocations
How words work
together for fluent
and natural English
Self-study and
classroom use

in Use

Second Edition

Intermediate
Michael McCarthy
Felicity O’Dell

University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom
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education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence.
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© Cambridge University Press 2017
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
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First published 2005
Second edition 2017
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Cambridge University Press does not guarantee the accuracy of such information
thereafter.

Contents
Acknowledgements		
3
Using this book				
4
Learning about colloca; tions

1
2
3
4
5

What is a collocation?
Finding, recording and learning collocations
Using your dictionary
Types of collocation
Register

Grammatical aspects of collocations

6
7
8
9

Intensifying adverbs

highly unlikely, utterly ridiculous, strongly object

Everyday verbs 1

make a mistake, do your best, do damage

Everyday verbs 2

go bald, become extinct, fall ill

Everyday verbs 3

have fun, take action, pay a compliment

Special aspects of collocation

10 	Synonyms and confusable words 1
11 	Synonyms and confusable words 2
12 Metaphor

close a meeting, antique furniture, only child
gain power, achieve your goals, defeat an opponent
sunny smile, ideas flow, heated discussion

Topics: Travel and the environment

13
14
15
16

Weather

strong wind, blanket of fog, river bursts its banks

Travel

tiring journey, aisle seat, family-run hotel

Countryside

surrounding countryside, well worth seeing

Towns and cities

lined with shops, sprawling city, volume of traffic

Topics: People and relationships

17 People: character and behaviour
18 People: physical appearance
19 Families
20 Relationships
Topics: Leisure and lifestyle

have a vivid imagination, lose your patience

21 Houses, flats and rooms
22 Eating and drinking
23 Films and books
24 Music
25 	Sport
26 Health and illness

move into a flat, spacious living room

slender waist, immaculately groomed
distant cousin, expecting a baby, stable home
casual acquaintance, love at first sight

nourishing meal, spoil your appetite, dying of hunger
film critic, go on the stage
give a performance, go on tour, strum a guitar
go snowboarding, take a penalty
catch a cold, vigorous exercise, be taken ill
English Collocations in Use Intermediate

1

Topics: Work and study

2

27 Using the Internet
28 	Study and learning
29 Presentations
30 Work
31 	Business
32 Academic writing 1
33 Academic writing 2
Topics: Society and institutions
34 Laws and punishments
35 Crime
36 News
37 Money
38 War and peace
39 Global problem
Basic concepts
40 Time
41 	Sound
42 Distance and size
43 Colour and light
44 Texture
45 Taste and smell
46 Number and frequency
47 Movement and speed
48 Change
49 Ways of speaking
50 Ways of walking
Functions

refine your search, open an attachment

51 	Starting and finishing
52 Talking about success and failure
53 Talking about cause and effect
54 Remembering and sensing
55 Agreeing and disagreeing
56 Talking about beliefs and opinions
57 Deciding and choosing
58 Claiming and denying
59 Liking and disliking
60 Praising and criticising
Key
Index

promising start, bring something to an end

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

do research, attend a lecture, first draft
target audience, prepare handouts, public speaking
high-powered job, hand in your notice
set up a business, launch a product, rival company
key factor, challenge a theory, carry out research
make reference to, argue convincingly, research suggests
break the law, bend the rules, fair trial
hardened criminal, juvenile crime, tackle crime
hit the headlines, hold talks, take hostage
squander money, price soars, go cheap
war breaks out, restore order, call a truce
eradicate poverty, forced and voluntary migration
save time, ungodly hours, from dawn till dusk
break the silence, excessive noise, almighty bang
within commuting distance, painfully thin
bright colour, beam of light, shed some light on
choppy sea, soft pillow, ice melts
fragrant perfume, have a taste, smell danger
significant number, come to a total of, rare species
prompt payment, painfully slow, lose your balance
make an adjustment, break a habit, change the subject
brief chat, raise a subject, drop a hint
pace up and down, wander aimlessly, faltering steps

make a breakthrough, fail miserably
cause alarm, adverse effects, have a major impact
vaguely remember, blot out a memory, have a feeling
settle a dispute, agree to differ, heated argument
firmly believe, colour someone’s judgement
arrive at a decision, have second thoughts, tough choice
make the point that, contradictory evidence
have a liking, state a preference, take offence
offer your congratulations, speak highly of

126
158

Acknowledgements
Joy Goodwin wrote two new units for the Second Edition: Unit 27, Using the Internet, and Unit 29,
Presentations. The publishers would like to thank Joy for her contribution to this edition.
The authors and publishers acknowledge the following sources of copyright material and
are grateful for the permissions granted. While every effort has been made, it has not always
been possible to identify the sources of all the material used, or to trace all copyright holders.
If any omissions are brought to our notice, we will be happy to include the appropriate
acknowledgements on reprinting & in the next update to the digital edition, as applicable.

Key: T = Top, B = Below, TR = Top Right, CR = Centre Right, CL = Centre Left, BL = Below Left.
Photographs
All the photographs are sourced from Getty Images.
p. 7: uanmonino/iStock/Getty Images Plus; p. 17: FatCamera/E+; p. 19 & p. 78: PeopleImages/E+;
p. 21: Inti St Clair/Blend Images; p. 25: Muhammad Owais Khan/Moment; p. 25 (photo 1): Echo/
Cultura; p. 25 (photo 2): Dougal Waters/DigitalVision; p. 25 (photo 3): onurdongel/iStock; p. 25
(photo 4): Tuomas Marttila/Maskot/Getty Images Plus; p. 25 (photo 5): Cultura RM Exclusive/
Henry Arden/Cultura Exclusive; p. 25 (photo 6): Tom Merton/OJO Images; p. 27: swissmediavision/
iStock/Getty Images Plus; p. 30: John Linton/EyeEm; p. 32 & p. 70 (photo 3): Hero Images; p. 36
(photo 1): Ezra Bailey/Photonica; p. 36 (photo 2) & p. 116 (photo 4): Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Blend
Images; p. 36 (photo 3): Kathrin Ziegler/Taxi; p. 36 (photo 4): Dan Kitwood News; p. 37 (photo 1):
Blackstation; p. 37 (photo 2): Danja Ulrich/EyeEm; p. 37 (photo 3): jayk7/Moment; p. 37 (photo
4): Stephen Dorey/Photodisc; p. 38: monsitj/iStock/Getty Images Plus; p. 43 (photo 1): Hill Street
Studios/Blend Images; p. 43 (photo 2): Philipp Nemenz/Cultura; p. 45: Jake Curtis/Iconica; p. 47:
Stephen Dorey/Photolibrary; p. 48 (CL) & p. 58 (T): Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision; p. 48 (CR): Casarsa/
E+; p. 52: Robert Kohlhuber/Stockbyte; p. 55: Martin Poole/DigitalVision; p. 56: Mike Harrington/
DigitalVision; p. 58 (B): Daniel Sambraus/EyeEm; p. 60: Maskot; p. 61: Caiaimage/Sam Edwards/
OJO+; p. 62: ImagesBazaar; p. 64: filadendron/E+; p. 65 (TR): John Lamb/DigitalVision; p. 65 (photo
1): Portra Images/DigitalVision; p. 65 (photo 2): Yuri_Arcurs/DigitalVision; p. 65 (photo 3): Klaus
Tiedge/Blend Images; p. 70 (photo 1): Bloomberg; p. 70 (photo 2): JohnnyGreig/E+; p. 70 (photo 4):
IPGGutenbergUKLtd/iStock; p. 73: RichLegg/E+; p. 80: George Marks/Retrofile; p. 81: Cebas/iStock;
p. 85 (man): Marli/STOCK4B-RF; p. 85 (e-chess): klenger/iStock; p. 85 (phone): Apple Bookazine/
Future; p. 85 (tracker): MileA/iStock; p. 90: Image by Catherine MacBride/Moment; p. 99: Phillip
Suddick/Taxi; p. 102 (TR): Creatas; p. 102 (BL): Jetta Productions/Blend Images; p. 111: lambada/
Vetta; p. 112: Image Source; p. 113 (photo 1): Kajetan Kandler/Stone; p. 113 (photo 2), p. 116
(photo 6) & p. 118: Morsa Images/DigitalVision; p. 113 (photo 3): Michael Blann/Iconica; p. 113
(photo 4): Howard Kingsnorth/Iconica; p. 116 (photo 1): Nick Daly/Iconica; p. 116 (photo 2): David
A Land/Blend Images; p. 116 (photo 3): Westend61; p. 116 (photo 5): Indeed; p. 116 (photo 7):
photosindia; p. 116 (photo 8): Ezra Bailey/Taxi; p. 120: DreamPictures/Stone; p. 123: Guido Cavallini/
Cultura; p. 125 (photo 1): Caiaimage/Tom Merton/Riser; p. 125 (photo 2): blue jean images/China;
p. 125 (photo 3): annabaek/iStock/Getty Images Plus; p. 125 (photo 4): 4x6/iStock/Getty
Images Plus.
Illustrations
John Lund (Beehive Illustration), Katie Mac (NB Illustration), Martina (KJA Artists) and Miguel Diaz
Rivas (Advocate Art).

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

3

Using this book
What is a collocation?
Collocation means a natural combination of words; it refers to the way English words are closely
associated with each other. For example, do and homework go together, as do make and mistakes; tall
goes with man/woman and high with mountain.

Why learn collocations?
You need to learn collocations because they will help you to speak and write English in a more natural
and accurate way. People will probably understand what you mean if you talk about ‘making your
homework’ or say ‘My uncle is a very high man’ but your language will sound unnatural and might
perhaps confuse. Did you mean that your uncle is two metres tall or did you mean that he has a high
position in government or business?
Learning collocations will also help you to increase your range of English vocabulary. For example,
you’ll find it easier to avoid words like very or nice or beautiful or get by choosing a word that fits the
context better and has a more precise meaning. This is particularly useful if you are taking a written
exam in English and want to make a good impression on the examiners.

How were the collocations in the book selected?
The collocations presented in this book were mainly selected from those identified as significant by
the Cambridge International Corpus of written and spoken English (now known as the Cambridge
English Corpus) and also the CANCODE corpus of spoken English, developed at the University of
Nottingham in association with Cambridge University Press. The Cambridge English Corpus is a vast
database of real English taken from a range of sources, such as books, newspapers, advertising,
letters and emails, websites, conversations and speeches, radio and television. By studying this corpus
we obtained a representative picture of how English is really used and which words naturally and
frequently go together. We also made much use of the Cambridge Learner Corpus, a corpus of learner
English made up of exam scripts from students taking Cambridge English examinations all over the
world. This particular corpus showed us what kind of collocation errors learners tend to make.
These corpora show that there are many thousands of collocations in English. So how could we select
which ones would be most useful for you to work on in this book?
Firstly, of course, we wanted to choose ones that you might want to use in your own written and
spoken English. So, in the unit on Eating and drinking we include, for example, have a quick snack and
processed food but not cocoa butter, which is a very strong collocation, but one which has very limited
use for most people.
Secondly, we decided it would be most useful for you if we focused on those collocations which are
not immediately obvious and which the Cambridge Learner Corpus shows can cause problems for
students. A friendly girl, cold water or to eat an apple are all collocations, but they are combinations
which you can easily understand and produce yourself without any problems. So we deal here with
less obvious – though equally useful – word combinations, with, for instance, make friends (not get
friends) and heavy rain (not strong rain).
Idioms are a special type of collocation where a fixed group of words has a meaning that cannot be
guessed by knowing the meaning of the individual words. We deal with them separately in English
Idioms in Use and so do not focus on them here.

4

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

How is the book organised?
The book has 60 two-page units. The left-hand page presents the collocations that are focused on in
the unit. You will usually find examples of collocations in typical contexts with, where appropriate,
any special notes about their meaning and their usage. The right-hand page checks that you have
understood the information on the left-hand page by giving you a series of exercises that practise the
material just presented.
The units are organised into different sections. First we start with important information about
collocations in general. Then there are sections looking at grammatical and other special aspects
of collocations. The rest of the book deals with collocations that relate to particular topics such as
Weather or Business, concepts such as Time or Change and functions such as Agreeing and disagreeing
or Liking and disliking.
The book has a key to all the exercises and an index which lists all the collocations we deal with and
indicates the units where they can be found.

How should I use this book?
We recommend that you work through the five introductory units first so that you become familiar
with the nature of collocations and with how best to study them. After that, you may work on the units
in any order that suits you.

What else do I need in order to work with this book?
You need a notebook or file in which you can write down the collocations that you study in this book
as well as any others that you come across elsewhere.
You also need to have access to a good dictionary. We strongly recommend the Cambridge Learner’s
Dictionary or the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, as both of these give exactly the kind
of information that you need to have about collocations. They do this both through the examples
provided for each word entry and through their special collocations boxes or mini-panels.
For more information about Cambridge dictionaries and to do online searches you could go to
http://dictionary.cambridge.org. Your teacher, however, may also be able to recommend other
dictionaries that you will find useful.
So, a study of collocation is highly recommended (Unit 6) if you want to make a good impression
(Unit 2) with your natural and accurate use of English. Above all, we hope that you will not only learn a
lot but will also have fun (Unit 9) as you do the exercises (Unit 7) in this book.

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

5

1

What is a collocation?
A

A collocation is a pair or group of words that are often
used together. These combinations sound natural to
native speakers, but students of English have to make
a special effort to learn them because they are often
difficult to guess. Some combinations just sound ‘wrong’
to native speakers of English. For example, the adjective
fast collocates with cars, but not with a glance.

We say …

We don’t say …

fast cars
fast food

quick cars
quick food

a quick glance
a quick meal

a fast glance
a fast meal

Learning collocations is an important part of learning
the vocabulary of a language. Some collocations are fixed, or very strong, for example take a photo,
where no word other than take collocates with photo to give the same meaning. Some collocations
are more open, where several different words may be used to give a similar meaning, for example
keep to / stick to the rules. Here are some more examples of collocations.
You must make an effort and study for your exams (NOT do an effort)
Did you watch TV last night? (NOT look at TV)
This car has a very powerful engine. It can do 200 km an hour. (NOT strong engine)
There are some ancient monuments nearby. (NOT antique monuments)
Sometimes, a pair of words may not be absolutely wrong, and people will understand what is meant,
but it may not be the natural, normal collocation. If someone says I did a few mistakes, they will be
understood, but a fluent speaker of English would probably say I made a few mistakes.

B

Compounds and idioms

Compounds are units of meaning formed with two or more words. Sometimes the words are written
separately, sometimes they have a hyphen and sometimes they are written as one word. Usually the
meaning of the compound can be guessed by knowing the meaning of the individual words. Some
examples of compounds are car park, post office, narrow-minded, shoelaces, teapot.
It is not always easy to separate collocations and compounds and, where they are useful for learners
or an important part of the vocabulary of a topic, we include some compounds in this book too.
Idioms are groups of words in a fixed order that have a meaning that cannot be guessed by knowing
the meaning of the individual words. For example, pass the buck is an idiom meaning ‘to pass
responsibility for a problem to another person to avoid dealing with it oneself’. We deal with idioms
in detail in the book English Idioms in Use in this series.

C

Why learn collocations?

Learning collocations is a good idea because they can:
a) give you the most natural way to say something: smoking is strictly forbidden is more natural
than smoking is strongly forbidden.
b) give you alternative ways of saying something, which may be more colourful/expressive or more
precise: instead of repeating It was very cold and very dark, we can say It was bitterly cold and pitch
dark.
c) improve your style in writing: instead of saying poverty causes crime, you can say poverty breeds
crime; instead of saying a big meal you can say a substantial meal. You may not need or want to
use these in informal conversations, but in writing they can give your text more variety and make
it read better: this book includes notes about formality wherever the collocations are especially
formal or informal.

6

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

Exercises
1.1

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 What 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
2
3
4
5

1.4

Learning collocations will make your English sound more natural.
Learning collocations will help you to express yourself in a variety of ways.
Learning collocations will help you to write better English.
Using collocations properly will get you better marks in exams.
You will not be understood unless you use collocations properly.

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

1.5

collocation

idiom

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 some recordings but I
had a rather heavy cold, so they didn’t sound good. I made
some 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 fastfood restaurant. That was five years ago.
I’m still doing the same job.
COLIN

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

7

2
A

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, Julie made her way home. What an exciting life he
led! At times Julie felt desperately jealous of him. She spent her time doing little more
than taking care of him and the children. Now her sister was getting divorced and would
doubtless be making demands on her too. Julie had promised to give her sister a call as
soon as she got home but she decided to run herself a bath first. She had a sharp pain
in her side and hoped that a hot bath might ease the pain.

Tip
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

Tip
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 Intermediate

Exercises
2.1

Underline 11 collocations in this text.

My friend Abigail is desperately worried about her son at the moment.
He wants to enrol on a course of some sort but just can’t make a
decision about what to study. I gave Abigail a ring and we had a long
chat about it last night. She said he’d like to study for a degree but is
afraid he won’t meet the requirements for university entry. Abigail thinks
he should do a course in Management because he’d like to set up his
own business in the future. I agreed that that would be a wise choice.

2.2

Match the beginning of each sentence on the left with its ending on the right.
1
2
3
4
5

2.3

She’s having
She’s taking
She’s giving
She’s making
She’s doing

her duty.
a lecture.
a party.
an exam.
good progress.

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

See also Unit 3, Using your dictionary.

Over to you
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 Intermediate

9

3

Using your dictionary
A good learner’s dictionary will give you information on collocations. Sometimes the information is
highlighted in some special way. In other cases, the examples used in the dictionary include the most
common collocations.
In the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (CALD), common and useful collocations are given in
bold type. Look at the CALD entry for the word pain and note how useful collocations are highlighted
in bold.

pain

Online dictionaries are very useful
because you can search for a lot more
information very quickly. The Cambridge
Dictionary (dictionary.cambridge.org)
provides definitions as well as more
examples including the key word and
links to the SMART Thesaurus. The SMART
Thesaurus gives synonyms, related words
and phrases of the word you are looking
up. Here is the entry for ‘advice’ in the
Cambridge online dictionary.

A good dictionary will also tell you if a collocation is formal or informal. For example, CALD indicates
that to take somebody up on an offer is an informal collocation (accept an offer would be a more
formal alternative).

offer

Tip
When you buy a dictionary, make sure it gives good, clear information about collocations. When
you look up words, if you don’t know the collocations, highlight them in your dictionary or transfer
them to your vocabulary notebook.

10

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

Exercises
3.1

Answer these questions about collocations and dictionaries.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

How does the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary show collocations?
Which five collocations can you see in the top box on the opposite page?
Why is an online dictionary particularly useful?
What information does the online Thesaurus usually show?
How does the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary indicate that a collocation is informal?
Look at the dictionary that you normally use. Does it indicate collocations? If so, how?
Look up pain in your own dictionary. Which of the collocations on the left-hand page does it either
highlight or illustrate in example sentences?
8 Look up the noun offer in your own dictionary. What collocations can you find? Does the dictionary
indicate whether the collocations are formal or informal? If so, how?

3.2

Put the expressions from the box into the correct category in the table below.
to alleviate pain to cause pain to complain of pain
to ease pain to experience pain to feel pain to inflict pain
to lessen pain to be racked with pain to relieve pain
to soothe pain pain subsides to suffer pain
making others experience pain

3.3

the experience of being in pain

making pain go away

Look in a good learner’s dictionary. What collocations do you find there for the word ache?

Over to you
Look up two or three words that you have recently learnt, using a good learner’s dictionary.
Write down any interesting collocations that are shown for those words.

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

11

4

Types of collocation
There are many different types of collocation. Here are some examples.

A

Adjectives and nouns

Notice adjectives that are typically used with particular nouns.
Emma 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.

B

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 2013 and now form one very large corporation.
The company launched the product in 2012. [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]

C

Noun + noun

There are a lot of collocations with the pattern a … of … .
As Max 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.

D

Verbs and expressions with 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]

E

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,’ Dylan whispered softly to Madison.
She smiled proudly as she looked at the photos of her new grandson.

F

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 Intermediate

Exercises
4.1

Complete each sentence with a collocation from A.
1
2
3
4

4.2

Come to my office ten minutes before the meeting so we can have …
With her lovely dark hair Ella looks best when she wears …
In your essay on the influence of TV, don’t forget to discuss these …
There is some crime in our town but it isn’t …

Replace the underlined words with a collocating verb from B.
1
2
3
4

We are going to introduce an exciting new product in June.
The economy was extremely high 30 years ago.
The new university they are planning will provide a lot of job opportunities.
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 Grace’s father was filled with ............................................... when he saw that she had dyed her beautiful black
hair blonde.
3 When Daniel saw how harshly the poor were treated by the wealthy landowners he felt a surge
of ............................................... .
4 Swelling with ..............................................., Jack 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
2
3
4
5
6

4.5

Perhaps it’s a good thing that Liam’s ............................................... unaware of what people really think of him.
I am ............................................... aware that there will be problems whatever we decide.
Stella smiled ............................................... as she watched the children playing happily in the garden.
My grandparents have been ............................................... married for 45 years.
Place the glasses ............................................... in the box – they’re very fragile.
William whispered ............................................... in Anna’s ear that he would always love her.

Which of the sections A–F on the opposite page would each of these collocations fit into?
1
2
3
4
5

make a decision
blissfully happy
tread carefully
a surge of emotion
acutely embarrassing

6
7
8
9
10

roar with laughter
a key factor
prices rise
a ginger cat
burst into song

Over to you
Make a page in your vocabulary notebook for each of the types of collocation listed on the
opposite page.

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

13

5

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.

A

Spoken English

Here are some more collocations which are almost exclusively found in spoken English.
I’m bored stiff1 in
this lesson!

1

B

You badly need a
haircut!

2

extremely bored

give me a phone call

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
alight from the bus
whilst it is in motion.
[get off the bus]

C

Give me a ring2 when
you get home.

I’ll have a think about it
and let you know.

CYCLISTS
must
dismount
here

[get off their
bicycles]

Trespassers
will be
prosecuted

[people who go onto
someone’s land or enter
their building without
permission will be taken
to court]

Please dispose of1
unwanted items in
the receptacle2
provided
1
2

throw away
container used for storing
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

Government spending will
rocket this year

[cuts prices drastically]

POLICE QUIZ 16-YEAROLD IN MURDER ENQUIRY

POLICE CRACK DOWN ON SPEEDING
[start dealing with it in a more severe way]

[ask questions]

FLU OUTBREAK HITS SOUTHERN EUROPE

D

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 Intermediate

Exercises
5.1

Underline formal (F) or informal (I) collocations in these sentences (one per sentence) and put
F or I in the brackets at the end.
1
2
3
4
5
6

5.2

Cyclists should dismount before crossing the footbridge. ( )
Never dispose of batteries and similar items by throwing them onto a fire. ( )
The students were all bored stiff by the lecture. ( )
Passengers must alight from the bus through the rear door. ( )
The grass badly needs cutting. ( )
Please place all used tickets in the receptacle provided as you leave the building. ( )

Underline typical news/media collocations in these newspaper clips.
1

OIL COMPANIES SLASH PRICES

3

There was good news for motorists
today as pump prices were lowered
by the major oil companies.

2

DETECTIVES QUIZ
BUSINESSMAN OVER
MISSING TEENAGER
Senior detectives interviewed a
man who has been named as
prime suspect in the case of a
missing 18-year-old who is feared
to have been abducted.

FLOODS HIT CENTRAL REGION
Towns and villages in the Central
region were battling against floods
tonight as heavy rain continued.

4

CAR FIRM TO AXE 200 JOBS
The Presco car firm has announced that
200 workers will be made redundant at
its Kenton factory. The job losses are the
result of falling profits.

5.3

Rewrite the headlines in exercise 5.2 using collocations more typical of ordinary conversation,
as if you were telling a friend the news. Start each answer with ‘Have you heard …?’ Use a
dictionary if necessary.

5.4

Match the beginning of each sentence on the left with its ending on the right to make typical
collocations used in business English.
1
2
3
4

5.5

We raised
They submitted
They went into
We started up

partnership to develop a new range of products.
capital to expand the business.
a business to supply sports equipment to schools.
a tender for the new stadium.

Choose a formal or informal collocation as instructed at the end of each sentence. Use a
dictionary if necessary.
1
2
3
4
5

She was dead / extremely keen to meet the new coach. (informal)
We will be boarding the aircraft / getting on the plane in about ten minutes. (formal)
Mr Trotter paid for / bore the cost of the repairs. (formal)
I withdrew from / dropped out of my university course after a year. (informal)
The marketing manager launched into / embarked upon a detailed explanation of her new strategy.
(informal)

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

15

6

Intensifying adverbs
In English there are lots of other ways of saying very or very much. For example, we can use words
such as highly, utterly, bitterly, deeply. These alternatives collocate strongly with specific words, and
other combinations often sound unnatural.

A

Highly
collocations

comments

(un)likely unusual successful competitive
profitable effective controversial
recommended

Highly is used with some probability words (likely,
unusual). With the exception of highly
controversial it usually combines with very
positive words. Extremely can also be used
with all the opposite adjectives except recommended.

It is highly unlikely that I’ll finish my work on time.
Julia’s highly unusual behaviour began to worry her parents.

B

Absolutely, utterly
collocations

comments

ridiculous stupid impossible wrong
alone appalled convinced devastated
miserable

Absolutely and (slightly more formal) utterly combine
with adjectives with very extreme meanings where we
can’t use very. For example, we say absolutely/utterly
exhausted, not very exhausted, whereas we say very tired,
but not absolutely or utterly tired. Often, but not always,
these words have negative connotations.

It was an absolutely stupid comment to make.
The whole area was utterly devastated after the earthquake.

C

Bitterly, deeply, ridiculously, strongly
word

collocations

comments

bitterly

disappointing/disappointed resent
criticise regret complain cry weep

carries a feeling of deep sadness; used
slightly more in writing than in conversation

deeply

ashamed concerned shocked
committed moved affected
hurt (of feelings)
regret care religious unhappy

collocates mainly with words associated
with feelings; used slightly more in
writing than in conversation

ridiculously

cheap expensive easy low high long
short small large early

suggests something extreme, which
seems unbelievable or unreasonable

strongly

oppose influence believe deny
recommend support condemn
suggest feel argue object

collocates with verbs, particularly verbs
that relate to having an opinion

I was bitterly disappointed when I failed the exam.
Professor McDellvit was always deeply committed to her students.
The restaurant was ridiculously expensive. I don’t think we’ll go there again.
I would strongly recommend that you learn a foreign language.
16

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

Exercises
6.1

Choose an adverb from the box to replace very in each of these expressions.
utterly    strongly    bitterly    ridiculously    highly    deeply
1
2
3
4
5

6.2

very ashamed
very cheap
very controversial
very stupid
very successful

6
7
8
9
10

very disappointing
very opposed
very ridiculous
very easy
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 ...............................................
		
............................................... .
3 His father was a peace campaigner all his life and was ............................................... ............................................... to war.
4 The exam results were ............................................... ............................................... for the whole class. We had all
		 expected to do much better.
5 When I realised how much my selfish behaviour had upset everyone, I was
		
............................................... ............................................... .
6 In the 1990s she ran a(n) ............................................... ............................................... company which made outstanding
		profits.
7 Everyone got more than 95% correct in the test; it was ............................................... ................................................
8 You must apologise immediately. It was a(n) ............................................... ............................................... remark
		 to make.
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!

6.3

In each of these sets of phrases, one is not a correct collocation. Cross out the incorrect one.
1
2
3
4
5

6.4

strongly recommend    strongly influence    strongly love    strongly dislike
highly educated    highly profitable    highly unusual    highly exhausted
bitterly regard    bitterly regret    bitterly resent    bitterly criticise
absolutely convinced    absolutely tired    absolutely devastated    absolutely absurd
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.

COMMUNITY NEWS
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
who normally never expressed an
opinion were strongly appalled by the
proposals.
bitterly  strictly  deeply  utterly
English Collocations in Use Intermediate

17

7

Everyday verbs 1
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.

A

B

Make
collocation

example

make arrangements for

The school can make arrangements for pupils with special needs.

make a change / changes

The new manager is planning to make some changes.

make a choice

Amelia had to make a choice between her career and her family.

make a comment /
comments

Would anyone like to make any comments on the talk?

make a contribution to

She made a useful contribution to the discussion.

make a decision

I’m glad it’s you who has to make the decision, not me.

make an effort

Michael is really making an effort with his maths this term.

make an excuse

I’m too tired to go out tonight. Let’s make an excuse and stay at home.

make friends

Caroline is very good at making friends.

make an improvement

Repainting the room has really made an improvement.

make a mistake

They’ve made a mistake in our bill.

make a phone call

I’ve got to make some phone calls before dinner.

make progress

Holly is making progress with all her schoolwork.

Do
collocation

example

do your best

All that matters in the exam is to do your best.

do damage

The storm did some damage to our roof.

do an experiment

We are doing an experiment to test how the metal reacts with water.

do exercises

We’ll do some exercises practising these collocations tomorrow.

do someone a good turn /
do someone a favour

Could you do me a favour and pick me up some milk from the supermarket?
Jess did me a good turn by lending me her car while mine was in the garage.

do harm

Changing the rules may do more harm than good.

do your hair

No, I’m not ready. I haven’t done my hair yet.

do your homework

My son has to do his homework straight after school.

do the ironing/shopping/
washing, etc.

I’ll do the washing if you do the ironing.

do some work

We’ll do some work on our project and then we’ll go to the cinema.

Tip
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 with saying things.
Noticing connections like this may help you to remember the correct collocation.

18

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

Exercises
7.1

Use a collocation with make and a noun instead of the underlined words in each of these
conversations.
1
2
3
4
5
6

7.2

The bill says we’ve had three desserts. We only had two.
The waiter must have been mistaken.
It’s so difficult. Should I take the job or not?
I know it’s difficult. But you have to decide one way or the other.
Can you and Ethan come to dinner on Saturday?
Yes, we’ll have to arrange to get a babysitter, but it should be OK.
Did you hear about the air traffic controllers’ strike in the USA?
Yes. We had to change our travel itinerary because of it.
Can I have chips and rice with my lunch?
No, you have to choose, chips or rice, but not both.
Do you intend to speak at the meeting?
Yes, I hope I can contribute to the debate.

Choose the correct collocation, do or make.
1
2
3
4
5
6

7.3

Naomi:
Stella:
Avery:
Owen:
Grace:
Lily:
Zoe:
Aaron:
Luke:
Clare:
Gavin:
Victoria:

Did the fire do / make much damage to the factory?
I hate doing / making my homework at the last minute.
You must do / make an effort to work harder.
Did you do / make any work at the weekend?
We are trying to do / make improvements to the system for registering.
Do you think it would do / make any harm if I cut some leaves off this plant?

You are designing a questionnaire for your school website. Complete each question with
do or make.

HOW NICE ARE YOU?
1 Do you .......................... your best to be on
time when meeting a friend?
ALWAYS

SOMETIMES

NEVER

2 Do you ever .......................... the cooking at home?
ALWAYS

SOMETIMES

NEVER

3 Do you .......................... excuses if someone asks
you to .......................... a big favour for them?
ALWAYS

SOMETIMES

NEVER

4 Do you ever .......................... negative comments
about your friends’ hair, clothes, etc?
ALWAYS

SOMETIMES

NEVER

5 Do you find it easy to .......................... friends?
ALWAYS

SOMETIMES

NEVER

Give yourself three points for ‘always’, two for
‘sometimes’, one for ‘never’. Turn the page to find
out how nice you really are.

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

19

8

Everyday verbs 2
Get is a very common verb in English, but it is not always appropriate for talking about changes. Note
also alternatives to get which can improve your style.

A

Go, not get

Go is used for changes in people’s personality, appearance and physical abilities:
People go mad/bald/grey/blind/deaf.
Go is often used for sudden, usually negative, changes:
He was very embarrassed and his face went red.
Suddenly the sky went very dark and it started to rain.
Go can also be used for slower colour changes:
The pages of the book had gone yellow over the years.

B

Turn, not get

C

Get and become

Turn often collocates with colours:
The sky turned gold as the sun set.
When the tomatoes turn red, the farmers pick them and sell them.
The news gave his mother such a shock that her hair turned white overnight.

Get and become can often be used with the same collocations, but become is more formal and is
therefore more appropriate in essays:
She gave up smoking when she became pregnant.
I would like to become involved in raising money for charity.
The same is true for collocations with adjectives such as angry, bored, excited, depressed, upset,
impatient, violent:
He became depressed after his wife’s death.
Become, not get, is used with the following: extinct, (un)popular, homeless, famous.
Our local baker’s has become famous for its apple tarts.

20

D

Alternatives to get and become

E

Overusing and misusing get

She fell ill and was taken to hospital.
Everyone fell silent when they heard the shocking news.
As my father grew older, he spent less time working.
The noise grew louder and soon we realised it was a plane approaching.

Here are some sentences from students’ essays where get is wrongly used.
sentences with get

more appropriate alternatives

I was able to get new friends.

I was able to make new friends.

A year ago he got a heart attack.

A year ago he had/suffered a heart attack.

If I get a child of my own one day ...

If I have a child of my own one day ...

I was getting crazy.

I was going crazy.

In June, I got a baby, James.

In June, I had a baby, James.

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

Exercises
8.1

Answer these questions using collocations from A and B.
1
2
3
4
5
6

What can happen to men as they get older? (Clue: Think of their hair.)
What can happen if you are embarrassed? (Clue: Think of your face.)
What can happen if you get bad news? (Clue: Think of your face or hair.)
What can happen to the pages of a newspaper after a long time?
What happens to strawberries as they ripen?
The poet John Milton lost his eyesight at the end of his life. What is another way of
saying that?
7 The composer Beethoven lost his hearing at the end of his life. What is another way
of saying that?
8 At the end of Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet loses his mind. What is another way of
saying that?
9 If it is about to rain, what might happen to the sky?

8.2

Look at C, D and E opposite. Correct these sentences.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

8.3

Dinosaurs got extinct thousands of years ago.
When I get married, I’d like to get lots of children.
Jasmine fell depressed after failing her final exams.
Niklas has always dreamt of getting famous.
Would you be interested in growing involved in this project?
More people have got homeless this year than in any previous year.
My sister got a baby last week.
My grandfather got a heart attack last winter.

Replace each use of get with a verb from the box.
fall    become    grow    have    make
As you get older, you’ll begin to understand your parents
better. Getting angry with them all the time doesn’t help. You
may not want to go to summer camp when none of your
friends will be there, but your parents know you will soon get
new friends there. You would all have gone on a family holiday
together if your grandmother hadn’t got ill, but surely you can
understand why they don’t want to leave her. You’ll feel much
more sympathetic to your parents’ feelings when you get a
child of your own!

8.4

Complete the collocations in these sentences.
1 I think I’d go ............................................. if I had to put up with such a terrible boss!
2 It was a wonderful sunset. The sky ............................................. gold and we sat on the terrace enjoying it.
3 Once upon a time the walls were probably cream but they have ............................................. brown now
and badly need repainting.
4 When I start ............................................. grey, I’m definitely going to dye my hair.
5 As the head teacher walked into the hall, the children all ............................................. silent.
6 The noise on the street ............................................. louder and I looked out of the window to see what was
happening.
7 My grandmother is a little afraid of ............................................. ill while she is abroad.
8 I was so embarrassed that I ............................................. bright red.

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

21

9
A

B

Everyday verbs 3
Have

Note that these verbs collocate with have rather than any other verb (e.g. get or make).
collocation

example

have an accident

Mr Grey had an accident last night but he’s OK now.

have an argument / a row

We had an argument / a row about how to fix the car.

have a break

Let’s have a break when you finish this exercise.

have a conversation/chat

I hope we’ll have time to have a chat after the meeting.

have difficulty

The class had difficulty understanding what to do.

have a dream/nightmare

I had a nightmare last night.

have an experience

I had a frightening experience the other day.

have a feeling

I have a feeling that something is wrong.

have fun / a good time

I’m sure you’ll have fun on the school trip.

have a look

The manager wanted to have a look at what we were doing.

have a party

Let’s have a party at the end of term.

have a problem / problems

Ask the teacher if you have problems with the exercise.

have a try/go

I’ll explain what to do and then you can have a go/try.

Take

Reply

Forward

Hi, Jean,
We’re so 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 liking
to. Of course, we were taking a risk as we didn’t know exactly what we’d find
there. But 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 yet about your job? I’d take a chance and leave if I
were you. No point in staying somewhere where the boss has taken a dislike
to you! 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 advice! Good
luck!
Ellen

C

Pay
collocation

example

pay attention

You must pay attention to the teacher.

pay a compliment

I was trying to pay her a compliment but she misunderstood.

pay your (last) respects

At a funeral people pay their last respects to the person who has died.

pay tribute [formal]

When Jack retired, his boss made a speech paying tribute to all he had
done for the company.

Tip
There are other common verbs in English which have strong and possibly surprising collocations.
Notice any that you find with, for example, break, fall, run and take.
22

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

Exercises
9.1

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 Hazel? 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: How 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 tutor 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 ............................................................................................................................................?

9.2

Choose the correct collocation.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

She had / took / paid attention to what I told her and started working harder.
I had / made / took over a hundred photographs on my trip to Antarctica.
She made / paid / brought me a nice compliment yesterday.
I got / made / had a bad dream last night and woke up sweating.
The President made / gave / paid tribute to all the people who had supported him.
I got / took / had a liking to my new doctor the moment I met her.
I gave / made / had a feeling I had met Richard before, but I couldn’t remember where.
I went to Douglas Farnham’s funeral to give / take / pay my last respects to a fine man.
I think I’ll take / make / do a chance and leave my flight booking till the last minute.
I may get a cheaper ticket.
10 Shall we make / get / have a party for Ruby? She’s moving to Manchester next week.
11 We need to make / get / take action immediately!
12 I had / got / took a feeling that he was trying to hide something from me.

9.3

Which collocations in this text could be replaced by collocations with take instead of the
verbs used?

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English Collocations in Use Intermediate

23

10
A

B

Synonyms and confusable words 1
Common 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 only one word
is possible.
synonyms

(a) example

(b) example

(a) close
(b) shut

The chairperson closed the meeting at
4.30.
[We close meetings/discussions/
conferences, etc.]

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.

(a) start
(b) begin

It was a cold morning and I could not start
my car.
[Start, NOT begin, is used for engines and
vehicles.

Before the universe began, time and space
did not exist.
[Begin is preferred in more formal and
abstract contexts.]

(a) big
(b) large

It was a big decision to make.
There were some big problems to solve.

I wanted the sweater in the large size but
they only had medium.

(a) end
(b) finish

The film ended with the hero dying.
They ended their relationship a year ago.
[End here means decide to stop.]

I haven’t finished my homework yet.
[Finish here means complete.]

Groups of words with similar meanings
Words meaning ‘old’

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 ]

Words meaning ‘with no one or nothing else or with nothing 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

24

Other synonym pairs
synonyms

(a) example

(b) example

(a) charge
(b) load

I need to charge my phone.
[used for batteries, electrical items]

They loaded the lorry and drove away.
[used for cargoes, lorries, vans, ships, etc.
and for weapons]

(a) injure
(b) damage

Three injured people were taken to
hospital after the accident.
[collocates with words to do with people]

The shop tried to sell me a damaged sofa
but I noticed it just in time.
[collocates with words for things]

(a) grow
(b) raise

In the south the farmers grow crops.
[collocates with crops, plants]

In the north the farmers mostly raise cattle.
[collocates with animals, children]

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

Exercises
10.1

Choose the correct collocation.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

10.2

Look at B. Complete each phrase with a word meaning either ‘old’ or ‘alone’.
1
2
3
4
5

10.3

The dentist told me to shut / close my mouth.
I didn’t know what to do when I got into my car and couldn’t start / begin the engine.
I want to buy a sweater for my dad. He needs one in a big / large size.
I haven’t finished / ended my essay yet. I can’t decide how to finish / end it.
At what time do you plan to shut / close the conference?
All societies develop their own stories about how the world started / began.
It’s far too big / large a problem for you to solve on your own.
It’s never easy to finish / end a relationship.
a ............................................... figure on the horizon
a shop selling ............................................... furniture
to be an ............................................... child
the ............................................... survivor of the accident
to study ............................................... history

6
7
8
9
10

to live ...............................................
to feel desperately ...............................................
to catch up with ............................................... friends
support for ............................................... parents
a home for ............................................... people

Correct these sentences.
1 Were many people damaged in the earthquake?
2 Single parents who are growing children without a partner’s support are entitled to financial help
from the government.
3 My mobile isn’t working. I need to load the battery.
4 She has a lot of beautiful elderly jewellery.
5 When we moved house, two men helped us to charge the van.
6 That’s not news – it’s antique history!
7 I don’t know how to charge a gun, let alone fire one.
8 I’ve never been very successful at raising plants.

10.4

Which of the collocations on the opposite page do these pictures illustrate?
1

3

5

2

4

6

Over to you
Look up big and large in a good learner’s dictionary of English and see what other collocations it
suggests for them.

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

25

11
A

B

Synonyms and confusable words 2
Verbs connected with gaining, winning and achieving
Note these typical collocations connected with ‘gaining’ or ‘achieving’.
verb

collocates with

example

comments

gain

power, control, access

The Socialist Party gained
control of the National
Assembly.

Gain is often used with abstract
nouns relating to political
authority.

gain
[formal]

a reputation, publicity,
recognition, an advantage

Her paintings gained
recognition thanks to a major
exhibition in New York.

Gain is often used with abstract
nouns that suggest benefit to the
‘gainer’.

win

an award, a prize, a medal,
a match

He won a medal in the 2016
Olympic Games.

Win is often used in contexts
associated with competition.

win

a battle, a war, an election

The Conservative Party won
the 2015 General Election.

Win is often used in contexts
associated with fighting.

earn

a salary, money

I earn $2110 a month.

You earn money by working for it.

make

a profit, money

The company made a profit
last year.

You can make money by investing
etc., not just by working.

achieve

success, your goals, your
aims

It’s difficult to achieve success
in international sport.

Achieve is used mainly with
abstract nouns.

beat/
defeat

a team, an opponent

He defeated his opponent in
the tennis final.

You win a match but beat/defeat
an opponent.
Defeat is more formal than beat.

Other words that are often confused

You’ll need to take warm
clothes when you go to
Alaska. (NOT carry)

I always carry my mobile
phone whenever I go out.
(NOT wear)

He kindly offered to carry
my bag for me.

She’s wearing a dress.
(NOT using)

She was wearing a hat.
(NOT carrying)

He’s using a laptop.

Common mistakes
Notice how spend is used when talking about time and money.
We spent three days in the mountains. It was wonderful. (NOT passed)
If you buy a big car you’ll have to spend more money on petrol. (NOT use)
Last night I spent two hours watching TV. (NOT stayed)
I spent an hour looking for the keys before I found them in my bag. (NOT passed)
26

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

Exercises
11.1

Look at A. Use a verb from the box in the correct form to complete each collocation.
achieve    beat    earn    gain    make    win
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

I don’t have ambitions to ............................................... a lot of money; I just want to be happy in life.
Jack has already ............................................... a very good reputation as a talented lawyer.
Sophia has ............................................... several prizes for her singing.
It is important to have goals even if you do not always ............................................... them.
Chris ............................................... a lot of money when he sold some old shares on the stock exchange.
In the tournament Hannah ............................................... all her opponents and ............................................... the gold medal.
Nowadays Alex ............................................... a very good salary.
In the cycle race, Henrik ............................................... an advantage when several of his opponents had
punctures.

11.2

Look at the picture and answer the questions.

11.3

Correct the nine collocation errors in this paragraph.

1
2
3
4
5
6

What is the woman wearing?
What is the woman carrying?
What is the woman using?
What is the man wearing?
What is the man using?
What is the man carrying?

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.

11.4

Change the underlined words so that each sentence has the opposite meaning.
1
2
3
4
5

11.5

The Democratic Party lost the election.
The ruling power has lost control of the situation.
Our team was defeated in the match.
I spent a lot of money last month.
Our company made a loss last year.

Complete these questions. Then answer them.
1
2
3
4
5

Where did you ............................................... your last holiday?
How much money did you ............................................... last week?
What do you always ............................................... with you when you go out?
Have you ever ............................................... a trophy?
What aim would you particularly like to ............................................... in life?
English Collocations in Use Intermediate

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.

A

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.

B

C

Water
collocation

example

comment

ideas flow, conversation flows

It was a very successful meeting.
The ideas flowed.

Flow suggests that things
progress easily, without effort.

a flood / floods of tears, tears
streaming down someone’s face

The little girl was in floods of
tears. Tears were streaming
down her face.

Both of these metaphors about
tears suggest the girl is crying a
lot.

people pour/stream somewhere

People poured out of the hall at
the end of the lecture.

Pour and stream suggest lots of
people moving smoothly.

people trickle

People trickled into the concert
hall.

Trickle suggests a few people
moving slowly.

a stream of visitors/traffic

There was a stream of traffic
outside our room all night.

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.

Tip
When you are reading English, try 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 Intermediate

Exercises
12.1

Use a word from the box in the correct form to complete each collocation. Use each word
once only.
shine    dark    light up    sunny    lighten    darken
1
2
3
4
5
6

12.2

I could tell Maria was in a good mood by the ............................................... smile on her face.
The little boy’s eyes ............................................... when he saw his daddy approaching.
Let’s put some happy music on to ............................................... the atmosphere. Everyone’s too serious.
My grandparents lived through the ............................................... days of civil war from 1936 to 1939.
The girl’s eyes ............................................... with excitement as she prepared for the party.
Mr Garnham’s expression ............................................... as he was told the terrible news.

Read these remarks by different people, then answer the questions.
Jason: I was in floods of tears. It was such a sad film.
	thomas:	An hour before the match there was already a trickle of vehicles entering
the car park.
	emma: I had a heated conversation with Alice the other day.
	madeline: I didn’t think there’d be much traffic today but there was a steady stream of
		 vehicles on the main highway.
rob: Tempers flared, I’m afraid, and mine was one of them.
charlotte: Everyone was pouring out of the stadium as I drove past.
name(s)
1 Who saw a lot of cars?
2 Who got very angry indeed?
3 Who saw a lot of people all at once?
4 Who had a disagreement or argument?
5 Who saw a small number of cars?
6 Who cried over something?

12.3

Put these words in order to make sentences.
1
2
3
4

with / cheeks / embarrassment / burning / were / My
city / up / has / in / capital / flared / the / Violence
flowed / The / during / discussion / ideas / the
divorce / was / footballer’s / The / publicity / surrounded / famous / a / by / blaze / of

12.4

Answer the questions.

12.5

Use a dictionary to find collocations using these words in a metaphorical way.

1 What is most likely to be fiery?
(a) someone’s intelligence   (b) someone’s temper
2 Which is the most typical collocation? a blaze of
(a) temper  (b) glory  (c) joy
3 What is most likely to be heated?
(a) discussions  (b) cheeks  (c) troubles
4 What is most likely to flare up?
(a) love  (b) interest  (c) violence
1 bright      2 warm	      3 cold

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

29

13

Weather

Reply

A
Reply

Forward

It’s great here. Have had unbroken sunshine1
ever since we arrived. We’re having a
wonderful time – though in the middle of the
day it’s just too scorching hot2 to do anything
but lie on the beach soaking up the
sunshine3. This is the life!
Anna
1

only sunshine, no clouds in the sky
extremely hot
3
enjoying the sunshine
2

B

fact
all day. In
4
ing with rain
It’s been pour such torrential rain ! It’s
ed.
I’ve never seen the tent - we all got soak
ng
in
pi
ld
ho
the tent
freezing co
we look out of in! We’re
ur
ho
lf
ha
ry
va
Eve
the clouds. In
for a break in next year!
l
te
going to a ho
Reply

Forward
It rained heav
ily all day yest
erday but
it's dry at the
moment. Ther
e's thick clou
though, and it
d,
certainly look
s like rain 5.
Quite a strong
wind is blow
ing too! Am
glad we brou
ght warm clot
hes!

heavy rain

5

looks as if it is going to rain

Weather conditions
collocation

example

comment

weather deteriorates [opposite:

The weather is likely to deteriorate
later on today.

Deteriorate is quite formal –
the weather is getting worse
is more informal.

thick/dense fog patches of fog/mist
a blanket of fog [literary]

There is thick fog on the motorway.

Patches of fog/mist are small
areas of fog/mist, whereas a
blanket of fog/mist is thicker
and more extensive.

improves]

fog/mist comes down [opposite: lifts]

There are patches of fog on the
east coast but these should lift by
midday.

strong sun [opposite: weak]

Avoid going on the beach at midday
when the sun is strongest.

heavy rain (NOT strong rain)
driving rain

Road conditions are difficult
because of the driving rain.

driving rain = rain falling fast
and heavily

heavy/fresh/crisp/thick/driving
snow

The snow is lovely and crisp
this morning.

crisp snow = snow that is fresh
and hard

hard frost

There will be a hard frost tonight.

opposite of a hard frost = a
light frost (NOT a soft frost)

high/strong/light/biting winds

The wind was light this morning but
it’s picking up now and will be very
strong by the evening. The wind
was whistling through the trees.

biting winds = very cold winds
If the wind picks up, it gets
stronger.

the wind picks up [opposite: dies down]
the wind blows/whistles

C

4

Extreme weather

FREAK1 STORMS DEVASTATE SW
Yesterday freak weather conditions hit2 the south-west of
England. Gale-force winds3 caused a lot of damage
to property. A number of buildings were destroyed,
roofs were torn off and fences were blown down.
Several rivers burst their banks4.
1
2

30

Forward

very unusual or unexpected
struck, badly affected

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

3
4

extremely strong winds
rivers flooded

Exercises
13.1

Look at A and B opposite and complete these weather collocations.
1
2
3
4

13.2

5
6
7
8

a hard ...............................................
torrential ...............................................
unbroken ...............................................
a blanket of ...............................................

Look at A and B opposite. Change the underlined words so that each sentence has the opposite
meaning.
1
2
3
4
5
6

13.3

crisp ...............................................
patches of ...............................................
strong ...............................................
a biting ...............................................

There was a light wind yesterday.
The wind picked up in the evening.
The weather is likely to improve tomorrow.
It was scorching hot here yesterday.
There may be some light rain later on today.
The mist came down at about midday.

Replace the underlined words in this message with collocations from the opposite page.

Jill Hadfield

26 May at 12:59

I wish I’d worn a warmer jacket. There’s a very cold wind. At least it’s not
raining heavily today. We had such heavy rain yesterday. I wish I was
sunbathing on a Mediterranean beach.

12

13.4

3

Answer these questions about the collocations on the opposite page.
1
2
3
4
5
6

What might make a river burst its banks?
What can you probably see if someone says, ‘It looks like rain’?
What kind of wind is a freak wind?
Is it harder to drive if there’s dense fog or if there are patches of fog?
What kind of weather conditions have you got if the rain is described as driving rain?
If we talk about severe weather conditions hitting or striking an area, what kind of image is
created?
7 What, apart from wind, can blow or whistle?
8 Which of these verbs suggests most destruction and which least?
The storm destroyed / damaged / devastated the town.

13.5

Look up these words in your dictionary. Note down two more collocations for
each one.
wind

rain

snow

Over to you
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 Intermediate

31

14
A

Travel
Travel, journey, trip

Look at these emails and note the different collocations for travel, journey and trip.
Reply

Forward

Reply

Clara,
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.
Noah
Reply

Forward

Hi Mia,
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.
Miles
1

B

The opposite of return journey is outward journey.

Forward

Hi Natalie,
I know next week is a business trip, but you must
do some sightseeing too. I suggest we take a day
trip to Canamuca. It’s about two hours by car, and
we can take a boat trip to the island and have lunch
there. Looking forward to seeing you. Safe
journey2.
David
2

said to someone who is about to make a journey
Reply

Forward

Nora,
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?
Lorna

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.
1
2

flight on a plane rented for special use
regular flight organised by the company which owns the plane

The weather en route is fine, and we anticipate a smooth flight3
to Stockholm today.
3

C

32

The opposite is a bumpy flight.

Accommodation

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.
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.

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

Exercises
14.1

Complete each sentence with trip, travel or journey.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

14.2

I’ll get some ............................................... brochures today and we can start planning our holiday.
Tom is away on a business ............................................... all week.
It’s a rather difficult overnight ............................................... to the mountains but it’s well worth it.
I prefer to arrange my holidays myself rather than use a ............................................... agent.
On Saturday we went on a day ............................................... to an interesting old castle.
Was it a tiring ............................................... from Seoul to Los Angeles?
On summer weekends we often used to go on camping ............................................... .
Do you use a special firm to arrange business ............................................... for your staff?
Do you make your own ............................................... arrangements or does your secretary do it all?
I hope your flight is on time tomorrow. Safe ...............................................! See you at the airport.

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 Manhattan 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 1 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
2
3
4
5
6
7

14.4

What is the opposite of a smooth flight?
Which of these two kinds of flight do most people prefer and why?
What do we call a flight which is not a charter flight?
What do airlines often provide for passengers to read?
What is the difference between a business trip and business travel?
What is the opposite of outward journey?
If a hotel is family-run, is it especially trying to attract families as guests?

Write about 100 words describing a recent personal travel experience. Use the collocations
from this unit.

Over to you
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.

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

33

15
A

Countryside
Writing about the landscape
From my room I look out over the surrounding countryside. It’s very different from the familiar
landscape I see from the windows at home. At home it’s a gentle landscape1 with open fields2.
Here it’s a bleak landscape with rocky mountains in the distance.
1
2

a landscape with nothing extreme or threatening about it
fields uninterrupted by woods or houses
Yesterday we followed a path down to the lake. As we turned a corner, we caught a glimpse
of3 a kingfisher standing in the water. John tried to take a picture4 of it but it caught sight of us
and flew off. A little further on we rounded a bend5 and St John’s Abbey came into view. The
Abbey fell into ruin6 about three hundred years ago. Although it lies in ruins, it is well worth
seeing as it stands in a dramatic setting on a steep slope beside a fast-flowing river with
mountains towering7 above it.

3
4

saw for a moment
take a photo

5
6

turned a corner
became a ruin

7

mountains rising dramatically

The cottage is in some wonderful unspoilt countryside8 on the edge of a dense forest9.
Unfortunately the trees block the view of the snow-covered mountains. It has a little garden
with a stream at the end of it. The stream winds10 through the forest. They wanted to build a timber
factory here but the local people said that it would destroy the countryside and, fortunately, their
campaign to protect the environment succeeded.
8
9

B

34

countryside that has not been changed by industry or modern buildings
10
thick forest
makes lots of bends, doesn’t flow in a straight line

The language of tourism
collocation

example

uninterrupted view

From most rooms there are uninterrupted views of the castle.
[nothing blocks the views of the castle]

panoramic view

From the top floor restaurant diners have a panoramic view of the
countryside. [view over a very wide area]

spectacular view

From the balcony there is a spectacular view of the mountains.
[very dramatic view]

enjoy/admire a view

We stopped for a few minutes to admire the view.

breathtaking scenery

The area has some breathtaking scenery – mountains, cliffs, lakes.
[extremely striking and beautiful views]

dominate the landscape

The castle dominates the landscape for miles around.
[can be seen from a long way away]

beach stretches

A beautiful beach stretches for miles along the coast.

sandy beach

The hotel has its own sandy beach.

secluded beach

You’ll love the secluded beaches. [without many people]

golden sands

You can wander for miles along the golden sands.

peaceful/tranquil countryside

You can quickly go from the hustle and bustle of the town to the tranquil
countryside. [formal]

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

Exercises
15.1

Look at A. Complete the collocations to fit these pictures.
1

2

3

1 Near the lake there is an old house that ............................................... ............................................... ruin about a hundred
years ago. It stands in a lovely landscape, surrounded by ............................................... fields.
2 We ............................................... a footpath along the river for about three kilometres. In the distance there
were snow-............................................... mountains.
3 We walked through a ............................................... forest; it was very dark among the trees.

15.2

Correct the underlined collocation errors in this paragraph.
A chain of snowy mountains runs down the east of the country. The Wassa River,
the country’s biggest, dances slowly from the northern mountains to the sea. Even
in summer it is a sour landscape, with its dark, stony mountains and its cold
streams. But for me it is the family landscape of my childhood and I am happy that
the government has decided to guard this environment. It is a dramatic set which is
a lot worth visiting for anyone who likes spectacle views.

15.3

Choose the correct collocation.
1
2
3
4

15.4

We made / took / put a lot of photographs because it was such a beautiful day.
As I returned / turned the corner I made / caught / took a glimpse of the house through the trees.
A long sanded / sandy beach reached / ran / stretched for miles in front of us.
Unfortunately, the new hotel blocks / jams / stops the view of the castle.

Complete this collocation web for countryside.

adjective meaning ‘beautiful
because it has not been
changed or damaged
by people’

countryside

adjective meaning
‘peaceful, quiet’

surrounding

verb meaning ‘damage something so badly
that it no longer exists or cannot be used’

15.5

Example: adjective meaning
‘lying around it’

Replace the words in brackets in each sentence with one word which collocates with the
underlined word.
1 It’s a beautiful town and the countryside (which is all around it) is even more beautiful.
2 The tower (is the most important and visible thing on) the landscape. From the top of the tower,
you get a view (which allows you to see a very wide stretch) of the surrounding area.
3 There are lovely beaches (with very few people on them).
4 We travelled through some scenery (which was extremely exciting and beautiful).
5 From the windows of our villa we had views (which were continuous, without any obstacles,) of
the lakes and mountains.
English Collocations in Use Intermediate

35

16
A

Towns and cities
Describing towns and cities for visitors

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.
1

2

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 cafés 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

B

central part of a city where poorer people live and where there are often social problems

Towns and cities and their problems

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-go2 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.
1

a city area which is empty and in a bad condition
where the police and other authorities are afraid to enter
3
in very bad condition
4
not having the things that are necessary for a pleasant life, e.g. enough money, good living conditions
2

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.
5

spread over a large area (slightly negative)
so many cars and so close that they are almost touching each other
7
very loud noise which never stops
8
a place from which many people travel in order to work in a bigger town or city
9
very poor houses made of discarded materials (e.g. tin, cardboard, plastic, etc.)
6

36

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

Exercises
16.1

Which of the collocations in A opposite do these photos illustrate?
1
3

2

16.2

4

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
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

16.4

What might prevent you from sleeping in a house near a busy motorway?
Exhaust fumes will get worse if what increases?
What is the opposite of a restaurant which is good value?
What kind of area with poor, home-made houses could certainly be called a deprived area?
If an area is very interesting historically, what may it officially be called?
What is another way of saying an expensive restaurant?
What do we call blocks of flats which have many storeys, perhaps 20 or more?
What adjective could be used about an attractive and perhaps slightly unusual old building?

Match the beginning of each sentence on the left with its ending on the right.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

It is a sprawling
It is full of upmarket
There was bumper-to-bumper
I get asthma from the terrible exhaust
I live in a residential
Some of the more deprived
The main street in town
The main street is lined
On the outskirts are some industrial
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 cafés.
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.

Over to you
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.
English Collocations in Use Intermediate

37

17
A

People: character and behaviour
Your month of birth and your character

August You have a tendency
to make snap decisions4.

Astrological Forecast
January You are good
company1 but you may have a
selfish streak2.

May You set high
standards for yourself and are
fiercely3 loyal to your friends.

February You have an
outgoing personality and a
good sense of humour.

June The best aspect of your
personality is the way you always
put others first.

March You have a vivid
imagination, but you tend to
lose your temper too easily.

July Although you can be
painfully shy in social
situations, at work you give the
impression of being supremely
confident.

April You are highly
intelligent with a razor-sharp
mind.
1

people enjoy being with you
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
2

B

September You have a
strong sense of responsibility
and always keep your word5.
October You are good at
keeping secrets and never bear a
grudge6.
November You find it hard
to keep your temper7 if you think
someone is making a fool out of
you8.
December You can be
brutally honest9 and sometimes
hurt others’ feelings.

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

Behaviour: verb + noun collocations
collocation

example

comment

play a joke/trick

The children played a joke on the
teacher by hiding under their desks
before she came into the room.

NOT make a joke/trick

take a joke

Fortunately, the teacher could take a
joke and didn’t punish them.

= didn’t mind a joke being played
on her

swallow your pride

Isabella swallowed her pride and
admitted that she was wrong.

= she did it even though it was
embarrassing for her

throw a tantrum

The child threw a tantrum when I
wouldn’t buy him any sweets.

= behaved in a very uncontrolled
manner

lose your patience

Finally I lost my patience and
shouted at her.

= lost my temper, became angry

come to terms with

Nick has found it hard to come to
terms with his illness.

= accept something psychologically

reveal your true character

Daniel’s failure to support her has
certainly revealed his true character.

opposite = conceal/hide your true
character

Tip
Associating these collocations with people you know may help you to learn them.
38

English Collocations in Use Intermediate

Exercises
17.1

Which of the collocations in A describe negatives aspects of character?

17.2

Add the missing words in these letters to a magazine where readers are discussing their and
others’ characters. You are sometimes given the first letter.

1

2

3

4

I know that I .................................................... a tendency to
.................................................... a grudge, but I just can’t
forget something bad a friend did to me
recently. She has a selfish s....................................................
and doesn’t care sometimes how much
she .................................................... my feelings. I am finding
it increasingly hard to k.................................................... my
temper with her. But perhaps it might be better
to l.................................................... my temper and let her
know how I really feel?
Silvia M.

I have always tried to ....................................................
others first and not to think of myself.
I believe you should not lose your
p.................................................... with your friends, but if
someone seems to enjoy .................................................... a
fool out of you in front of other people, do
those rules of friendship still apply?
Stefan P.

I’m a little shy with new people, though not
p.................................................... shy, but sometimes I
think I .................................................... the impression
that I’m unfriendly. How can I convince
people that I’m good c.................................................... and
worth getting to know?
Tom W.

17.3

My boyfriend has a really friendly,
o.................................................... personality and a great
.................................................... of humour. He’s ..........................................
intelligent and has a ....................................................-sharp
mind. The perfect man. We’ve been together now
for a year, and I like him a lot, but don’t love him
any more. Should I be b.................................................... honest
with him and tell him?
Lydia T.

6
I think a friend is destroying himself with drugs. I
feel a .................................................... of responsibility towards
him. He has always been f.................................................... loyal to
me in good and bad times, which is a wonderful
a.................................................... of his personality. I feel I ought
to contact the police or social services, but I don’t
want to make a s.................................................... decision which
I’ll regret later.
Gary J.

Complete B’s remarks in these conversations so that they mean more or less the same as A’s,
using collocations from the opposite page.
1 A:
B:
2 A:
B:
3 A:
B:
4 A:
B:
5 A:
B:

17.4

5

Should I talk about personal matters to my
closest colleague at work? She is not very
good at .................................................... secrets and she
has a very v.................................................... imagination.
She always promises not to tell other people,
but I’m not sure she
always .................................................... her word.
Jan H.

Charlie’s found it hard to accept psychologically the fact that he’s now divorced.
Yes, he’s found it hard ............................................... with his new situation.
Parker’s problem is he can’t laugh when people play jokes on him.
No, it’s true. He just can’t ..............................................., can he?
Well, Sara’s behaviour last night certainly showed the truth about her.
Yes, it certainly ............................................... .
She always has very high expectations of both herself and her children.
Yes, she always ...............