Talking ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

UNIT 20

Talking

A	Types of language and conversation Some conversations are not serious. They consist of idle chatter, in which the speakers just exchange pleasantries1 or share juicy2 gossip about their friends and colleagues, exchanging news and spreading rumours. Rumours are always flying around in any society, of course. But sometimes when you engage someone in conversation, it may become more serious. You may open your heart to the person you are talking to, for example. You may even find yourself drawn into an argument. Some people always want to win an argument; for others, losing the argument is not important as they simply enjoy a good discussion. If you are in a very noisy place, it can become impossible to carry on a conversation of any kind and it is also hard for parents to hold a conversation when there are small children in the room. 1 (formal) make polite conversation 2 (informal) interesting because it is shocking or personal
B	Managing topics ••• Reply Forward Hi Sophia, As you know, I wanted to talk to my parents yesterday about my plans for dropping out of university but I didn’t have much luck. First of all, I found it very hard to broach the subject1. As soon as I started explaining how badly I wanted to start earning, one of them would change the subject. It was as if they were deliberately trying to avoid something they sensed was going to be a problem. Eventually I managed to bring up the subject again and they finally started to take me seriously. I tried not to overstate my case2 for leaving and just put things as simply as I could. But then they started to bombard me with questions3. Why did I really want to leave? What would I do? Did I realise that I would get a much better job with a degree? Dad didn’t listen to my answers – he just started making broad generalisations about the importance of education. He went on and on for about half an hour before telling me to drop the subject and never refer to it again. So I’m not sure what to do next. Any advice? Liam 1 begin a discussion of a difficult topic 2 give too much importance or seriousness to a point of view 3 ask me lots of questions
C	Adjective + noun phrases collocation example meaning bad/strong/foul language TV dramas today use much more bad/ strong/foul language than they did 40 years ago. swear words, taboo language; foul suggests much stronger disapproval than bad or strong four-letter words Please try to express your feelings without using four-letter words. swear words, taboo words (many of which have four letters in English) opening gambit ‘You’re a teacher, aren’t you?’ was his opening gambit. a remark made in order to start a conversation a rash promise Don’t make any rash promises. Think before you agree to anything. promises made without thinking an empty promise She’s full of empty promises. You shouldn’t believe a word she says. promises made which the speaker has no intention of keeping a tough question Do I regret anything? That’s a tough question. difficult question to answer

EXERCISES

20.1	Look at A. Correct the collocation errors in these sentences. 1 It can be hard to carry out a serious conversation in a noisy room. 2 He finds it very difficult to open his head and talk about his feelings to anyone. 3 I don’t like discussing things with people who always want to gain every argument. 4 My mother always used to tell me not to spill unkind rumours. 5 I usually find it better not to get driven into an argument with Paul. 6 We had a very enjoyable time just sitting in the park enjoying some idling chatter. 7 I managed to resist all his attempts to engage me into conversation. 8 I’ve never talked to him much – we’ve done no more than change pleasantries.
20.2	Complete each sentence using a word from the box in the appropriate form. bring broach drop hold lose strong take tough 1 I _____________ the argument because I didn’t know enough about the subject. 2 I think it’s time we _____________ the subject of our marriage with our parents. 3 No one will _____________ your ideas seriously unless you present them more effectively. 4 My mother can’t get used to hearing well-dressed young people using _____________ language in public places. 5 Whenever I try to _____________ up the subject of moving to London, he leaves the room. 6 I’ve said I’m sorry – why can’t you just _____________ the subject? 7 They’re sure to ask you some _____________ questions at your interview but you can take time to think before you answer. 8 I felt so ill last week that I could barely _____________ a conversation.
20.3	Match the two parts of these collocations.
20.4	Rewrite each sentence using the word in brackets. 1 Please stop talking about this subject immediately. (DROP) 2 Sam has a habit of promising things that he has no intention of doing. (EMPTY) 3 You must give due importance to the lab’s safety regulations. (SERIOUSLY) 4 It’s better not to spend too long trying to make your point. (OVERSTATE) 5 Could we please start talking about something else? (SUBJECT) 6 Did you hear the rumours that people were spreading about your boss last year? (FLYING) 7 There are rather a lot of rude words in the play. (LANGUAGE) 8 Such general statements tend to be rather meaningless. (BROAD) 9 The way he began the conversation took me by surprise. (GAMBIT) 10 The children asked me lots and lots of questions about my trip. (BOMBARD)

ANSWER KEY

20.1 1 It can be hard to carry on a serious conversation in a noisy room. 2 He finds it very difficult to open his heart and talk about his feelings to anyone. 3 I don’t like discussing things with people who always want to win every argument. 4 My mother always used to tell me not to spread unkind rumours. 5 I usually find it better not to get drawn into an argument with Paul. 6 We had a very enjoyable time just sitting in the park enjoying some idle chatter. 7 I managed to resist all his attempts to engage me in conversation. 8 I’ve never talked to him much – we’ve done no more than exchange pleasantries. 20.2 1 lost 2 broached 3 take 4 strong 5 bring 6 drop 7 tough 8 hold 20.3 1 juicy gossip 2 broad generalisations 3 exchange news 4 take seriously 5 four-letter word 6 tough question 7 rash promise 8 opening gambit 20.4 1 Please drop the subject immediately. 2 Sam has a habit of making empty promises. 3 You must take the lab’s safety regulations seriously. 4 It’s better not to overstate your case. 5 Could we please change the subject? 6 Did you hear the rumours (that were) flying around about your boss last year? 7 There is rather a lot of bad/foul/strong language in the play. (Foul is the strongest of these alternatives.) 8 Such broad generalisations tend to be rather meaningless. 9 His opening gambit took me by surprise. 10 The children bombarded me with questions about my trip.