Increase Your IELTS Vocabulary Score - Collocation of Mistake

Contents

Key word: mistake

1 Verb + mistake

Use the correct form of these verbs:

correct learn make

point out realise repeat

Making mistakes is an important part of learning a language. If you don’t make mistakes, you don’t ____________ from them.
I think if you can admit that you’ve ____________ a mistake, it is a sign of strength, not weakness.
When I got home, I found out that I had been calling my girlfriend’s father by the wrong name. I felt such a fool when I____________ my mistake.
Like many people, I find it difficult to avoid ____________ past mistakes. Why do we make the same mistakes over and over again?
Read through your work carefully and ____________ any mistakes that you find.
If you ____________ some people’s mistakes to them, they get very defensive. I don’t know why!

2 Common adjective collocations

Complete the sentences below with the following:

costly dreadful fatal occasional

genuine stupid common understandable

The most____________ mistake people make is to water their plants too much.
It was a perfectly____________ mistake to make. I assumed Jane and Morgan were married, too!
The skaters made the ____________ mistake of assuming that the ice was thick enough to take their weight. Unfortunately, there was a thaw on. The ice gave way and they drowned.
I should have scored 100% in the examination, but I made one____________ mistake.
I can accept that anybody makes the ____________ mistake. We all do, but if it becomes a habit then you’re in trouble.
Going to the football match when he should have been at work proved to be a very____________ mistake for Jeff. He was sacked.
When he removed the wrong kidney from the patient, the surgeon made a ____________ mistake.
I’m sorry, sir, but a____________ mistake has been made. We will do our best to find you a double room immediately.

3 Verb + for + mistake

Use these verbs to complete the expressions:

apologise check refuse take

a ____________ to accept responsibility for

b ____________ the blame for

c ____________ profusely for

d ____________ over your work for

Now use these complete expressions below, using the correct form of the verbs:

He thought I was the secretary and not the manager because I was a woman, but he ____________ his mistake when I introduced myself. You should have seen his face!
Nobody should have to ____________ other people’s mistakes.
It’s always a good idea to ____________ mistakes before you hand it in.
Five hundred pounds has gone missing from my bank account, but the bank ____________ the mistake.


Notes 1. Note these expressions: Marrying you was the biggest mistake of my life! His work is always full of spelling mistakes. 2. Note the useful expression ‘It’s a mistake to think that…: It’s a mistake to think that violence will solve this issue. 3. ‘By mistake’ means accidentally: Someone must have left the window open by mistake. 4. Note these expressions with ‘make a mistake’. I made the mistake of inviting him to the party. I won’t make the same mistake again! Don’t worry. It’s an easy mistake to make. If you make a mistake, just cross it out.

Ex 1:

Ex 2:

1 common 2. understandable 3.fatal 4. stupid

5 occasional 6. costly 7. dreadful 8. genuine

Ex 3:

a refuse b. take c. apologise d. check