English Collocations Intermediate, Apuntes de Idioma Inglés

¡Descarga English Collocations Intermediate y más Apuntes en PDF de Idioma Inglés solo en Docsity!

Collocations

Michael McCarthy

Felicity O'Dell

C A M B R I D G E

in

Ise o

How words work

together for

fluent and

natural English

Self-study and

classroom use

Contents

Acknowledgements 3 To the student (and the teacher) 4

Learning a b o u t collocations

1 W h a t is a collocation? 2 Finding, recording and learning collocations 3 Using your dictionary 4 Types of collocation 5 Register

Grammatical aspects of collocations

6 Intensifying adverbs highly unlikely, utterly ridiculous, strongly object 7 Everyday verbs 1 make a mistake, do your best, do damage 8 Everyday verbs 2 go bald, become extinct, fall ill 9 Everyday verbs 3 have fun, take action, pay a compliment

Special aspects of collocation

10 Synonyms and confusable words 1 close a meeting, antique furniture, only child 11 Synonyms and confusable words 2 gain power, achieve your goals, defeat an opponent 12 M e t a p h o r sunny smile, ideas flow, heated discussion

Topics: Travel and t h e e n v i r o n m e n t

13 Weather strong wind, blanket of fog, river bursts its banks 14 Travel tiring journey, aisle seat, family-run hotel 15 Countryside surrounding countryside, well worth seeing 16 Towns and cities lined with shops, sprawling city, volume of traffic

Topics: People and relationships

17 People: character and behaviour have a vivid imagination, lose your patience 18 People: physical appearance slender waist, immaculately groomed 19 Families distant cousin, expecting a baby, stable home 20 Relationships casual acquaintance, love at first sight 21 Feelings and emotions lasting happiness, worried sick, emotional wreck

Topics: Leisure and lifestyle

22 Houses, flats and rooms move into a flat, spacious living room 23 Eating and drinking nourishing meal, spoil your appetite, dying of hunger 24 Films and books film critic, go on the stage, renew a library book 25 Music give a performance, go on tour, strum a guitar 26 Sport go snowboarding, take a penalty 11 Health and illness catch a cold, vigorous exercise, be taken ill

Topics: W o r k and study

28 Computers forward a message, e-mail bounces 29 Study and learning do research, attend a lecture, first draft 30 Work high-powered job, hand in your notice 31 Business set up a business, launch a product, rival company

English Collocations in Use I

W h a t is a collocation?

We say. .. fast cars fast food a quick glance a quick m e a l

We don't say ...

quick food a fes glance a fest meal*

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^1 to native speakers of English. For example, the adjective fast collocates with cars, but not with a glance.

Learning collocations is an important part of learning the vocabulary of a language. Some collocations are fixed, or very strong, for example take a p h o t o , where no w o r d other than take collocates with photo to give the same meaning. Some collocations are more open, where several different w o r d s may be used to give a similar meaning, for example keep t o / stick to the rules. Here are some more examples of collocations.

You must m a k e an effort and study for your exams ( N O T de an effort) Did you watch TV last night? ( N O T look at TV) This car has a very powerful engine. It can do 2 0 0 km an hour. ( N O T strong engine) There are some ancient monuments nearby. ( N O T 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 / did a few mistakes they will be understood, but a fluent speaker of English would probably say I m a d e a few mistakes.

C o m p o u n d s and idioms

C o m p o u n d s are units of meaning formed with t w o or more words. Sometimes the words are written separately, sometimes they have a hyphen and sometimes they are written as one w o r d. Usually the meaning of the c o m p o u n d can be guessed by knowing the meaning of the individual words. Some examples of c o m p o u n d s are car park, post office, narrow- minded, shoelaces, teapot.

It is not always easy to separate collocations and c o m p o u n d s and, where they are useful for learners or an important part of the vocabulary of a topic, we include some c o m p o u n d s in this book too.

Idioms are groups of w o r d s 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.

W h y 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 a b o u t formality wherever the collocations are especially formal or informal.

Exercises

I. I Read A and B and answer these questions. 1 What is a collocation? 2 Which of these words does fast collocate with: car, food, glance, meal? 3 Which of these are c o m p o u n d s : computer, narrow-minded, teapot, ancient monument, car park? 4 W h a t do we call expressions like pass the buck and be over the moon}

1.2 Make ten collocations from the words in the box.

an effort ancient bitterly make breakfast cold dark engine forbidden mistakes have make meal monument pitch powerful strictly substantial TV watch

1.3 Are these statements about collocations true or false? 1 Learning collocations will m a k e your English sound m o r e natural. 2 Learning collocations will help you to express yourself in a variety of ways. 3 Learning collocations will help you to write better English. 4 Using collocations properly will get you better marks in exams. 5 You will not be understood unless you use collocations properly.

1.4 Put the expressions from the b o x into the correct category in the table below.

make a mistake a storm in a tea cup live music checkpoint key ring pull somebody's leg heavy snow valid passport teapot bitterly disappointed

compound collocation idiom

1.5 Underline the collocations in this text.

When I left university I made a decision to take up a profession In which I could be creative. I could play the guitar, but I'd never written any songs. Nonetheless I decided to become a singer-songwriter. I made eome recordings but I had a rather heavy cold so they didn't sound good. I made eome more, and sent them to a record company and waited for them to reply. So, while I was waiting to become famous, I got a job in a fast-food restaurant. That was five years ago. I'm still doing the same job.

Exercises

2.1 Underline 11 collocations in this text.

My f r i e n d Beth Is desperately worried about her son at trie moment. He wants to enrol on a course of some sort but j u s t can't make a decision about what to studu.. I gave Beth a, ring a n d we h a d a long chat about It l a s t night. She scad he'd Like to study for a degree. but i.s a f r a i d he won't meet the requirements for university entry. Beth thinks he should do a course In Management because he'd tike to set up his own business In t h e future,. I agreed t h a t t h a t would be a wise choice.

2.2 Match the beginning of each sentence on the left with its ending on the right. 1 She's having her duty. 2 She's taking a lecture. 3 She's giving a party. 4 She's making an exam. 5 She's doing good progress.

2. 3 Correct the eight collocation errors in this text. Use a dictionary to help you if necessary.

In the morning I made some work in the garden, then I spent a rest for about an hour before going out to have some shopping in town. It was my sister's birthday and I wanted to do a special effort to cook a nice meal for her. I gave a look at a new Thai cookery book in the b o o k s h o p 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. W h a t collocations could you learn from this entry? Underline or highlight them. T h e n write one new sentence for each of them.

l e a d ICONTRQLI © /li:d/ verb [I or T] (led, led) to control a group of people, a country, or a situation: / think we've chosen the right person to lead the expedition, o I've asked Gemma to lead the discussion, o Who will be lead- ing the inquiry into the accident?

• lead sb by the nose INFORMAL to control someone and make them do exactly what you want them to do

See also Unit 3, Using your dictionary.

i

Use a dictionary to find three or four other good collocations for each of these words: desperately pain wise run Write the collocations you find in an appropriate way in your vocabulary notebook.

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 c o m m o n collocations.

In the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (CALD), c o m m o n and useful collocations are given in bold type. Look at the CALD entry for the w o r d pain and note h o w useful collocations are highlighted in bold.

p a i n <^ /pein/ noun [c or u] 1 a feeling of physical suffer- ing caused by injury or illness: Her symptoms included abdominal pain and vomiting, o Are you in (= suffering from) pain? o She was in constant pain, o These tablets should help to ease the pain, o I felt a sharp pain in my foot, o He's been suffering various aches and pains for years. 2 emotional or mental suffering: It's a film about the pains and pleasures of parenthood, o The parents are still in great pain over the death of their child.

• a pain (in the neck) INFORMAL someone or something that is very annoying: That child is a real pain in the neck.

C D - R O M versions of dictionaries are useful because you can usually search for a lot more information very quickly indeed. T h e CALD C D - R O M has a special button labelled jfapffWli,TfT'*lll1r^ in many entries. Clicking on this button gives you a list of collocations. H e r e are the verb collocations for pain. The dictionary also gives adjectives and n o u n s which are used with pain.

' •! Collocations I CALD 2 C o l l o c a t i o

pain

Verbs

experience / f e e l / suffer p a i n / experienced chest pains and dizziness. alleviate / ease / lessen / relieve / s o o t h e p a i n A hot bath may help to relieve the pain. cause / inflict pain He deliberately inflicted pain on his pupils. c o m p l a i n o f p a i n She came in complaining of stomach pains. p a i n subsides As the pain subsided, I began to relax. b e racked w i t h p a i n He is emaciated and racked with pain.

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 <^ /'Df.sV c® /'cu.f^/ noun [C] when someone asks you if you would like to have something or if you would like them to do something: "If you like I can do some shopping for you." "That's a very kind offer. " o / must say the offer of a weekend in Barcelona quite tempts me. o INFORMAL One day I'll take you up on (= accept) that offer. _ _

a

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

Types of collocation

There are many different types of collocations. Here are some examples.

Adjectives and nouns

Notice adjectives that are typically used with particular nouns. Jean always wears red or yellow or some other bright colour. We had a brief chat a b o u t the exams but didn't have time to discuss them properly. Unemployment is a major problem for the government at the moment. Improving the health service is another key issue for government.

Nouns and verbs

Notice h o w 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] T h e company has grown and n o w employs 50 more people than last year. T h e company has expanded and now has branches in most major cities. The two companies merged in 2 0 0 3 and n o w form one very large corporation. The company launched the product in 2 0 0 2. [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]

N o u n + noun

There are a lot of collocations with the pattern a ... of ....

As Sam read the lies about him, he felt a surge of anger, [literary: a sudden angry feeling] Every parent feels a sense of pride when their child does well or wins something. I felt a pang of nostalgia when I saw the old photos of the village where I grew up.

Verbs and expressions w i t h prepositions

Some verbs collocate with particular prepositional expressions.

As Jack went on stage to receive his gold medal for the judo competition you could see his parents swelling with pride, [looking extremely proud] I was filled with horror when I read the newspaper report of the explosion. When she spilt juice on her new skirt the little girl burst into tears, [suddenly started crying)

Verbs and adverbs

Some verbs have particular adverbs which regularly collocate with them.

She pulled steadily on the rope and helped him to safety, [pulled firmly and evenly) He placed the beautiful vase gently on the w i n d o w ledge. 'I love you and want to marry you,' Derek whispered softly to M a r s h a. She smiled proudly as she looked at the photos of her new grandson.

A d v e r b s 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 k n o w well] Harry was blissfully u n a w a r e that he was in danger. [Harry had no idea at all, often used a b o u t something unpleasant]

Exercises

4.1 Complete each sentence with a collocation from A. 1 Come to my office ten minutes before the meeting so we can have ... 2 With her lovely dark hair Uma looks best when she wears ... 3 In your essay on the influence of TV, don't forget to discuss these ... 4 There is some crime in our town but it isn't ...

4.2 Replace the underlined words with a collocating verb from B. 1 We are going to introduce an exciting new product in June. 2 The economy was extremely high 20 years ago. 3 The new university they are planning will provide a lot of job opportunities. 4 There are always some problems when t w o 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 n o w added children's clothing to its product range.

4.3 Choose the correct feeling from the b o x to complete each sentence.

anger h o r r o r tears nostalgia pride pride

1 Most older people feel a slight pang of as they think back on their schooldays. 2 Carla's father was filled with when he saw that she had dyed her beautiful black hair blonde. 3 When Paul saw h o w harshly the poor were treated by the wealthy landowners he felt a surge of 4 Swelling with , Dan watched his daughter pick up her violin and play. 5 When she saw her exam results, Kate burst into 6 If people have a sense of in their t o w n , they are more likely to behave well there.

4. 4 Look at E and F and choose the correct adverb to complete these sentences.

1 Perhaps it's a good thing that Ken's unaware of w h a t people really think of him. 2 I am aware that there will be problems whatever we decide. 3 Nadya smiled as she watched the children playing happily in the garden. 4 My grandparents have been married for 45 years. 5 Place the glasses in the box - they're very fragile. 6 Paul whispered in Anna's ear t h a t he w o u l d always love her.

4.5 Which of the sections A - F on the opposite page would each of these collocations fit into?

1 make a decision 6 roar with laughter 2 blissfully happy 7 a key factor 3 tread carefully 8 prices rise 4 a surge of emotion 9 a ginger cat 5 acutely embarrassing 10 burst into song

i

Make a page in your vocabulary notebook for each of the types of collocations listed on the opposite page.

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 Cyclists should dismount before crossing the footbridge. ( ) 2 Never dispose of batteries and similar items by throwing them onto a fire. ( ) 3 The students were all bored stiff by the lecture. ( ) 4 Passengers must alight from the bus through the rear door. ( ) 5 The grass badly needs cutting. ( ) 6 Please place all used tickets in the receptacle provided as you leave the building. ( )

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

1 OIL COMPANIES SLASH PRICES

3 FLOODS HIT CENTRAL REGION There was good news for motorists today Towns and villages in the Central region as pump prices were lowered by the major (^) w e r e battling against floods tonight as oil companies. heavy rain continued.

B^SMA

Q N

U OVER

CAR FIRM TO AXE 200 JOBS MISSING TEENAGER The Presco car firm has announced that 2 0 0 workers Senior detectives will he made redundant at its Kenton factory. The interviewed a man who job losses are the result of falling profits. has been named as prime suspect in the case of a missing 18 year-old w h o is feared to have been abducted.

5.3 Rewrite the headlines in exercise 5.2 using collocations m o r e typical of ordinary conversation, as if you were telling a friend the news. Start each answer with ' H a v e 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 We raised partnership to develop a new range of products. 2 They submitted capital to expand the business. 3 They went into a business to supply sports equipment to schools. 4 We started up a tender for the new stadium.

5.5 Choose a formal or informal collocation as instructed at the end of each sentence. Use a dictionary if necessary. 1 She was dead I extremely keen to meet the new director, (informal) 2 We should be boarding the aircraft I getting on the plane in about ten minutes, (formal) 3 Mr Trotter paid for I bore the cost of the repairs, (formal) 4 I withdrew from I dropped out of my university course after a year, (informal) 5 The president launched into I embarked upon a detailed explanation of his policies. (informal)

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 w o r d s , and other combinations often sound unnatural.

Highly

collocations (un)fikely unusual successful c o m p e t i t i v e profitable effective controversial r e c o m m e n d e d

comments Highly is used with some probability words (likely, unusua/). W i t h the exception of highly controversial it usually combines w i t h very positive words. E x t r e m e l y can also be used with all the opposite adjectives except recommended.

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

Absolutely, utterly

collocations ridiculous stupid impossible w r o n g alone appalled convinced devastated m i s e r a b l e

comments 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 vefy 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.

Bitterly, deeply, ridiculously, strongly

word b i t t e r l y

deeply

ridiculously

strongly

collocations disappointing/disappointed resent criticise r e g r e t c o m p l a i n cry w e e p a s h a m e d c o n c e r n e d shocked c o m m i t t e d m o v e d affected h u r t (of feelings) r e g r e t care religious unhappy cheap expensive easy low high long short small large early oppose influence believe deny r e c o m m e n d s u p p o r t c o n d e m n suggest feel a r g u e object

comments carries a feeling of deep sadness; used slightly more in writing than in conversation collocates mainly w i t h words associated with feelings; used slightly more in writing than in conversation

suggests something extreme, which seems unbelievable or unreasonable collocates w i t h 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.

Everyday verbs I

This unit deals with make and do, t w o verbs that many learners have problems with. If you remember that the basic meaning of make is a b o u t producing something and the basic meaning of do is about performing an action, then the collocations on this page may seem more logical.

Make

collocation make arrangements for make a change / changes make a choice make a comment / comments make a contribution to make a decision make an effort make an excuse make friends make an improvement make a mistake make a phone calf make progress

example The school can m a k e a r r a n g e m e n t s for pupils with special needs. The new manager is planning to m a k e s o m e changes. Jill had to m a k e a choice between her career and her family. W o u l d anyone like to m a k e any c o m m e n t s on the talk?

She m a d e a useful c o n t r i b u t i o n to the discussion. I'm glad it's you w h o has to m a k e t h e decision, n o t me. Joe is really m a k i n g an effort with his maths this t e r m. I'm t o o tired to go out tonight. Let's m a k e an excuse and stay at home. Karen is very good at m a k i n g friends. Repainting the r o o m has really m a d e an i m p r o v e m e n t. They've m a d e a m i s t a k e in our bill. I've got to m a k e s o m e p h o n e calls before dinner. Harriet is m a k i n g progress with all her schoolwork.

Do

collocation do your best do damage do an experiment do exercises do someone a good turn / do someone a favour do harm do your hair do your homework do the ironing/shopping/ washing, etc. do some w o r k

example All that matters in the exam is to do y o u r best. The storm did s o m e d a m a g e t o our roof. We are doing an e x p e r i m e n t to test how the metal reacts w i t h water. We'll do s o m e exercises practising these collocations t o m o r r o w. Scouts and guides are supposed to do s o m e o n e a good t u r n every day.

- Changing the rules may do more h a r m than good. N o , I'm not ready. 1 haven't d o n e my hair yet. My son has to do his h o m e w o r k straight after school. I'll do t h e washing if you do t h e ironing.

We'll do s o m e w o r k on o u r project and then we'll go to the cinema.

I

Notice all the patterns that you can see in these tables. For example, make a comment, make an excuse and make a contribution to a discussion are all connected w i t h saying things. Noticing connections like this may help you to remember the correct collocation.

Exercises

7.1 Use a collocation with make and a n o u n instead of the underlined words in each of these conversations. 1 Miriam: The bill says we've had three desserts. We only had two. Rosa: The waiter must have been mistaken. 2 Kim: It's so difficult. Should I take the job or not? Todd: I know it's difficult. But you have to decide one way or the other. 3 Jane: Can you and Brian come to dinner on Saturday? Jill: Yes, we'll have to arrange to get a babysitter, but it should be O K. 4 Brona: Did you hear about the air traffic controllers' strike in the USA? Aaron: Yes. We had to change our travel itinerary because of it. 5 Pete: Can I have chips and rice with my lunch? Clare: N o , you have to choose, chips or rice, but not both. 6 Fran: Do you intend to speak at the meeting? Gloria: Yes, I hope I can contribute to the debate.

7.2 Choose the correct collocation, do or make. 1 Did the fire do / make much damage to the factory? 2 I hate doing I making my homework at the last minute. 3 You must do I make an effort to work harder. 4 Did you do I make any work at the weekend? 5 We are trying to do I make improvements to the system for registering. 6 Do you think it would do I make any harm if I cut some leaves off this plant?

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

ffm MZ M*t t{0nf

1 Do you always your best to be on t i m e w h e n meeting a friend?

2 Do you ever the cooking at home?

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

4 Do you ever negative comments a b o u t your friends' hair, clothes, etc?

5 Do you f i n d it easy to friends?

Give yourself three points for 'always', t w o for 'sometimes', one for 'never'. Turn the page to find out how nice you really are.

ALWAYS

**-

-**

a

a

SOMETIMES

**-

-**

NEVER

a

**-

-**

Exercises

8.1 Answer these questions using collocations from A a n d B. 1 What can happen to men as they get older? (Clue: Think of their hair.) 2 W h a t can happen if you are embarrassed? (Clue: Think of your face.) 3 What can happen if you get bad news? (Clue: Think of your face or hair.) 4 What can happen to the pages of a newspaper after a long time? 5 What happens to strawberries as they ripen? 6 The poet John Milton lost his eyesight at the end of his life. W h a t is another way of saying that? 7 The composer Beethoven lost his hearing at the end of his life. W h a t is another way of saying that? 8 At the end of Shakespeare's play, Hamlet loses his mind. W h a t is another w a y 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 Dinosaurs got extinct thousands of years ago. 2 When I get married, I'd like to get lots of children. 3 Janet fell depressed after failing her final exams. 4 Hamid has always d r e a m t of getting famous. 5 Would you be interested in growing involved in this project? 6 M o r e people have got homeless this year than in any previous year. 7 My sister got a baby last week. 8 My grandfather got a heart attack last winter.

8.3 Replace each use of get with a verb from the b o x.

become fall become grow have make

As yow get older, you'll begin to u n d e r s t a n d your parents better. Getting angry with them ail t h e time doesn't help. You may not want to go to summer camp when none, of your friends will be there, but ^O(AY parents know you will soon get new friends there. You would all have gone on a family holiday together If i^our grandmother h a d n ' t got III, but surely you can u n d e r s t a n d why thex^ don't want to leave her. You'll feel much more sympathetic to ^our parents* feelings when I^OIA. 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 b r o w n n o w and badly need repainting. 4 When I start greY» I ' m^ definitely going to dye my hair. 5 As the headmaster walked into the hall, the children all silent. 6 The noise on the street louder and I looked out of the w i n d o w 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.

Everyday verbs 3

Have

N o t e that these verbs collocate with have rather than any other verb (e.g. get or make).

collocation have an accident have an argument / a r o w have a break have a conversation/chat have difficulty have a dream/nightmare have an experience have a feeling have fun / a good time have a look have a party have a problem / problems have a try/go

example Mr Grey had an accident last night but he's OK now. We had an a r g u m e n t / a r o w about how to fix the car. Let's have a b r e a k when you finish this exercise. 1 hope we'll have time to have a chat after the meeting. The class had difficulty understanding what to do. 1 had a n i g h t m a r e last night. 1 had a frightening e x p e r i e n c e the other day. 1 have a feeling that something is wrong. I'm sure you'll have fun on the school trip. The teacher wanted to have a look at what we were doing. Let's have a p a r t y at the end of t e r m. Ask the teacher if you have p r o b l e m s with the exercise. I'll explain what to do and then you can have a go/try.

Take

Hi, Jean, Were eo glad we decided to take a holiday here. Yesterday we took a trip to t h e mountains.. First we took a train to a little town and then we took a b u s going to various villages and got off when we saw one that we took a Irking t o. Of course, we were taking a risk as we didn't know exactly what wed find there. f3ut we were lucky. Some kids took an interest in us and

; showed us some great places. \ We took a lot of photos. Have you done anything y e t about your job? Id take a chance and leave if I were you. No point in staying somewhere where t h e boss h a s t a k e n a dielike to youl Take advantage of being in London - there are always plenty of jobs there. You'll soon find something else, so take action, that's my advicel Good luck! Ellen

Pay

collocation pay attention pay a compliment pay your (last) respects pay tribute [formal]

example You must pay a t t e n t i o n to the teacher. 1 was trying to pay her a c o m p l i m e n t but she misunderstood. At a funeral people pay t h e i r last respects to the person w h o has died. W h e n Jack retired, his boss made a speech paying t r i b u t e to all he had done for the company.

1

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