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Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score – Key Word: condition
Key word: condition 1 Adjective + condition (state) Complete the sentences with these adjectives: excellent original present showroom poor reasonable In my spare time I buy old motorcycles and restore them to their __________ condition. You can’t use that bike in its __________ condition. The brakes need fixing and the back tyre is punctured. Although the lift has been operating non-stop for twenty years, it’s still in __________ working condition. It’s serviced regularly. Nothing’s been spent on the house for years. It’s really in very__________ condition. Although my car is 25 years old, it’s still in __________ condition. It really...
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Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score – Key Word: Plan
Key Word: Plan Verb + Plan Use the correct form of these verbs: announce approve change go ahead with make scrap get wreck It’s important that you all look ahead and ____________ plans for the future. We had to____________ our holiday plans at the last minute, when my mother was taken into hospital. The school was forced to____________ its plans for a new library due to a lack of financial support. I’m afraid the picnic had to be cancelled. The bad weather ____________ all our plans. The committee unanimously ____________the plan. Not one person opposed it. Everybody supported it. Yesterday...
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Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score-Key Word:Position
Key Word:Position Verb+Position(Place) Use the correct form of these verbs: jostle for occupy change take up Government troops have______defensive positions around the capital. I get cramp in one leg when I drive, so I have to keep______position on long journeys. The castle______a commanding position at the top of a hill with unrivalled views of the surrounding countryside. People in the crowd______the best positions to see the princess as she arrived at the theatre. Verb+Position(Job) 2. Use the correct form of these verbs: abuse apply for strengthen rise hold fill Our sales manager is leaving, and I’m thinking of______the position. She...
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Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score – Key Word: power
Key Word: power 1 Verb + power Use the correct form of these verbs: use fall from give return to seize have The authorities_____________ the power to cancel the march if they think it will lead to civil disobedience. The police _____________ their powers under the Public Order Act to remove the protesters who were blocking the entrance to the nuclear power station. When one politician_____________ power, another comes to power in their place. After four years out of government, the Socialist Party is expected to be_____________ power in the forthcoming election. The President was ousted from power yesterday when...
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Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score – Key Word: problem
Key Word: problem 1 Verb + problem Use the correct form of these verbs: appreciate ignore pose have wrestle with tackle solve flee from We’ve been ___________ a few problems with our air conditioning recently. Asylum seekers may be ___________ problems at home, but they often meet very serious problems when they finally settle somewhere else. No one has ___________ the problem of what to do with radioactive waste. We simply can’t afford to avoid the problem of teenage pregnancy. I think that we need to ___________ it head on. I fully___________ your problem, but I’m afraid there is...
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Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score – Key Word: question
Key Word: question 1 Verb + question Use the correct form of these verbs: answer avoid expect invite repeat have raise misunderstand Please read the instructions carefully, then _____________ the following questions. Do you mind if I_____________ the embarrassing question of expenses? How much do we get? The Prime Minister wasn’t_____________ a question about his private life and it caught him completely off guard. For the benefit of those who weren’t listening the first time, I will_____________ the question. I’m afraid you’ve completely _____________ my question. At the end of his talk, the speaker _____________ questions from the audience. Just...
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Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score – Key Word: rate
Key Word: rate 1 Adjective + rate (speed) Use the following adjectives in these sentences: tremendous own present average this steady Babies don’t grow at a ____________ rate. They grow in fits and starts. Throughout my teaching I’ve always let my students work at their____________ rate. The car was going at a ____________ rate as it passed us. It must have been doing over 150 kilometres an hour. If the numbers of pandas continue to decrease at their____________ rate, they will be extinct in ten years. Most of us walk at an ____________ rate of about 5 kilometres an hour....
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Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score – Key Word: reaction
Key Word: reaction 1 Verb collocations Use the correct form of these verbs: affect give predict get be require vary watch I always loved to __________ the reactions of my children when they opened their Christmas presents. Driving after drinking even a small amount of alcohol is difficult as it __________ your reactions. It is often difficult to _____________ people’s reactions to a new idea in advance. What sort of reaction did you__________ when you told them you were the new inspector? The President ________________ his reaction to the crisis in a carefully-worded press statement. Table tennis is a...
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Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score – Key Word: Relationship
Key Word: Relationship 1 Verb + relationship Use the correct form of these verbs: build up fall apart have break off improve work I saw Millie and Jake walking hand in hand. They must be ____________ some sort of relationship. Fortunately the relationship between the police and the local community has ____________ since last month’s riots. Let’s call it a day! I don’t think our relationship is going to ____________. We don’t agree on anything. Our business has grown and grown because we concentrated on____________ good relationships with all our clients – big and small. When Jane discovered that her...
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Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score – Key Word: request
Key Word: request 1 Verb + request Use the correct form of these verbs: deal with ignore grant make meet with receive agree to refuse I don’t get on with my boss, so I’ve ____________ a request for a transfer to another department. She’s such a nice person that I couldn’t bring myself to____________ her request. The box office has been inundated with requests for tickets. We’ve____________ over one thousand requests since the telephone lines opened at 9 this morning. I applied for two months’ unpaid leave to travel around India, but I’m afraid my request has ____________ a flat...
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Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score-Key Word:Result
Key Word:Result Verb+Result(s) Use the correct form of these verbs: await depend on know have predict see With both France and Italy playing well it is difficult to______the result of the match between the two teams. He is anxiously______the results of medical tests. I don’t know if I will be going to university next year. Everything______the results of my examinations. This new diet relies on eating less food in order to obtain results. I’ve been following the diet for a month and I’m just beginning to______some results. Have you______the results of your blood test yet? I finished my exams yesterday,...
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Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score-Key Word:Right
Key Word:Right Verb+Right Use the correct form of these verbs: campaign for stand up for give have know abuse Just because you’re older than me it doesn’t______you the right to tell me what to do! Don’t let them push you around. You’ve got to______your rights. You can’t arrest me without charging me. I______my rights. Reports suggest that human rights are being systematically______in their prisons. Martin Luther King______civil rights for black people in the US in the I960’s. Everyone______the right to freedom of speech. Now match the two halves of these sentences: 7. The police officer told prisoner that he had...
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Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score – Key Word: Risk
Risk 1 Verb + risk Use the correct form of these verbs: carry consider pose outweigh reduce take A fatty diet increases the risk of heart disease whereas a low fat diet ___________ the risk. We cannot afford to ___________ risks when people’s lives are involved. Boxing is a contact sport which ___________ a high risk of injury. However, wearing protective headgear can help minimise the risk of head injury. The chemicals in food are not dangerous. They ___________ little risk to health. I’ve ___________ all the risks of having the operation and I’ve decided to go ahead. All things...
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Using Collocation to Boost your IELTS Score – Key Word : Situation
Key Word : Situation 1 Verb + situation Use the correct form of these verbs : comment on depend on handle review misunderstand improve John’s calm approach prevented a nasty argument from developing during the meeting. You have to admire the way he ___________ the situation. It would be unwise to ___________ the situation in Kashmir without knowing all the facts. Would you come to my aid if somebody attacked me? => Well, it would ___________ the situation. I thought the man you were with was your husband. I didn’t realise he was your brother. I’m so sorry. I...
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Using Collocation to Boost your IELTS Score – Key Word : State
Key Word : State 1 Common adjective collocations Use these adjectives in the sentences : fit mental original real untidy financial advanced sorry I’ll drive. You’re in no __________ state! Some people believe that an analysis of your dreams can reveal details of your __________ state. They complained about the__________ state that the flat had been left in. The company is in a dangerous __________ state. We are on the point of bankruptcy. By the time she arrived for her interview, she had worked herself up into a __________ state. I’ve never seen her so nervous before. The experts believe...
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Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score – Key Word: thought
Key Word: thought 1 Verb + thought Use the correct form of these verbs: have gather go out to hear occur spare Have you given the new proposal any thought yet? Were keen to _____________ your thoughts. The President was taken aback by the question and took a minute to _____________ his thoughts. _____________ a thought for all those who are homeless on a cold night like this. I’ve just _____________ a thought! Why not have a party? Our thoughts_____________ all those families who lost relatives in the disaster. The thought just _____________ to me that it’s mum’s birthday tomorrow...
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Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score – Key Word: truth
truth 1 Verb + truth Use the correct form of these verbs: come out distort expose face up to hide tell She didn’t have the courage to ___________ him the truth about his friend. Newspapers are often guilty of ___________ the truth. => Yes, it’s a well-known fact that some of them bend the truth to sell more copies. You’ll have to ___________ the truth some time. You’re just too old for this job. Why don’t you think about retiring? As a journalist it’s my job to uncover and ___________ the truth. I don’t think the truth about President Kennedy’s...
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Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score – Key Word: view
Key Word: view 1 Verb + view Use the correct form of these verbs: take express hear The Prime Minister ___________ his views on the war during a live television broadcast. We would be interested to___________ your views on this subject. So what do you really think? I have always ___________ the view that we are each responsible for our own actions. air represent hold My grandfather___________ the view that corporal punishment is good for children. The comments by the leader of our group do not ___________ the views of all of us. We’re holding this meeting so that everyone...
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Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score – Key Word: Way
Key Word: way 1 Verb + way Use the correct form of these verbs: admire change criticise develop look at see The committee is always ____________ new ways to improve the services the club provides. I wasn’t pleased when she ____________ the way I ran the office. I felt her comments were so unfair. The internet has ____________ the way we do business. In fact, it has revolutionized it. This job has to be completed today, but I can’t ____________ any way of finishing it before five. I ____________ the way she carried on when she had no chance...
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