Well, this is the last series of the current ‘collocation’ posts – although I will have to give the answers to it in the next post – so that one will actually be the finish. But before giving 16 of 16, I’ll just mention what you can see in the subject line. Here it is again, with a little more detail.
- Saturday IELTS Course: Join this coming Saturday!!!
It will be your last chance to join this course (making up the missed lessons in the Term 3 weekday courses).
- Term 3 Weekday Courses: Join this Monday/Tuesday!!!
It’s Monday for the IELTS Writing & Listening Course, andTuesday for the IELTS Reading & Speaking Course. Get in for the beginning of these.
Tell your friend about these, and don’t think so much: JUST DO IT. Check my qualification on the website: www.aisielts.com , and you will realise.
Anyhow, let’s move on to the final of the ‘collocation’ series.
Collocation: the other key to IELTS 7 (16 of 16)
Collocation is the key to getting a higher IELTS Writing and Speaking score, but it is not easy. Students often do not collocate words very well (which is why they don’t receive IELTS 7 or 8). To do this, all the parts of speech [adjectives & nouns, verbs & adverbs, prepositions & nouns, and others] must fit together in accepted patterns, stylishly and nice, while all the time conveying clear and precise meaning – like the video at the top of this page. Watch it, and notice all the parts of this complex creation blend together perfectly. This is what your writing should be like.
Well, to have ‘a sense of collocation’ (= IELTS 7), you need to have some familiarity with English. So, start reading all my pixnet posts, and getting this familiarity, right?
In the meantime, the following exercises will help.
Time to Practice
Can you ‘fix’ the following sentences by changing (or removing) the underlined word? There may be different ways to answer these. The answers will be in the next ‘collocation’ post.
1.
Nuclear power stations can produce the daily usage of power.
2.
The Fukashima incident is just a single issue of the mistaken use of nuclear power.
3.
Guns have caused many disasters in America.
4.
People live in a quick society.
5.
The army forces men to do tasks over their limitations.
6.
People can always report to the police office.
7.
In the modern day, computers are dominant.
8.
Bullied students are also subject to verbal violence.
Answers to Collocation 15 of 16
Here are the answers to the previous collocation exercise. The first sentence has the wrong collocation; the second sentence has the correct one.
1.
They need guns for when they face dangerous conditions.
They need guns for when they face dangerous situations.
2.
What is happening in Taiwan tells a different result.
What is happening in Taiwan tells a different story.
3.
I am sorry for wasting your worthy time.
I am sorry for wasting your valuable time.
4.
By not seeing the product, customers undertake the risk of ….[~]ing…
By not seeing the product, customers run the risk of ….[~]ing…
By not seeing the product, customers risk [~]ing …
5.
I hope that you can challenge this cancer.
I hope that you can conquer/fight/overcome/beat/recover from this cancer.
6.
This can stimulate new ideas and creation.
This can stimulate new ideas and inventions.
7.
This can enhance the profit the companies make.
The can increase the profit the companies make.
We don’t ‘enhance’ numerical things (that is, things based on numbers). We enhance abstract factors, such as ‘quality’, ‘service’, ‘enjoyment’, and so on.
8.
Airline companies have launched significant discounts.
Airline companies have been offering significant discounts.
Present Perfect Continuous tense is more logical here.
Remember, you can learn more about me at www.aisielts.com .