Recognising and using collocations

What is this?
 
make a decision do a decision
strong coffee powerful coffee
generation gap generation space

Why do we need collocations?

Collocations form natural English.

You need to hear them and read them to understand native speakers.

You need to say them and write them so you seem natural to native speakers.

Exam?
Use of English Humans are not the only creatures that like to _____ fun. Collocation:
A have B do C get D take have + fun
Part 1
Use of English Modern bicycles combine compactness _____ convenience. Collocation:
combine st + with + st
Part 2
Use of English Tea was virtually _____ in England until about 1700. Collocation:
KNOWN virtually + unknown
Part 3
Use of English Tickets for the concert tomorrow cannot be bought before Collocation:
12th May. SALE be + on + sale
Part 4 Tickets for the concert will not _____ _____ 12th May.

Verb + preposition
turn into As children turn into teenagers, their whole world changes.
break up John’s parents have broken up and John’s very depressed.
pay attention If Rocky had been paying attention in class, he wouldn’t be in detention.
fall out Teenagers are always falling out and making up again.
fit in The new girl in the class seems to be fitting in well with her classmates.

Noun + noun
youth centre The YMCA is a youth centre for teenagers to hang out in.
law-breaking youth Some charities want to take the homeless youth off the streets.
peer pressure They want to give them ideas on how to ignore peer pressure.
mood swing Many adolescents suffer from mood swings and depression.
generation gap Young psychologists are hired to reduce the generation gap between them.

Adjective + noun
physical development Teenagers go through a period of rapid physical development.
emotional maturity Teenagers want to be treated as adults, but are not emotionally mature yet.
social skills They want to teach them social skills they never learnt.
young adults Eighteen is a difficult age because you are both a teenager and a young adult.
close relationship Jane has a very close relationship with her mother.
clear skin The doctor prescribed Tom a lotion to help keep his skin clear from spots.
wide generation gap My mother doesn’t think the generation gap is as wide now as it used to be.
high level Today’s teenagers can suffer very high levels of stress, according to doctors.
clean record When juvenile offenders turn eighteen, they get a clean criminal record again.
narrow range Unfortunately, there’s an extremely narrow range of activities available.
long hours I don’t think it’s healthy for Umar to spend such long hours alone in his room.
great importance A teenager’s social life is a matter of great importance to them.
 Verb + noun
take make have do
 _____ research
 _____ the first move
 _____ fun
 _____ a trick
 _____ a deep breath
 _____ a party
 _____ the right thing
 _____ the flu
 _____ a difference
take make have do
 _____ progress
 _____ a complaint
 _____ the blame
 _____ a great time
 _____ well
 _____ an idea
 _____ care of
 _____ changes
 _____ somebody a favour

Verb + adverb
benefit greatly Freya would benefit greatly from some sessions with a psychologist or counsellor.
develop rapidly The world is developing so rapidly that parents often find it hard to keep up.
grin broadly Whenever I see Sean, he’s either grinning strictly or laughing at some joke.
strictly speaking Strictly speaking, a nineteen-year-old is still a teenager, but we usually say young adult.
smelling strongly Jean came in smelling strongly of tobacco and her father was sure she’d been smoking.
working hard After working hard for my exams all day, I went out with my friends in the evening.

Adverb + adjective
highly intelligent Highly intelligent teenagers can suffer from boredom at school, which
leads to misbehaviour.
deeply disappointed The head teacher told Carl that she was deeply disappointed with the
way he was acting in class.

Phrases
to come and go as you You can’t just treat this house like a hotel and come and go as you
please please.
to call it a night You’ve been doing your homework for hours so why don’t you call it a
night and carry on in the morning.
be safe and sound Thank goodness Becky made it home from the party safe and sound!
sense of style It’s no wonder she has such a good sense of style - she spends all
day reading fashion magazines.
now and then I only see my old school friends now and then, these days.
matter of taste Music is a matter of taste and, when you get older, your likes and
dislikes might change.
peace and quiet At last, the kids went to camp and John got some peace and quiet to
study for his exams.
chalk and cheese The two boys are like chalk and cheese but, despite their differences,
they’re the best of friends.
hard and fast There are no hard and fast rules to bringing up teenagers.
waste of time Adolescents often feel it’s a waste of time to talk to their parents
about their problems, since they won’t understand.

Verb phrases
grow older As children grow older, they start to want more independence.
tell lies to sb Why do teenagers have a reputation for telling lies to their parents?
pay attention Very few of the students were paying attention to what the teacher
was saying.
go white The young girl went white and fainted.
get angry They argue, but they seldom get angry with each other.
to be held responsible At what age should young people be held responsible for their
actions?
talk about I don’t know what you’re talking about!
to turn red The two youths turned red and started shouting at each other.
 Verb + adverb
study hard Katie has been studying hard all afternoon.
lately He’s been coming home very late at night lately.
correctly guess Her brother correctly guessed that something was wrong.
deeply hurt He’s just broken up with his best friend and he’s deeply hurt.
dead certain I’m dead certain that he wasn’t in class that day.
learn fast Young people learn fast and rarely make the same mistake twice.
highly suspicious The teenagers looked at the new teacher and were highly suspicious of him.
take it easy Take it easy! There’s no need to lose your cool.
watch closely If you watch him closely, you’ll see he takes after his father in the way he acts.
sound asleep Karen’s sound asleep, so don’t go into her room.

Practice

Part 1
Hi Scott,

Sorry I haven’t written for a while, but I’ve been busy settling in here. I also (1) _____ the flu, so I was in bed for
a while.

It’s quite different here from life in the UK. There’s so much peace and (2) _____ that I sometimes miss the
honking of car horns and the crowds of London. Mum likes it, though, and her anxiety (3)_____ have almost
disappeared.

I started my new school. I’m going to have to start (4) _____ attention in class, because there’s loads I don’t
know, especially in history and geography. I’m a (5) _____ learner, of course, so I’m not too worried. The only
thing that does worry me a bit is that all the kids here seem to have very (6) _____ friendships already and I
don’t know how easy making friends is going to be. My social (7) _____ is non-existent at the moment. Oh well,
I’m sure it will get better.

Write soon. I really want to stay in touch by email, because I think it’s (8) _____ unlikely I’ll be seeing you until
the summer at least.

Hal
A B C D
1 had took did went
2 silence quiet quietness calm
3 assaults crises attacks panics
4 paying showing seeing noticing
5 rapid hard lazy fast
6 favourite best old close
7 existence life skill event
8 greatly highly strongly broadly

(1) Collocation: have the flu

(2) Collocation: peace and quiet
(3) Collocation: anxiety attack
(4) Collocation: pay attention
(5) Collocation: fast learner
(6) Collocation: close friendships
(7) Collocation: social life
(8) Collocation: highly unlikely
 Part 2
Adolescent Development
While most parents worry about their children
(1)__________ well at school, what they often don’t
realise is how many other changes are going on in
their teenager. Humans are the only species that
go through the teenage stage and, for many, it
appears to be a waste (2)__________ time. What
does it achieve, after all? Yet evolutionary theory
suggests (3)__________ phase of life must have
come about for a reason.
Until the child turns (4)__________ a teenager,
they are deeply sensitive to the world around them.
They instinctively want to take (5)__________ of
children younger than themselves and they dislike
seeing others in pain. The brain of the teenager has
lost all this sensitivity. It is focused on itself and on
very simple questions, such as: Do I belong here?
Is that person a (6)__________ friend or just
pretending to be one? The parental complaint of
the insensitive teenager is far from fiction.
Evolutionary biologists are just starting to study the
adolescent brain, so there are no firm answers. But
if you asked one of them to make (7)__________
guess, they would probably point to the early years
of human development, which humans spent in
small groups, constantly on the move. In those
days, the unity of the group was (8)__________
vital importance. The young had to show complete
devotion to that, or the group’s survival was at risk.
(1) Collocation: to do well at school
(2) Collocation: a waste of time
(3) Pronoun: this (this phase = the teenage
stage) (this = the teenage)(phase = stage)
(4) Collocation: to turn into (to become)
(5) Collocation: to take care of (to look after)
(6) Grammatical structure: real (Is st A or
B?)(real ≠ pretending)
(7) Collocation: to make a guess
(8) Collocation: be of vital importance
Part 3
Tea
One good teacher can make a great (1)(DIFFER)
__________ in a student’s life. High
(2)(INTELLIGENT) __________ can cause just as
many problems as learning difficulties. Is the
(3)(GENERATE) __________ gap getting wider, or
is it just my imagination? The boy was sitting on a
bench, thinking (4)(DEEP) __________. Kurt’s
father gave him a generous (5)(ALLOW)
__________ to live on when he went to study in
Brighton. Sadly, it’s highly (6)(PROBABLE)
__________ that we’ll have the money to send our
son to university. Under-eighteens are badly
(7)(PAY) __________ in the restaurant business.
You’re going to have to make (8)(CHANGE)
__________ or you’ll find yourself with no
qualifications.
(1) Collocation: great difference
(2) Collocation: high intelligence
(3) Collocation: generation gap
(4) Collocation: think deeply
(5) Collocation: generous allowance
(6) Collocation: highly improbable
(7) Collocation: badly paid
(8) Collocation: make changes
Part 4
We decided not to go to the party on Friday night.
DECISION
We (1)___________________________________
not to go to the party on Friday night.
Teenagers are often far more adventurous than
their parents. SENSE
Teenagers often have a greater (2) _________
_________________ than their parents.
Has your son improved at school? DOING
Is (3) ___________________________ at school?
What kind of food your kids like is all about
personal taste. MATTER
It’s (4) ___________________________________
what kind of food your kids like.
Just don’t lie to me, that’s all I ask. TELL
Just (5) ______________________, that’s all I ask.
You’ll feel better if you take it easy and breathe
deeply. BREATH
Relax and (6) _____________________________
and you’ll feel better.
(1) Collocation: make a decision
(2) Collocation: sense of adventure
(3) Collocation: do well
(4) Collocation: a matter of taste
(5) Collocation: tell sb the truth
(6) Collocation: take a deep breath