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
She had / took / paid attention to what I told her and started working harder.
2
I had / made / took over a hundred photographs on my trip to Antarctica.
3
She made / paid / brought me a nice compliment yesterday.
4
I got / made / had a bad dream last night and woke up sweating.
5
The President made / gave / paid tribute to all the people who had supported him.
6
I got / took / had a liking to my new doctor the moment I met her.
7
I gave / made / had a feeling I had met Richard before, but I couldn’t remember where.
8
I went to Douglas Farnham’s funeral to give / take / pay my last respects to a fine man.
9
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 Synonyms and confusable words 1
A 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 The chairperson closed the meeting at She was very rude. She said ‘Shut your
(b) shut 4.30. mouth!’ [impolite way of telling someone not
[We close meetings/discussions/ to speak] A dentist might ask you to close
conferences, etc.] your mouth. Shut is generally more informal.
(a) start It was a cold morning and I could not start Before the universe began, time and space
(b) begin my car. did not exist.
[Start, NOT begin, is used for engines and [Begin is preferred in more formal and
vehicles. abstract contexts.]
(a) big It was a big decision to make. I wanted the sweater in the large size but
(b) large There were some big problems to solve. they only had medium.
(a) end The film ended with the hero dying. I haven’t finished my homework yet.
(b) finish They ended their relationship a year ago. [Finish here means complete.]
[End here means decide to stop.]

B 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 Other synonym pairs

synonyms (a) example (b) example

(a) charge I need to charge my phone. They loaded the lorry and drove away.
(b) load [used for batteries, electrical items] [used for cargoes, lorries, vans, ships, etc.
and for weapons]
(a) injure Three injured people were taken to The shop tried to sell me a damaged sofa
(b) damage hospital after the accident. but I noticed it just in time.
[collocates with words to do with people] [collocates with words for things]
(a) grow In the south the farmers grow crops. In the north the farmers mostly raise cattle.
(b) raise [collocates with crops, plants] [collocates with animals, children]

24 English Collocations in Use Intermediate

 Exercises

10.1 Choose the correct collocation.

1 The dentist told me to shut / close my mouth.
2 I didn’t know what to do when I got into my car and couldn’t start / begin the engine.
3 I want to buy a sweater for my dad. He needs one in a big / large size.
4 I haven’t finished / ended my essay yet. I can’t decide how to finish / end it.
5 At what time do you plan to shut / close the conference?
6 All societies develop their own stories about how the world started / began.
7 It’s far too big / large a problem for you to solve on your own.
8 It’s never easy to finish / end a relationship.
10.2 Look at B. Complete each phrase with a word meaning either ‘old’ or ‘alone’.
1 a ............................................... figure on the horizon 6 to live ...............................................
2 a shop selling ............................................... furniture 7 to feel desperately ...............................................
3 to be an ............................................... child 8 to catch up with ............................................... friends
4 the ............................................... survivor of the accident 9 support for ............................................... parents
5 to study ............................................... history 10 a home for ............................................... people
10.3 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