NOTE: Before you begin these activities, be sure you understand how to use the resources in Check My Words

(especially the Word Combinations button, Word Neighbors and JustTheWord).

Task 1: Test your Collocation IQ

Tick the correct collocations (word combinations). Some of these are common errors: list out points easy money heavy handed high chance food for thought drop down notes drop by a place run the risk make harm to make business with take a chance take the trouble play computer conflicts arise tackle a problem

Task 2: Finding the Right Collocations

Use CMWs to find the appropriate words and word forms (e.g. tense) for the blanks (make a note of which resource you use). In some cases, there may be more than one possible answer. Decide in each sentence what target word to highlight: 1. The police must _____________ (verb) every effort to combat crime. 2. The government _____________ (verb) a Clean HK Campaign some years ago. 3. Cinderella had to leave when the clock _____________ (verb) twelve. 4. He looked up and caught _____________ (noun) of a shooting star. 5. You have to see it _____________ (preposition) the clients perspective. 6. The government would like to ________ (verb) an end to people abusing the welfare system. 7. Some textbooks are badly written and dont _________ (verb) any sense. 8. Saddam Hussein was __________ (verb) to death after he was convicted of mass murder. 9. He is an ______ (adjective) admirer of your work. 10. This new process is a ______ (adjective) advance in technology.

Task 3: Making Your Writing more Interesting

Use CMWs to supply the most appropriate missing word(s) in each sentence. More than one answer may be acceptable. 1. They found that they had to strike a _____________ (adjective) balance in this matter.

2. There is _____________ (adjective) evidence that global temperature is on the rise. 3. One sector showed _____________ (adjective) growth about 80%; another sector showed only _____________ (adjective) growth about 35%. 4. He _____________ (adverb) remembered the event, but could not recall the details. 5. He _____________ (adverb) denied having committed any offence. 6. The new device will _____________ (adverb) enhance the quality of images. 7. Not wanting to _____________ (verb) attention, they sat down quietly. 8. The Olympics will certainly be given wide media _____________(noun). 9. Pay closer attention _____________ (preposition) details when you prepare your report. 10. In the experiment, patients _____________ (verb) different kinds of treatment. 11. I have a ___________ grasp of the situation.

Task 4: Common Adjective-Noun Collocations

Use CMWs to find at least two adjectives that collocate (combine) strongly with each of the following nouns and that form a combination that is new to you. 1. _____________ / _____________ point 2. _____________ / _____________ interest 3. _____________ / _____________ step 2

4. _____________ / _____________ conclusion 5. _____________ / _____________ solution Now, write five original sentences that are relevant to your life as a student with these new combinations. 1. ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. ___________________________________________________________________________ 5. ___________________________________________________________________________

Task 5: Do they go together?

Are the collocations in the following underlined phrases correct? Use CMWs to help rewrite those that are wrong. It might help to look up Similar Meanings on the CMWs toolbar, and in some cases more than one button (e.g. Definitions and Word Family)should be used to check your choice. Note: The words that go together below are quite informal expressions (e.g. more often used in conversation, newspapers, informal reports etc.) and should not be used in formal writing. 1. He smiled bitterly when he was told his plan had failed. 2. He had been a substantial smoker all his life, and finally died of lung cancer. 3. The city conducts an annual head count of the homeless people on the streets. 4. They had tea together and exchanged the latest juicy gossip. 5. The judge quickly dismissed all their legal arguments that did not hold water. 6. The department came below fire for over-spending. 7. The medical teams pioneering research continued to break new ground in improving ways to detect cancer at an early stage. 8. On being told that her husband had been killed in an accident, she broke down and wept harshly. 9. If you want to do a job well, you cant do it on the cheap. 10. The group worked closely together, and their team spirit was second of none. 11. Being visually-impaired, he cant go to many places without his seeing-eye dog. 12. By their own initiative, they helped the police to form a search team for the missing person. 13. A cheerful-go-lucky person, he never seems to have a care in the world. 14. Everyone thought Tom was a demonstrated bachelor, so they were surprised to hear of his engagement to Betty. 4

15. They heeded the advice their instructor gave them and their results improved dramatically.

KEY to Task 5:
1. ()He smiled bitterly when he was told his plan had failed. 2. () Having been a substantial smoker all his life he finally died of lung cancer. (heavy smoker) 3. ()The city conducts an annual head count of the homeless people on the streets. 4. ()They had tea together and exchanged the latest juicy gossip. 5. ()The judge quickly dismissed their legal arguments that did not hold water. 6. () The department came below fire for over-spending. (came under fire) 7. ()The medical teams pioneering research continued to break new ground in improving ways to detect cancer at an early stage. 8. () On being told that her husband had been killed in an accident, she broke down and wept harshly. (wept bitterly, uncontrollably) 9. ()If you want to do a job well, you cant do it on the cheap. 10. () The group worked closely together and their team spirit was second of none. (second to none) 11. ()Being visually-impaired, he cant go to many places without his seeing-eye dog. 12. () By their own initiative, they helped the police to form a search team for the missing person. (On their own initiative) 13. () A cheerful-go-lucky person, he never seems to have a care in the world. (happy-go-lucky) 14. () Everyone thought Tom was a demonstrated bachelor, so they were surprised to hear of his engagement to Betty. (confirmed bachelor) 15. ()They heeded the advice their instructor gave them and their results improved dramatically.

Task 6: What does knowing a word mean?

Tick the words below that you know and can use accurately. These words are from the academic word lists (under the Get My Words button in the CMWs toolbar). These words commonly occur across a wide range of academic textbooks: NOUNS attitude attribute authority challenge commodity conflict controversy domain VERBS encounter expose fund guarantee initiate issue offset concentrate

Table 1: academic nouns and verbs

A. Do you know how to use the words in context that you know? Connect the verbs and nouns below that collocate (combine) most strongly. One is done for you. Then, supply the missing nouns from the sentences below (use singular/plural forms correctly). Use CMWs to help you: ACADEMIC VERB concentrate encounter expose fund guarantee initiate issue offset Collocating NOUN action cost difficulty effort project safety statement weakness

Table 2: nouns that collocate with academic verbs

1. To achieve our goal of becoming a green" university, we should concentrate our __________ on converting all paper-based processes to digital ones. 2. We encountered several __________ in completing our report on time. 3. He exposed a __________ in my argument that I hadnt noticed. 4. We are expecting Microsoft to fund the __________. 5. We cant expect the government to guarantee the ________ of equity investments. 6. The government has initiated __________ to reduce pirated materials. 7

7. He issued a __________ denying that he had ever agreed to such a deal. 8. We increased funding to offset the _________ of implementing the new features. B. Now draw a line between the verbs and nouns in Table 3 below that most strongly collocate (combine) with each other. The first is done for you. Then, supply the missing verbs from the sentences below the table. Be careful to use the correct verb form. Use CMWs to help you: Collocating VERB adopt resolve exercise face fall within possess produce provide ACADEMIC NOUN attitude attribute authority challenge commodity conflict context domain

Table 3: verbs that collocate with academic nouns

1. We must __________ an attitude of respect to all people, no matter what their cultural or educational background. 2. This movie __________ an attribute that's increasingly rare in American filmmaking: call it soul. 3. The Beijing authorities did not __________ this authority last year, although there appeared to be ample opportunity to do so. 4. Many teachers will not __________ the challenge of learning new technology. 5. A certain amount of time must be invested in order to __________ a commodity. 6. Efforts to __________ the conflict, which has caused more than 100 deaths since February last year, have so far been fruitless. 7. In email, you should include enough background information to __________ a context for the message. 8. Buddhists believe that all is merely appearance and that absolute reality does not __________ the domain of the intellect.

Task 7: Common Verb-Noun Collocations

Fill in each gap with the verb that collocates best with the underlined noun in each context. Check by using the most appropriate resource from CMWs: 1. Many drivers find it difficult to _________ the temptation to speed on this highway. 2. If you _________ excellence, you will achieve it one day. 3. Although women _________ equal access to higher education in Hong Kong, they are often not accorded equal opportunities in the workplace. 4. Accommodation at the maximum security institution at Pik Uk will _________ a much needed alternative for most of the young offenders now held in Stanley. 5. An investors decision to buy or sell a stock should be _________ on individual circumstances.

Task 8: Common Adjective-Noun Collocations

Supply the adjective from the list below that collocates best with each underlined noun. Use CMWs to help you: absolute decisive fruitless impeccable intangible isolated preliminary proposed questionable vague

1. His argument was based on _________ assumptions. 2. He refused to respond to _________ assertions about his work. 3. After making many _________ attempts, he finally succeeded. 4. It is difficult to value the _________ assets of a company. 5. Should a senior executive attempt to exert _________ authority over subordinates? 6. The inspector reported that the collapse of the wall was not an _________ incident. 7. His _________ logic convinced me that I was wrong. 8. The design review will include details about the _________ project. 9. The _________ data tend to support our conclusions. 10. The _________ factor in his decision was price.

Task 9: Common Collocations

The following nouns are each associated with strong verb, adjective or preposition collocates. Use CMWs to find appropriate matching words (there are usually many choices: try to find collocations that are new to you), and use these in original sentences. Look up definitions of any new words and make sure you are using the correct forms of words (e.g. tense). These collocations (some are idioms) are used frequently in meetings and discussions: A. Verb + Noun 1. ___________ action 2. ___________ agreement 3. ___________ attention to 4. ___________ basis 5. ___________ business 6. ___________ choice 7. ___________ circles 8. ___________ comment 9. ___________ common ground 10. ___________ compromise 11. ___________ concession 12. ___________ conclusion 13. ___________ deadlock 14. ___________ deal 15. ___________ decision 16. ___________ difficulty 17. ___________ discussion 18. ___________ effort 19. ___________ element 20. ___________ example 21. ___________ facts 22. ___________ fingertips 23. ___________ goodwill 24. ___________ hairs 25. ___________ halfway 26. ___________ hard bargain 27. ___________ headway 28. ___________ know-how 29. ___________ matter 30. ___________ mind 31. ___________ mind at rest 32. ___________ negotiations 33. ___________ objection 34. ___________ open mind 35. ___________ opinion 36. ___________ our best 10

37. ___________ our cards on the table 38. ___________ (our) careful consideration 39. ___________ our options open 40. ___________ our thanks 41. ___________ our views 42. ___________ point 43. ___________ possibility 44. ___________ priority to 45. ___________ problem 46. ___________ proposal 47. ___________ question 48. ___________ resources 49. ___________ results 50. ___________ role 51. ___________ setback 52. ___________ solution 53. ___________ something aside 54. ___________ something clear 55. ___________ something into account B. Adjective + Noun 1. ___________ adjournment 2. ___________ agreement 3. ___________ approach 4. ___________ asset 5. ___________ association 6. ___________ attitude 7. ___________ block 8. ___________ commitment 9. ___________ decision 10. ___________ difference 11. ___________ disagreement 12. ___________ discussion 13. ___________ exception 14. ___________ factor 15. ___________ guess 16. ___________ inconvenience 17. ___________ investment 18. ___________ joint venture 19. ___________ knowledge 20. ___________ matter C. Preposition + Noun 1. ___________ cross purposes 2. ___________ no circumstances 3. ___________ common

56. ___________ something out of hand 57. ___________ something over 58. ___________ stalemate 59. ___________ steps 60. ___________ suggestion 61. ___________ support to 62. ___________ the bush 63. ___________ the difficulty 64. ___________ the fact that 65. ___________ the fence 66. ___________ the issue 67. ___________ the meeting 68. ___________ the options 69. ___________ the point 70. ___________ the same boat 71. ___________ the situation 72. ___________ the subject 73. ___________ the way 74. ___________ time 75. ___________ word

21. ___________ misunderstanding 22. ___________ opinion 23. ___________ opportunity 24. ___________ outcome 25. ___________ outlook 26. ___________ picture 27. ___________ plenary session 28. ___________ point 29. ___________ position 30. ___________ priority 31. ___________ problem 32. ___________ proposal 33. ___________ question 34. ___________ repercussions 35. ___________ setback 36. ___________ solution 37. ___________ step 38. ___________ talks 39. ___________ understanding 40. ___________ view

4. ___________ connection with 5. ___________ all costs 6. ___________ consideration 11

7. ___________ concrete terms 8. ___________ the contrary 9. ___________ conjunction with 10. ___________ conclusion 11. ___________ detail

12. ___________ exchange for 13. ___________ discussion 14. ___________ some extent 15. ___________ due course

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