Hi everyone.

   Sorry about the long delay before continuing this collocation series. I’ve been very busy with the start of the new AIS courses. Anyhow, I’ll put the new entry on now. Remember, collocation, or more specifically, bad collocation, is one reason people cannot achieve IELTS 7 or 8. It’s certainly something to work on, so here is the next set of sentences for you to look at.

Time to Practice

Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the coloured word? There may be different ways to answer this.

1. This will make patients desperately give up hope of being cured.
2. Knowing the truth can actually make stress.
3. Patients need to know the opportunities of surviving the operation.
4. This bad news will bring an impact on their lives.
5. The newspapers have shown this several times.
6. Many young people today want to keep single.
7. These young people want to meet new friends.
8. Many people want to raise pets.

Answers to Collocation 4 of 6

1. Exercise is a good way to improve health.
2. He was identified as a suspect in the crime.
3. People face the dangers of nicotine addiction.
4. The solution can be easily achieve.
5. Most criminals are sent to prison. [We are sentenced for a crime, or sentence to a specific punishment.]
6. The law can infringe on the rights of others.
7. It doesn’t deal with the fundamental causes of the problem.
8. They will continue to undertake criminal activities.