Using Collocation to Boost Your IELTS Score – Key Word: quality

Key Word: quality

 1         Verb collocations

Use the correct form of these verbs:

vary                             affect               test

deteriorate                   improve           suffer

1. My father’s quality of life has ____________ dramatically since his operation. He can now see things he couldn’t see before.
2. The increase in class sizes will adversely____________ the quality of education in our schools.
3. The restaurants on the seafront____________ a lot in terms of price and quality.
4. We____________ the quality of the sea water every week during the summer to make sure it is safe for bathing.
5. We may be better off nowadays, but there is no question that our quality of life has____________ .
6. The company is cutting costs, so the quality of its products will definitely____________ as a result.

2          Noun + preposition + quality

Use one of these prepositions in the sentences:

in                     for                   on

1. The company has   a worldwide reputation____________ the quality and reliability of its products.
2. We can no longer have confidence____________ the quality of the food we eat. It contains so many added chemicals these days.
3. The main emphasis should always be ____________quality rather than quantity.
4. John’s work has shown a marked improvement____________ quality this year.

3          Different qualities

Match up these ideas with the ideas below:

a          air quality                                    e. water quality

b          personal qualities                     f. managerial qualities

c          leadership qualities                  g. medicinal qualities

d          negative qualities                      h. artistic qualities

1. Army officers must have good ___________________ .
2. Famous painters have excellent ___________________ .
3. A lot of disease is caused by poor ___________________ .
4. The boss of a big firm needs good ___________________ .
5. An interviewer is looking for your ___________________ .
6. The water at the spa has excellent ___________________ .
7. Too much traffic causes poor ___________________ .
8. Nobody is proud of their ___________________ .

4          Common adjective collocations

Choose the more natural adjective below:

1. The acting was of very __________ quality. There were some great performances but Peter Daley was terrible. (variable / different)
2. The fact that something is cheap doesn’t necessarily mean it’s of _____________ quality. (poor / weak)
3. I’m so impressed by the _____________ sound quality of CDs that I’ve stopped buying audio cassettes. (superior / better)
4. A new seafood restaurant has just opened. The food and the service are of the _____________ quality. (best / highest)
5. No smoker doubts the _____________quality of tobacco. (habitual / addictive)
6. The cheese from the region has a _____________ quality and flavour not found anywhere else. (unique / uniform)

ANSWER KEY

Ex 1:

1 improved      2. affect           3. vary             4. test

5 suffered / deteriorated         6 deteriorate / suffer

Ex 2: l. for       2. in     3. on                4. in

Ex 3: 1c           2h        3e        4f         5b        6g        7a        8d

Ex 4: 1. variable          2. poor             3. superior       4. highest        5. addictive     6. unique

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