NOTE: Before you begin these activities, be sure you understand how to use the resources in

Check My Words (especially the ‘Word Combinations’ button, Word Neighbors and
JustTheWord). In the following tasks, you will find that sometimes one resource is better than
another. Experiment with all three resources to find which one is best for a particular context.

Task 1: Test your Collocation IQ

Tick the correct ‘collocations’ (word combinations). Some of these are common errors:
 list out points  drop down notes  take a chance

 easy money  drop by a place  take the trouble

 heavy handed  run the risk  play computer

 high chance  make harm to  conflicts arise

 food for thought  make business with  tackle a problem

Task 2: Finding the Right Collocations

Use CMWs to find the appropriate words and word forms (e.g. tense) for the blanks (make a note
of which resource you use). In some cases, there may be more than one possible answer. Decide
in each sentence what ‘target word’ to highlight:

1. The police must _____________ (verb) every effort to combat crime.

2. The government _____________ (verb) a ‘Clean HK Campaign’ some years ago.

3. Cinderella had to leave when the clock _____________ (verb) twelve.

4. He looked up and caught _____________ (noun) of a shooting star.

5. You have to see it _____________ (preposition) the client’s perspective.

6. The government would like to ________ (verb) an end to people abusing the welfare system.

7. Some textbooks are badly written and don’t _________ (verb) any sense.

8. Saddam Hussein was __________ (verb) to death after he was convicted of mass murder.

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9. He is an ______ (adjective) admirer of your work.

10. This new process is a ______ (adjective) advance in technology.

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Task 3: Making Your Writing more Interesting
Use CMWs to supply the most appropriate missing word(s) in each sentence. More than one
answer may be acceptable.

1. They found that they had to strike a _____________ (adjective) balance in this matter.

2. There is _____________ (adjective) evidence that global temperature is on the rise.

3. One sector showed _____________ (adjective) growth – about 80%; another sector showed

only _____________ (adjective) growth – about 35%.

4. He _____________ (adverb) remembered the event, but could not recall the details.

5. He _____________ (adverb) denied having committed any offence.

6. The new device will _____________ (adverb) enhance the quality of images.

7. Not wanting to _____________ (verb) attention, they sat down quietly.

8. The Olympics will certainly be given wide media _____________(noun).

9. Pay closer attention _____________ (preposition) details when you prepare your report.

10. In the experiment, patients _____________ (verb) different kinds of treatment.

11. I have a ___________ grasp of the situation.

Task 4: Common Adjective-Noun Collocations

Use CMWs to find at least two adjectives that collocate (combine) strongly with each of the
following nouns and that form a combination that is new to you. NOTE: These nouns have
different meanings. Chose a meaning important to you.
1. _____________ / _____________ point
2. _____________ / _____________ interest

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 3. _____________ / _____________ step
4. _____________ / _____________ conclusion
5. _____________ / _____________ solution
Now, write five original sentences that are relevant to your life as a student with these new
combinations.
1. ___________________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________________
4. ___________________________________________________________________________
5. ___________________________________________________________________________

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Task 5: Do they go together?
Are the collocations in the following underlined phrases correct? Use CMWs to help rewrite those
that are wrong. It might help to look up ‘Similar Meanings’ on the CMWs toolbar, and in some
cases more than one button (e.g. Definitions and Word Family)should be used to check your
choice. Note: The words that ‘go together’ below are quite informal expressions (e.g. more often
used in conversation, newspapers, informal reports etc.) and should not be used in formal writing.

1. He smiled bitterly when he was told his plan had failed.

2. He had been a substantial smoker all his life, and finally died of lung cancer.

3. The city conducts an annual head count of the homeless people on the streets.

4. They had tea together and exchanged the latest juicy gossip.

5. The judge quickly dismissed all their legal arguments that did not hold water.

6. The department came below fire for over-spending.

7. The medical team’s pioneering research continued to break new ground in improving ways to

detect cancer at an early stage.

8. On being told that her husband had been killed in an accident, she broke down and wept

harshly.

9. If you want to do a job well, you can’t do it on the cheap.

10. The group worked closely together, and their team spirit was second of none.

11. Being visually-impaired, he can’t go to many places without his seeing-eye dog.

12. By their own initiative, they helped the police to form a search team for the missing person.

13. A cheerful-go-lucky person, he never seems to have a care in the world.

14. Everyone thought Tom was a demonstrated bachelor, so they were surprised to hear of his

engagement to Betty.
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15. They heeded the advice their instructor gave them and their results improved dramatically.

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Task 6: What does ‘knowing’ a word mean?
Tick the words below that you ‘know’ and can use accurately. These words are from the
academic word lists (under the Get My Words button in the CMWs toolbar). These words
commonly occur across a wide range of academic textbooks:
NOUNS VERBS
attitude  encounter 
attribute  expose 
authority  fund 
challenge  guarantee 
commodity  initiate 
conflict  issue 
controversy  offset 
domain  concentrate 
Table 1: academic nouns and verbs

A. Do you know how to use the words in context that you ‘know’? Connect the verbs and nouns
below that collocate (combine) most strongly. One is done for you. Then, supply the missing
nouns from the sentences below (use singular/plural forms correctly). Use CMWs to help you:
ACADEMIC VERB Collocating NOUN
concentrate action
encounter cost
expose difficulty
fund effort
guarantee project
initiate safety
issue statement
offset weakness
Table 2: nouns that collocate with academic verbs

1. To achieve our goal of becoming a ‘green" university, we should concentrate our __________

on converting all paper-based processes to digital ones.

2. We encountered several __________ in completing our report on time.

3. He exposed a __________ in my argument that I hadn’t noticed.

4. We are expecting Microsoft to fund the __________.

5. We can’t expect the government to guarantee the ________ of equity investments.

6. The government has initiated __________ to reduce pirated materials.

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7. He issued a __________ denying that he had ever agreed to such a deal.

8. We increased funding to offset the _________ of implementing the new features.

B. Now draw a line between the verbs and nouns in Table 3 below that most strongly collocate
(combine) with each other. The first is done for you. Then, supply the missing verbs from the
sentences below the table. Be careful to use the correct verb form. Use CMWs to help you:
Collocating VERB ACADEMIC NOUN
adopt attitude
resolve attribute
exercise authority
face challenge
fall within commodity
possess conflict
produce context
provide domain
Table 3: verbs that collocate with academic nouns

1. We must __________ an attitude of respect to all people, no matter what their cultural or

educational background.

2. This movie __________ an attribute that's increasingly rare in American filmmaking: call it

‘soul’.

3. The Beijing authorities did not __________ this authority last year, although there appeared

to be ample opportunity to do so.

4. Many teachers will not __________ the challenge of learning new technology.

5. A certain amount of time must be invested in order to __________ a commodity.

6. Efforts to __________ the conflict, which has caused more than 100 deaths since February

last year, have so far been fruitless.

7. In email, you should include enough background information to __________ a context for the

message.

8. Buddhists believe that all is merely appearance and that absolute reality does not __________

the domain of the intellect.

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Task 7: Common Verb-Noun Collocations
Fill in each gap with the verb that collocates best with the underlined noun in each context.
Check by using the most appropriate resource from CMWs:

1. Many drivers find it difficult to _________ the temptation to speed on this highway.

2. If you _________ excellence, you will achieve it one day.

3. Although women _________ equal access to higher education in Hong Kong, they are often

not accorded equal opportunities in the workplace.

4. Accommodation at the maximum security institution at Pik Uk will _________ a much

needed alternative for most of the young offenders now held in Stanley.

5. A decision to buy or sell a stock should be _________ on individual circumstances.

Task 8: Common Adjective-Noun Collocations

Supply the adjective from the list below that collocates best with each underlined noun. Use
CMWs to help you:
absolute intangible questionable
decisive isolated vague
fruitless preliminary
impeccable proposed

1. His argument was based on _________ assumptions.

2. He refused to respond to _________ assertions about his work.

3. After making many _________ attempts, he finally succeeded.

4. It is difficult to value the _________ assets of a company.

5. Should a senior executive attempt to exert _________ authority over subordinates?

6. The inspector reported that the collapse of the wall was not an _________ incident.

7. His _________ logic convinced me that I was wrong.

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8. The design review will include details about the _________ project.

9. The _________ data tend to support our conclusions.

10. The _________ factor in his decision was price.

Task 9: Common Collocations

The following nouns are each associated with strong verb, adjective or
preposition collocates. Use CMWs to find appropriate matching words
(there are usually many choices: try to find collocations that are new to
you), and use these in original sentences. Look up definitions of any
new words and make sure you are using the correct forms of words (e.g.
tense). These collocations (some are idioms) are used frequently in
meetings and discussions:

A. Verb + Noun

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1. ___________ action
2. ___________ agreement
3. ___________ attention to
4. ___________ basis
5. ___________ business
6. ___________ choice
7. ___________ circles
8. ___________ comment
9. ___________ common ground
10. ___________ compromise
11. ___________ concession
12. ___________ conclusion
13. ___________ deadlock
14. ___________ deal
15. ___________ decision
16. ___________ difficulty
17. ___________ discussion
18. ___________ effort
19. ___________ element
20. ___________ example
21. ___________ facts
22. ___________ fingertips
23. ___________ goodwill
24. ___________ hairs
25. ___________ halfway
26. ___________ hard bargain
27. ___________ headway
28. ___________ know-how
29. ___________ matter
30. ___________ mind
31. ___________ mind at rest
32. ___________ negotiations
33. ___________ objection
34. ___________ open mind
35. ___________ opinion
36. ___________ our best
37. ___________ our cards on the table
38. ___________ (our) careful consideration
39. ___________ our options open
40. ___________ our thanks
41. ___________ our views
42. ___________ point
43. ___________ possibility
44. ___________ priority to
45. ___________ problem
46. ___________ proposal
47. ___________ question
48. ___________ resources
49. ___________ results
50. ___________ role
51. ___________ setback
52. ___________ solution
53. ___________ something aside
54. ___________ something clear
55. ___________ something into account
56. ___________ something out of hand
57. ___________ something over
58. ___________ stalemate
59. ___________ steps
60. ___________ suggestion
61. ___________ support to
62. ___________ the bush
63. ___________ the difficulty
64. ___________ the fact that
65. ___________ the fence
66. ___________ the issue
67. ___________ the meeting
68. ___________ the options
69. ___________ the point
70. ___________ the same boat
71. ___________ the situation
72. ___________ the subject
73. ___________ the way
74. ___________ time
75. ___________ word
Adjective + Noun
1. ___________ adjournment
2. ___________ agreement
3. ___________ approach
4. ___________ asset
5. ___________ association
6. ___________ attitude
7. ___________ block
8. ___________ commitment
9. ___________ decision
10. ___________ difference
11. ___________ disagreement
12. ___________ discussion
13. ___________ exception
14. ___________ factor
15. ___________ guess
16. ___________ inconvenience
17. ___________ investment
18. ___________ joint venture
19. ___________ knowledge
20. ___________ matter
B. Preposition + Noun
1. ___________ cross purposes
2. ___________ no circumstances
3. ___________ common
4. ___________ connection with
5. ___________ all costs
6. ___________ consideration
7. ___________ concrete terms
8. ___________ the contrary
21. ___________ misunderstanding
22. ___________ opinion
23. ___________ opportunity
24. ___________ outcome
25. ___________ outlook
26. ___________ picture
27. ___________ plenary session
28. ___________ point
29. ___________ position
30. ___________ priority
31. ___________ problem
32. ___________ proposal
33. ___________ question
34. ___________ repercussions
35. ___________ setback
36. ___________ solution
37. ___________ step
38. ___________ talks
39. ___________ understanding
40. ___________ view
9. ___________ conjunction with
10. ___________ conclusion
11. ___________ detail
12. ___________ exchange for
13. ___________ discussion
14. ___________ some extent
15. ___________ due course