Collocations & expressions
She did well and scored ..... average.
above / over / beyond / on top of
above
The woman ... when the police told her that her husband had died.
broke up/got lost/got upset/went down
got upset (or: broke down)
... to the CEO the crisis will soon be over.
Concerning / Referring / According / Considering
According (according to)
... she had said the words "I love you" several times, he did not aswer her.
However / Although / Despite / Yet
Although (Although comes always before a subject)
Are you ... to starting university next year. Fresher´s week is said to be amazing!
looking forward/Ending up/Making off with/Coming across
Looking forward (be excited about)
1) Cleaning the house was ..... necessary.
positively/absolutely/decidedly/unambiguously
2) He knew he couldn't win and accepted ...
loss / beating / defeat / losing
1) absolutely
2) defeat
1) Our teacher broke the final project ... into three separate parts.
up/down/away/aside
2) Last night I ... dancing with Sarah; we had a wonderful time.
ended up/turned down/came across/got around
1) down
2) ended up
Tbilisi is ... as the city that loves you.
considered / called / named / known
known (known as)
He appeared chilled ... the danger.
Though / Even though / Despite / Nevertheless
Despite (despite is followed by a noun, pronoun or or gerund: ing. Despite cannot link clauses; 'Though' can link clauses).
1) Come on, let´s hurry up. We need to ... a solution before the meeting at 5:00.
come up with/take up with/Get around/Deal with
2) Are you interested in ... a new hobby in the coming year?
Dealing with/Taking up/Dropping out/Ending up
1) Come up with (to have an idea)
2) Taking up (start doing an activity)
1) The ... of drugs had affected the population in the neighbourhood.
use / abuse / exploitation / offence
2) He said ''sorry'' and she ... his apology.
agreed / welcomed / accepted / took
1) abuse
2) accepted
1) I'd like to leave as soon as possible, since the sooner we ... the sooner we arrive.
pull over / settle down / set off / keep up
2) Please, ... your mind and decide. I'm fed up with waiting for you until you finally arrive at a decision!
look into / make up / turn up / come across
1) set off (= leave)
2) Make up your mind (= come to a decision)
1) Use of English ... of Keyword Transformations, Word Formation, Open Cloze and Multiple Choice Cloze.
exists / involves / includes / consists
2) If only he ... screaming. It's so annoying!
stopped / had stopped / would stop / would have stopped
1) consists (consist of)
2) would stop (If only + would = annoyance)
1) ... he were the last person on Earth, she would never love him.
Even though / Despite / Although / Even if
2) The car is very expensive, but ... the car is very expensive, I'll buy it anyway.
Even though / Despite / However / Even if
1) Even if (Even if = conditional. Even though = true)
2) Even though (Even though = true. Even if = conditional)
1) I can ... in English, but my French is a little rusty.
Get by/Come across/End up/make out
2) I usually ... my city on foot as everything is just around the corner. It is a smally and quaint city.
Get by/Drop out of/Get around/Deal with
3) I would think twice before ... of university. It could be a massive mistake as you only have one year to go.
Coming across/Getting around/Getting by/Dropping out
1) Get by (= survive)
2) Get around (= move from A to B)
3) Dropping out (of) (= leave/stop attending a course)
1) In some companies the ... of power is a serious issue.
abuse / mismanaging / perversion / injustice
2) As a child, when he didn't know the way, he ... for directions.
used to request/would demand/used to petition/would ask
3) After working for years, he finally ... his goal.
realised/objectivied/achieved/acquired
1) abuse
2) would ask
3) achieved
1) The firemen had to break ... the room to rescue the children.
in / down / into / up
2) Her grandparents brought her ... after her parents died.
raising up/ up / by / aside
3) He finally ... to a decision.
arrived / came / turned down / went
1) Into
2) up (bring up = raise)
3) came (come to a decision = arrive at a decision = decide)
1) If only she ... her exam. She deserves it so much as she has studied for many hours each day!
passes / passed / would pass / had passed
2) If only I ... I would have passed the test!
study / studied / had studied / would study
1) passed (If only + past simple = strong wishes)
2) Had studied (If only + past perfect = regrets)
1) Anyway, for fans of the film we have a new ... a brief teaser to look forward to.
Even though / Albeit / Nevertheless / However
2) We decided to buy the car, ... the price made us hesitate.
Although / Albeit / Nevertheless / However
1) Albeit (Think of 'albeit' as a shorter way of saying 'although it is/was' or 'although they are/were').
2) Although (However, & Nevertheless, have a comma behind them. And what you can’t do with 'albeit' but can certainly do with 'although' is introduce independent clauses. This is one of the reasons why the two words are not always interchangeable).
1) The robber was tall and blonde but I couldn't ... her face.
Take up/Get around/Deal with/Make out
2) She ... £100k worth of jewellery. It was devastating for the owners.
Ended up with/Made off with/Came across/Got by
3) I can't ... on my salary. I should get a second job.
Get by/Brush up/Deal with/Take up
4) ... personal problems can be a challenging task. Especially when you feel that you lack support from your friends and family.
Taking up/Getting around/Brushing up on/Dealing with
1) Make out
2) Made off with
3) Get by (= survive)
4) Dealing with (= handle a situation/have everything under control)
1) She ... the challenge and decided to climb Mount Everest.
accepted / took / received / obtained
2) She asked for ... but her father wouldn't allow it.
agreement/permission/approval/admission
3) He ... certainly will win.
nearly / practically / almost / quite
4) He would never write back. He never ... any letter.
returned/responded/replied/answered
1) accepted
2) permission
3) almost
4) answered
1) Jason called the wedding ... because it turned out he wasn't in love with his fiancé.
away / down / aside / off
2) I came ... these old photos when I was tidying the closet.
towards / up with / down with / across
3) The top and bottom will come ... if you pull hard enough.
apart / down / through / out
4) The exhibition ... to be more interesting than expected.
turned out / came out / came along / took up
1) off (call off = cancel)
2) across (come across something = find unexpectedly)
3) apart (come apart = separate)
4) turned out (= proved to be the case)
1) The musician ... in selling all his CDs!
managed / succeeded / achieved / was able
2) The woman ... to overcome her problems.
managed / succeeded / achieved / could
3) This year, our company ... all of its production goals.
managed / succeeded / achieved / was able
1) succeeded (succeed in)
2) managed (manage to)
3) achieved (achieve = accomplish, attain)
1) The director carried the composer’s work to another dimension, ... one inhabited by Tchaikovsky’s lyrical beauty.
However / Nevertheless / What's more / Albeit
2) He was feeling very ill; ... , he went to school.
However / Although / Even though / Albeit
3) It cost a fortune to renovate our house; ... , it was worth it.
Nevertheless / Albeit / Although / For example
1) Albeit (Think of 'albeit' as a shorter way of saying 'although it is/was' or 'although they are/were').
2) However ('Although' means 'in spite of the fact' and combines two clauses to make 1 sentence, whereas 'However' means 'but' or 'nevertheless' and facilitates a smooth transition between two ideas).
3) Nevertheless ('Nevertheless' means 'but' or 'however' and facilitates a smooth transition between two ideas)
1) I was walking in town when I ... a new shop that I'd never seen before!
Came across/Got by/Brushed up on/Came up with
2) I love you so much darling! Thank you for ... me for all these years!
Putting up with/Dealing with/Ending up with/Coming across
3) I can always ... the postman to deliver my letters on time.
Get by/Count on/Brush up on/Come up with
4) I ought to ... my German grammar as I commit far too many errors.
Brush up on/Get around/Deal with/Make out
5) Wouldn't it be great if you ... a $50 bill on the floor as you were walking down the street?
Made off with/Took up/Came up with/Came across
1) Came across (= find by coincidence)
2) Putting up
3) Count on
4) Brush up on ... (improve something you are rusty at)
5) Came across (= find by coincidence)