Collocations with phrasal verbs ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

UNIT 10

Collocations with phrasal verbs

A	News items The Justice Minister said he would abide by the decision1 of the High Court to free the prisoner. The new regional governor will take up office2 on 1 March, following his party’s recent election victory. The Education Commission has been asked by the government to come up with an alternative to the present schools examination system. The police, acting on a tip-off 3, arrested the thieves as they left the building. Hollywood star Glenda Nixon has filled for divorce4. She and her husband Kevin Lomax have lived apart for the last six months. The police intend to come down heavily on5 anyone causing trouble at tomorrow’s football final. 1 (formal) accept the decision 2 (formal) start work in an official position 3 a secret warning 4 made an official request for a divorce 5 punish very severely
B	Everyday conversation Note how B uses a collocation with a phrasal verb to repeat A’s ideas. A: It was great just sitting in the sunshine and enjoying the feel of the place, wasn’t it? B: Yes, it was nice to just sit there soaking up the atmosphere. A: I think we should both arrange our work schedules so we don’t have to work in May. B: Yes, I’ll try to free up some time so we can go away together. A: I’m finding it hard to find time to practise the French I learnt at school. B: Yes, I have a similar problem keeping up my Spanish. A: Well, all that gardening has made me hungry. B: Yes, it certainly helps to work up an appetite. A: It’d suit my arrangements if we could meet up at lunchtime. B: Yes, that would fit in perfectly with my plans too. A: The hotel wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. B: No, it didn’t live up to my expectations either.
C	Other phrasal verbs with strong collocations burst into laughter/tears [suddenly start to laugh/cry] When she saw the damage the floods had done to her house, she burst into tears. dip into savings/funds [spend part of some money which was being saved] The club had to dip into their emergency funds to pay for the repairs to the roof. jot down an address / a phone number / a room number [write down quickly] Can I jot down your email address? see off an intruder/opponent [get rid of, defeat] He’s a tough guy. He saw off several intruders who were trying to break into his house. adhere to principles / beliefs / ideals / a philosophy [formal: continue to maintain a belief] It’s difficult to adhere to one’s beliefs when one is being constantly attacked. Tip It is oft en difficult to remember the meanings of phrasal verbs. When a phrasal verb has a set of collocations as in the examples in C, write them down together. This is a good way of remembering their meaning.

EXERCISES

10.1	Complete the collocations using prepositions from the box. by down for in with to up up to up with 1 file ____________ divorce 2 come ____________ an alternative 3 take ____________ office 4 adhere ____________ a philosophy 5 live ____________ expectations 6 abide ____________ a decision 7 jot ____________ someone’s address 8 fit ____________ plans
10.2	Complete each sentence using a collocation from 10.1 in the appropriate form. 1 I’d been looking forward to the course but unfortunately it __________________ my expectations. 2 Has anyone __________________ a good alternative to the petrol- or diesel-fuelled car yet? 3 I should __________________ your address in case I forget it. 4 The new president of our club is due to __________________ office next week. 5 We have to __________________ the decision of the committee; we have no choice. 6 Most members of the group __________________ a common philosophy. 7 I don’t have any special arrangements, so can easily __________________ your plans. 8 Melissa Bragg has __________________ divorce in a New York court.
10.3	Answer these questions using collocations from the opposite page. 1 What can you do with savings or funds in an emergency? 2 What can you do with principles or ideals? 3 What can you try to do with a language if you don’t want to lose it? 4 What can guard dogs help you to do if you have intruders?
10.4	Correct the collocation errors in these sentences. 1 Everyone broke into laughter when she told the story. 2 We had a run along the beach to work in an appetite before lunch. 3 The police have said they intend to go down heavily on anyone carrying an offensive weapon at the match. 4 Do you think you could free out some time to have a quick meeting this afternoon? 5 The police acted on a rip-off and managed to avert a possible disaster. 6 I hope the party will live on to your expectations. 7 We sat on our hotel balcony, soaking through the atmosphere of the carnival. 8 Tanya quickly saw out her opponent in the semi-final and now goes on to the final.
10.5	Answer these questions. Write full sentences using the word in brackets in a collocation from the opposite page. 1 What do you plan to do in future to make sure you don’t lose your English? (KEEP) 2 What film or gig or sports event have you been to that wasn’t as good as you expected? (LIVE) 3 What sort of thing might tempt you to use some of your savings? (DIP) 4 Your best friend is getting married 100 miles away tomorrow and all the trains have been cancelled. What would you try to do? (COME) 5 At short notice some friends have invited you to stay for the weekend. They’ve already made some plans for the weekend. What would you do your best to do? (FIT) 6 How easy do you find it always to act according to your principles? (ADHERE)

ANSWER KEY

10.1 1 for 2 up with 3 up 4 to 5 up to 6 by 7 down 8 in with 10.2 1 didn’t live up to        2 come up with 3 jot down 4 take up 5 abide by 6 adhere to 7 fit in with 8 filed for 10.3 1 dip into them 2 adhere to them 3 keep it up 4 see them off 10.4 1 Everyone burst into laughter when she told the story. 2 We had a run along the beach to work up an appetite before lunch. 3 The police have said they intend to come down heavily on anyone carrying an offensive weapon at the match. 4 Do you think you could free up some time to have a quick meeting this afternoon? 5 The police acted on a tip-off and managed to avert a possible disaster. (A rip-off is a colloquial word meaning something that is not worth what you paid for it, e.g. That meal was an absolute rip-off.) 6 I hope the party will live up to your expectations. 7 We sat on our hotel balcony, soaking up the atmosphere of the carnival. 8 Tanya quickly saw off her opponent in the semi-final and now goes on to the final. 10.5 Possible answers: 1 I’ll keep it up by watching English-language TV and reading news items on the Internet. 2 The last Bond film didn’t live up to my expectations. 3 I might be tempted to dip into my savings for a special holiday.  4 I’d try to come up with an alternative means of transport. 5 I’d do my best to fit in with the plans they had already made. 6 I sometimes find it very hard to adhere to my principles.

Communicating ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

UNIT 9

Communicating

A

Collocations with say, speak, talk and tell I wouldn’t say no to a nice cup of tea. [informal: I’d really like] Needless to say / It goes without saying that the workers voted in favour of the wage increase. Jana didn’t say a word when I told her I was leaving. Generally speaking, people are aware of the environmental consequences of their actions. Strictly speaking, a tomato is a fruit and not a vegetable because it contains seeds. She always speaks very highly of you. [says good things about you] Charlie, stop mumbling and speak properly. I can’t understand a word you’re saying. [generally used by parents or teachers to children, not between adults] Now we’ve got to know each other, I think it’s time we talked business. At first, Andrew appears to be talking nonsense but after a while you realise he’s actually talking a lot of sense. I’ll tell you a secret but please don’t tell anyone else. The old woman looked at Glen’s palm and began to tell his fortune. [predict his future life]

B

Collocations meaning communicate example comment I asked why she didn’t trust him but she wouldn’t give me a reason. NOT say a reason The charity states its aim as being to help underprivileged children. (formal) also state your purpose/goal The staff on reception required each visitor to state their business before issuing them with an entry permit. (formal) = say what their intentions are In her lecture Lucia gave an account of her trip to the Andes. used about both speech and writing The speech got the message about the policy changes across. (informal) = conveyed the idea I declare Hiroshi Yamamoto the winner of the gold medal. (formal) statement made at the time of the win He was pronounced dead at 1.10. (formal) used when making an official statement of death The old man tried to impart his knowledge to his sons. (formal) = transfer knowledge; also impart wisdom That journalist gets amazing stories but he won’t divulge his sources. (formal) = make something secret known; also divulge a secret The internet is a powerful means of disseminating information. (formal) = spreading information to a lot of people We notified the police of the burglary. (formal) = officially informed Although found guilty, Robson continued to protest his innocence. (formal) = insist he was not guilty He professed ignorance of the dent to the car but I think he was lying. (formal) = claimed – perhaps insincerely – that he did not know Did you break the news to her that her mother is in prison? used for news that is very upsetting

EXERCISES

9.1	Complete each sentence with the appropriate form of say, speak, talk or tell. 1 Strictly____________ , you shouldn’t be here. 2 Joel ____________me a secret and made me promise not to pass it on to anyone else. 3 It goes without ____________that we’ll invite you to our wedding. 4 I spend most days with my three-year-old son, so forgive me if I start ____________nonsense. 5 The teachers always ____________very highly of my son’s abilities. 6 I had my fortune ____________at the fair yesterday. 7 It’s so hot. I wouldn’t ____________no to an ice cream, would you? 8 Shall we have lunch first and then sit down to ____________business? 9 I think that, generally ____________, it’s better to use public transport than drive yourself.
9.2	Rewrite the underlined part of each sentence to make it more formal. 1 The victim was asked why he had not told the police sooner about the mugging. 2 The older generation has always attempted to pass its wisdom on to young people. 3 Stockman has always insisted that he is innocent. 4 Robert claimed that he knew nothing of the damage to the car. 5 The reporter had no option but to explain where she had got her information from. 6 The doctors said he was dead when they arrived at the scene of the accident. 7 The judges said that Magda Karlson had won the competition. 8 The charity does a great deal to inform people about its activities.
9.3	Are these sentences correct or incorrect? If they are incorrect, correct them. 1 Do you think I managed to give the message across in my speech? 2 Needless to say, he didn’t tell a word to his parents about what had happened. 3 You can’t chew gum and say properly at the same time. 4 He refused to say his reasons for turning down our invitation. 5 She was devastated when we dropped the news to her. 6 In your report we would like you to give a detailed account of what happened. 7 I really like this documentary maker; she tells a lot of sense. 8 At the beginning of your dissertation you must say your goals clearly.
9.4	Use a dictionary to find nouns to complete these phrases based on collocations in B. 1 ______________ of innocence in the face of evidence to the contrary 2 a company’s ______________ of aims 3 ______________ of information among the population 4 ______________ of a crime to the police 5 ______________ of the winner of a competition
9.5	Use a dictionary to complete these collocation forks.

ANSWER KEY

9.1 1 speaking        6 told 2 told                7 say 3 saying            8 talk 4 talking           9 speaking 5 speak 9.2 1 notified 2 impart its wisdom 3 protested his innocence 4 professed ignorance 5 divulge her sources 6 pronounced him 7 declared Magda Karlson the winner of 8 disseminate information 9.3 1 Do you think I managed to get the message across in my speech? 2 Needless to say, he didn’t say a word to his parents about what had happened. 3 You can’t chew gum and speak properly at the same time. 4 He refused to give his reasons for turning down our invitation. 5 She was devastated when we broke the news to her. 6 Correct 7 I really like this documentary maker; she talks a lot of sense. 8 At the beginning of your dissertation you must state your goals clearly. 9.4 1 protestation(s) (The noun protest is not accurate here because it carries a meaning of opposition. Protestation, however, means a declaration, which echoes the meaning of protest in the collocation protest one’s innocence, meaning to declare one’s innocence.) 2 statement 3 dissemination 4 notification 5 declaration 9.5 Possible answers: 1 declare war on, declare independence, declare support for 2 impart bad news, impart facts, impart knowledge 3 divulge information, divulge secrets, divulge confidential details