Literary & Idiomatic Precision
About Collocations exercises
A collocation is a pair or group of words that are often used together. English speakers say make a decision, not do a decision, and heavy rain, not strong rain. The exercises in this section cover verb and noun collocations from A2 to C2, in gap fill and multiple choice.
Collocations are not a matter of logic, so each one has to be learned as a unit. The A2 set looks at make, do, have and take: make a mistake, do homework, have a look, take a break. The B1 set moves to everyday and semi-formal combinations. At B2 and C1 the exercises use formal, business and academic English, such as carry out research and draw a conclusion. The C2 set deals with literary and idiomatic pairings. When you meet a wrong answer, read the feedback and note the correct partner word. Then write the whole collocation in a notebook, not the single word, and use it in a sentence of your own. Review the notebook once a week, covering the noun and trying to recall the verb.
- Make, do, have and take with common nouns
- Everyday verb and noun combinations at B1
- Formal and business collocations at B2
- Academic collocations at C1
- Literary and idiomatic word pairs at C2