Thursday, 18 June 2020

Make and verbs that mean make ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)


ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)
UNIT 8
Make and verbs that mean make

A
Common errors with make

The Cambridge Learner Corpus shows that some of the most frequent collocation errors made by candidates in advanced English exams relate to the use of make. Here are some typical errors and their corrections.
I would like to do/give some suggestions – make some suggestions
I think that I could have/give a contribution to the project – make a contribution
I expect you to give a formal apology – make a formal apology
There is still some way to go and lots of improvements to doimprovements to make
Thank you very much for doing these arrangements – making these arrangements

Sometimes candidates use make where another verb is required. For example:
We’re going to make a party on Saturday – have a party
Lana made some interesting research into her family roots – did … research
B
Other expressions with make

It’s a good idea to make a habit of switching off the lights when you leave a room.
If you always say exactly what you think, you’ll make a lot of enemies.
The team made several attempts to climb the mountain before they finally succeeded.
I hope that they’ll make a success of their new restaurant business.
I have to go to a party for a colleague after work but I will try and make an early escape.
Our research team has made an important discovery about how whales communicate.
When doing your accounts, try to ensure you make all the calculations correctly.
If we move the sofa closer to the window, it’ll make room for the piano.
I first made his acquaintance when he moved in next door. [formal: got to know him]
The house we looked at is just what we want and we’ve decided to make an offer on it.
As no one else has any ideas, I’d like to make a proposal. [make a formal suggestion]
We must make a stand against the casino they propose to build here. [protest about]
C
Other verbs that mean make

collocations
example
comment
create a good/bad
impression
Wear your grey suit to the interview if you want to create a good impression.
slightly more formal than
make an impression
create a (+ adj.) atmosphere
The lanterns in the garden create a romantic atmosphere.
more formal than make for a
romantic atmosphere
stage a protest
The students staged a protest against rising tuition fees.
= make a formal protest
lodge a complaint
Several people have lodged a complaint about the receptionist’s rudeness.
= make a formal complaint
rustle up a meal
It took Sam ten minutes to rustle up a meal.
(informal) = make a meal very quickly
run up curtains
This weekend I’m going to run up some curtains for my new room.
= make quickly using a sewing machine
turn a profit
This month our company should turn a profit for
the first time.
slightly more informal than make a profit
coin a phrase
I wonder who coined the term ‘blogging’.
= invent / make up a new phrase

EXERCISES

8.1
Are these sentences correct or incorrect? If they are incorrect, correct them.

1 Have you any suggestions to make about how to celebrate the school’s anniversary?
2 We are planning to have a party next Saturday.
3 The company director gave a formal apology for his earlier comments.
4 The manager had to make a number of changes to office procedures in order to do all the improvements he had planned for the company.
5 My sister did all the arrangements for the party.
8.2
Complete each sentence using a word from the box.

acquaintance
attempt
calculations
discovery
enemies
habit
offer
room
stand
success

1 Try to make a __________ of noticing good collocations in any text you read.
2 A railway official asked us to move our luggage to make __________ for the boy’s bike.
3 The new CEO has made a lot of __________ by being so autocratic.
4 If Pauline makes a __________ of this project, she’ll probably get promoted.
5 The old gentleman said he was delighted to make my __________.
6 Do you think you’ll make an __________ on the flat you viewed yesterday?
7 Every young scientist dreams of making a __________ that will change the world.
8 Rachel made no __________ to contact me when she was over here last year.
9 We tried to make a __________ against the new housing development but to no avail: the contractors started work this morning.
10 The __________ that you made contained a few inaccuracies.
8.3
Replace make in each sentence with an alternative word. Then say whether you have made the sentence more or less formal.

1 The Green Party plans to make a major protest against the government’s new farming policy.
2 Tessa helped me to make some lovely cushion covers for my new flat.
3 I regret to inform you that several clients have made complaints about your conduct.
4 You won’t make a good first impression if you arrive late for your interview.
5 It won’t take me long to make a meal for the children.
6 Do you expect your business to make a profit this year?
8.4
Rewrite each sentence using the word in brackets.

1 At the meeting the chairman proposed something rather interesting. (PROPOSAL)
2 I hope we can leave soon as I’m terribly tired. (ESCAPE)
3 I’m reading a fascinating book about the invention of new words and phrases to express new social and technical needs. (COINED)
4 We changed the layout of the hall to make it more relaxed for the yoga class. (ATMOSPHERE)
5 I tried to phone the company several times at the weekend. (ATTEMPTS)
6 Kim contributed very positively to the discussion. (CONTRIBUTION)
7 The service was poor but I wouldn’t go so far as to formally complain. (LODGE)
8 I first got talking to Roger on a train. (ACQUAINTANCE)

Over to you

Make a point of looking back through any pieces of your writing that a teacher has corrected. Have you ever made any mistakes involving collocations with make? If so, make an effort to use those expressions correctly in your next assignment.

ANSWER KEY

8.1
1 Correct
2 Correct
3 The company director made a formal apology for his earlier comments.
4 The manager had to make a number of changes to office procedures in order to make all the  improvements he had planned for the company.
5 My sister made all the arrangements for the party.

8.2

8.3
1 The Green Party plans to stage a major protest against the government’s new farming policy. (more formal)
2 Tessa helped me to run up some lovely cushion covers for my new flat. (less formal)
3 I regret to inform you that several clients have lodged complaints about your conduct. (more formal)
4 You won’t create a good first impression if you arrive late for your interview. (more formal)
5 It won’t take me long to rustle up a meal for the children. (less formal)
6 Do you expect your business to turn in a profit this year? (less formal)

8.4
1 At the meeting the chairman made a rather interesting proposal.
2 I hope we can make an/our escape soon as I’m terribly tired.
3 I’m reading a fascinating book about how new words and phrases are coined to express new social and technical needs.
4 We changed the layout of the hall to create a more relaxed atmosphere for the yoga class.
5 I made several attempts to phone the company at the weekend.
6 Kim made a very positive contribution to the discussion.
7 The service was poor but I wouldn’t go so far as to lodge a formal complaint.
8 I first made Roger’s acquaintance on a train.

Intensifying and softening adverbs ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)


ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)
UNIT 7
Intensifying and softening adverbs

Adverbs are often used before adjectives and verbs either to strengthen their meaning (intensifying adverbs) or to weaken it (softening adverbs).
Her comments were deeply offensive. (intensifier – very/extremely)
Her comments were slightly offensive. (softener – a little bit)
A
Intensifying adverbs

Notice how intensifying adverbs are used to mean ‘extremely’ or ‘completely’ in the sentences below. The expressions marked with * are very informal.
Olivia really enjoys doing housework. You should see her flat – it’s always spotlessly clean.
It was downright rude of Antonio to tell Paula that she looked older than her own mother.
I hope he feels thoroughly ashamed.
It’s blatantly obvious that Olga is only interested in Richard because he’s so wealthy.
I wonder what she’ll do when she finds out he’s wildly exaggerated how rich he really is!
I don’t know what I was worrying about! The exam turned out to be dead easy*!
This celebrity website is good fun but most of the information is wildly inaccurate.
B
Softening adverbs

Note the softening adverbs used in these sentences from newspapers.

The spokesperson said the new insurance scheme was only slightly different from the old one. [weak collocation; slightly can be used with a wide range of adjectives]
The chief executive said he was mildly surprised by the public interest in the firm’s plans. [mildly also collocates with amusing/ed, irritating/ed, offensive]
Alfredo Scaluzzi’s new film is loosely based on a nineteenth-century novel. [loosely also collocates with centred, structured, related, connected]
Ms Giroa said she regarded reports that she was about to seek a divorce as faintly ridiculous. [fairly formal; faintly also collocates with amused, surprised, patronising, absurd]
C
Alternatives to very

There are a variety of words that you can use as alternatives to very which collocate with most adjectives, for example: really, extremely, terribly, incredibly and awfully. Other adverbs collocate with certain adjectives and verbs but not with others.

alternatives to very
NOT
highly
unlikely, educated, recommended
appreciate, influence, interesting
strongly
influence
appreciate
greatly
appreciate, influence

utterly
absurd, ridiculous
sorry, busy, glad, lonely
completely/totally/entirely
different, dependent, separate

thoroughly
enjoy


Common mistakes
Absolutely collocates only with adjectives which have strong meanings, e.g. absolutely (NOT very) delighted, very (NOT absolutely) happy.

EXERCISES

7.1
Match a word from each box to form collocations.

7.2
Complete each sentence using a collocation from 7.1.

1 I’m amazed you didn’t realise she was lying! It ___________ ____________was to me!
2 It was ___________ ____________of him not to say hello to the secretary.
3 I’ve been hoovering and dusting all day, so now my flat is ___________ ____________.
4 Most of the facts were wrong in that news report. It was ___________ ____________.
5 You should be ___________ ____________of yourself. Your behaviour was appalling!
7.3
Rewrite the underlined part of each sentence using a collocation from the opposite page.

1 The American writer Mark Twain is famous for commenting that reports of his death had been over-exaggerated.
2 This restaurant is recommended by many different people.
3 The exam was extremely easy; everyone got high marks. (make this informal)
4 The musical West Side Story is kind of based on the plot of Shakespeare’s play Romeo and
Juliet. (make this less informal)
5 The idea of the boss singing Happy Birthday to me struck me as a little bit ridiculous.
6 The success of the Wimbledon tennis tournament is 100% dependent on the weather. (give two answers)
7 I really enjoyed the days I spent at your lovely house in the country.
8 I was just a little surprised by her decision to quit her job so soon.
9 I was really delighted when they told me I’d got the job.
10 The new model of this camera is a little bit different from the old one.
7.4
Add intensifying adverbs from the opposite page to these sentences to make the words in bold stronger.

1 I appreciate the fact that you have given me so much of your time.
2 Sometimes Tony says ridiculous things.
3 The crossword in today’s newspaper is difficult. I can’t even start it!
4 It’s sweet of you to offer to help.
5 I found his remarks offensive; he should apologise.
6 She leads a lonely life in a tiny house on a remote island.
7 We should try to keep the two groups separate from each other.
8 She is an educated person.
9 I’ve been busy all week.
10 That meal was expensive! I’m not eating there again.
7.5
Are the following adverb collocations correct or not? If they are incorrect, correct them using collocations from C opposite.

1 I thoroughly enjoyed the film.
2 Your help would be strongly appreciated.
3 The song is highly influenced by Brazilian folk rhythms.
4 I find the situation utterly absurd.

Tip
Look out for more collocations with these words as you listen and read, and record them in collocation bubbles indicating what they do and do not collocate with.

ANSWER KEY

7.1
blatantly obvious
downright rude
spotlessly clean
thoroughly ashamed
wildly inaccurate


7.5
1 Correct
2 Incorrect. We say greatly appreciated.
3 Incorrect. We say strongly influenced.
4 Correct