Improve your Vocabulary for IELTS – Collocation of Impact

Key word: Impact

Verb + Impact (Effect)

Exercise 1. Use the correct form of these verbs:

1. Internet shopping is beginning to__________ a serious impact on the traditional bookshops.
2. Henman was one of the first British tennis players for years to __________ a real impact on the world of tennis.
3. The authorities are doing everything within their power to __________ the environmental impact of the oil spill.
4. It will be very difficult to __________ the likely impact of allowing twice as many students to have access to a university education.
5. During the 1980s, the industrial north of the country __________ the full impact of the economic recession.
6. When the Berlin Wall came down and the former Eastern Bloc countries opened up, the campaign for nuclear disarmament__________ much of its impact.

Common Adjective Collocations

Exercise 2. Choose the more natural collocation from the pair in brackets:

1. Lady Chatterley’s Lover is an important book because it has had a __________ impact on public opinion in Britain since it was published. (major / large)
2. Some politicians are worried that tougher environmental laws could have a __________ impact on the economy. (poor / detrimental)
3. Has the experience of being in prison had a __________ impact on you or have you just put it behind you? (long-term / lasting)
4. The recent ban on cigarette advertising has had a(n) __________ impact on the number of teenagers smoking, (recent / immediate)
5. Management aren’t worried about the strike. They are convinced that it will only have a __________ impact on business. (tiny / negligible)
6. Scientists are discussing ways of reducing the __________ impact of wind farms on the landscape. (visual / visible)
7. Going to the theatre for the first time as a small boy made a __________ impact on me. (huge / severe)
8. We didn’t know the__________ impact of the disaster at Chernobyl until years after it happened, (complete / full)

Impact (Collision)

Exercise 3. Use the correct form of these verbs:

1. The crew__________ the initial impact of the crash, but died in the fire which followed.
2. Good running-shoes prevent injury by __________ the impact of the foot striking the ground.
3. Containers carrying nuclear waste are designed to __________ an impact with a speeding train without breaking open.
4. Many of the dead were in the first coach of the train which __________ the full impact of the crash.

Note:

1. In 2-1 ‘significant, huge and profound’ are also possible.
2. In 1-3 ‘cushion’ is also possible.

Note the following prepositional phrase:

• The bomb exploded on impact – nobody stood a chance.

Note the expression ‘the force of the impact’

• The force of the impact knocked me to the ground.

Answer Key

Exercise 1:

1. have
2. make
3. minimise
4. assess
5. felt
6. lost

Exercise 2:

1. major
2. detrimental
3. lasting
4. immediate
5. negligible
6. visual
7. huge
8. full

Exercise 3:

1. survived
2. absorbing
3. withstand
4. took

Also check:

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• English Pronunciation in use Intermediate pdf
• Work Vocabulary IELTS