Lesson 6 · Lesson guide
Collocations: Words That Go Together
Hello, my dear student!
Hello! In Uzbek we say “qaror qabul qilmoq”. If you translate it word by word, you get “accept a decision”. But in English we say “make a decision”. Nobody can tell you why. It is simply the pair that English speakers use.
Words that naturally go together are called collocations: make a mistake, do homework, heavy rain, strong coffee, pay attention. A sentence can have perfect grammar and still sound strange if the pairs are wrong.
The IELTS band descriptors for vocabulary mention collocation directly, so this is one of the fastest ways to sound more natural. Today’s rule: learn words in pairs, not alone.
See you in the exercises,Your teacher
Your browser has no English voice, so the listen buttons are hidden. Everything is written on the page.
Make or do?
These two verbs cause more mistakes than any others. There is a general idea, but you still need to learn the pairs.
make
You create a result
make a decision, make a mistake, make progress, make an effort, make money, make friends, make a noise
- I made a big mistake in the test.
- She is making good progress.
do
You do work or a task
do homework, do research, do exercise, do business, do the shopping, do your best
- Scientists are doing research on sleep.
- I do exercise every morning.
Other verbs
take, pay, play, raise
take a photo, take a break, take part in; pay attention; play a role; raise awareness
- Please pay attention.
- Parents play an important role in education.
Remember!
make = create something new. do = work, tasks and activities.
Adjective + noun pairs
Some adjectives go with some nouns. “Big rain” is understandable but wrong. Learn the natural partner.
heavy
heavy traffic, heavy rain
A lot of traffic or rain is heavy, not big or strong.
- There is heavy traffic in the morning.
strong
strong wind, strong coffee
Wind and coffee are strong, not heavy.
- I need a strong coffee.
high / low
high prices, a low income, a high level
Prices, income, levels and rates are high or low, not expensive or cheap.
- House prices are very high in the capital.
Mistakes I correct every day
Not: I made my homework.Say: I did my homework.
Homework is a task → do.
Not: She did a mistake.Say: She made a mistake.
make a mistake is a fixed pair.
Not: The prices are very expensive.Say: The prices are very high.
Things are expensive; prices are high.
Not: Parents make an important role.Say: Parents play an important role.
play a role, never make a role.
A note from your teacher
Most of these are word-for-word translations from Uzbek or Russian.
Collocations for IELTS Writing
Tap to hear them. These pairs appear again and again in good Task 1 and Task 2 answers.
have an effect on
Social media has an effect on sleep.
play an important role
Teachers play an important role in society.
solve a problem
not “decide a problem”
gain experience
(tajriba orttirmoq)
Part-time jobs help students gain experience.
raise awareness
(xabardorlikni oshirmoq)
raise (make higher), not rise
reach a peak
Task 1: Sales reached a peak in 2019.
Check yourself
make or do? ___ research
Which adjective? ___ traffic
Correct it: Students should take attention in class.
Now it’s your turn!
8 short parts, each a little harder than the one before. Take your time: mistakes are how we learn.
— Your teacher