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78 Vocabulary insight 6
Vocabulary insight 6
Using a dictionary: verb and noun collocations
1
Work in pairs. Study the words below and answer
the questions.
a crime homework a mistake
1
What part of speech are these words?
2
Which word can you use with the verb
make
?
3
Which word can you use with the verb
do
?
4
Which word can you use with the verb
commit
?
strategy
Using a dictionary to find verb and noun
collocations
A collocation is a group of words which are often used
together. Many English verbs collocate with certain
nouns only, for example, we say
make a cake
and
make
your bed
, but we can’t say
make the dishes
or
make the
housework
.
To find out which nouns are used with a verb, look the
verb up in a dictionary and read the example sentences
in the dictionary entry.
When you record new vocabulary, it is useful to include
collocations and your own example sentences with
them. If you learn to recognize collocations and use
them correctly, your English will sound more natural.
2
Read the strategy above. Then study the extract
from a dictionary entry for pay. Choose the nouns
that collocate with pay and add them to the mind
map below.
advice attention beliefs a bill a compliment
a fine money rent trouble
pay
1
/
pe
ɪ
/
verb
(
pt
,
pp
paid
)
1
[I,T]
pay (sb) (for
sth)
;
pay (sb) sth (for sth)
to give sb money for
work, goods, services, etc:
She is very
well paid
.
The work
’
s finished but we haven
’
t paid for it yet.
We paid the dealer £3000 for the car.
2
[T]
pay sth
(to sb)
to give the money that you owe for sth:
Have
you paid her the rent yet?
to pay a bill/fine
3
[I,T] to
be worth doing:
It would pay you to get professional
advice before making a decision.
4
[I,T] to make a
profit:
It
’
s hard to make farming pay.
5
[I]
pay (for
sth)
to suffer or be punished because of your beliefs
or actions:
You
’
ll pay for that remark!
charge/pay the earth
earth
1
pay attention (to sb/sth)
to listen carefully to or
to take notice of sb/sth
pay sb a compliment
;
pay a compliment to sb
to
say that you like sth about sb
pay your respects (to sb)
(
formal
) to visit sb as a
sign of respect:
Hundreds came to
pay their last
respects
to her
(= went to her funeral)
.
pay tribute to sb/sth
to say good things about sb/
sth and show your respect for sb/sth
put paid to sth
to destroy or finish sth:
The bad
weather put paid to our picnic.
pay sb/sth back
to give money back to sb
that you borrowed from them:
Can you lend me £5?
I
’
ll pay you back/I
’
ll pay it back to you on Friday.
pay sb back (for sth)
to punish sb for making you
or sb else suffer:
What a mean trick! I
’
ll pay you back
one day.
pay off
(
informal
) to be successful:
All her hard work
has paid off! She passed her exam.
pay sth off
to pay all the money that you owe for
sth:
to pay off a debt/mortgage
pay up
(
informal
) to pay the money that you owe:
If
you don
’
t pay up, we
’
ll take you to court.
pay
2
/
pe
ɪ
/
noun
[U] money that you get regularly
for work that you have done:
It
’
s a boring job but the
pay is good.
a pay increase/rise
TOPIC
Pay
Pay
is the general word for money that you
earn
(= get regularly for work that you have done).
Wages
are paid weekly or daily in cash. A
salary
is paid monthly, directly into a bank account.
payment
/
ˈ
pe
ɪ
m
ə
nt
/
noun
payment (for sth)
1
[U] the act of paying sb or of being paid:
payment of
a bill
I did the work last month but I haven
’
t had
any payment for it yet.
note at
pay
2
2
[C] an
amount of money that you must pay:
They asked
for a payment of £100 as a deposit.
ˌ
pay-per-
ˈ
view
noun
[U] a system of receiving
television programmes in which you pay an extra
sum of money to watch a particular programme,
such as a film or a sports event
payslip
/
ˈ
pe
ɪ
sl
ɪ
p
/
noun
[C] (
BrE
) a piece of paper
that your employer gives you each month to show
how much money you have been paid and how
much tax, etc. has been taken off:
There seems to be
a mistake on my payslip.
PC
/
ˌ
pi
ː ˈ
si
ː
/
abbr
1
personal computer
; a computer
that is designed for one person to use at work or at
home
note at
computer
look at
mainframe
picture at
computer
2
(
BrE
) =
police constable
3
=
politically correct
PE
/
ˌ
pi
ː ˈ
i
ː
/
abbr
physical education
; the school sub-
ject of sport and exercise:
a PE lesson
pea
/
pi
ː
/
noun
[C] a small round green seed that is
eaten as a vegetable. A number of
peas
grow
together in a
pod
(= a long thin case).
picture
on
page P15
peace
/
pi
ː
s
/
noun
[U]
1
a situation or a period of
time in which there is no war or violence in a country
or area:
The two communities now manage to live
in
peace
together.
A UN force has been sent in to
keep
the peace
.
2
the state of being calm or quiet:
He
longed to escape from the city to the
peace and quiet
of the countryside.
I
’
m tired
–
can
’
t you just
leave
me
in peace
(= stop disturbing me)
?
peaceful
/
ˈ
pi
ː
sfl
/
adj
1
not wanting or involving
war, violence or argument:
a peaceful protest/dem-
onstration
2
calm and quiet:
a peaceful village
peacefully
/
‑
f
ə
li
/
adv
:
The siege ended peacefully
and nobody was hurt.
peacefulness
noun
[U]
peacetime
/
ˈ
pi
ː
sta
ɪ
m
/
noun
[U] a period when a
country is not at war
P
543
pay
peak
pay
oney
3
Complete the sentences with nouns from the mind
map in exercise 2.
1
I always pay my telephone
on time.
It’s usually about ten euros.
2
My boyfriend never pays me any
.
Maybe he doesn’t like me any more.
3
Laura, are you paying
? Did you hear
what the teacher just said?
4
I paid a lot of
for this MP3 player, but
it is not as good as my old one.
5
You can’t park the car here. If you do, you’ll have to
pay a
.
6
I live in my own house, so I don’t need to pay
to anyone.
4
Match each verb in column A to two nouns in
column B. Use a dictionary to help you.
A
B
give
spend
watch
time
a film
a present
money
advice
TV
5
Work in pairs. Complete the questions with a
collocation from exercise 4. Put the verbs into the
correct tense. Then answer the questions.
1
What
did you
your best friend for his /
her last birthday? Did he / she like it?
2
How much
do you
on new
clothes every month?
3
Do you often
in the evenings?
What is your favourite programme?
4
When d you last go to the cinema? Which
did you
?
5
How much
do you
doing
your homework every week?
6
Who do you ask for help if you have a problem? What
is the best
someone has ever
you?
6
Study the extract from a dictionary entry for break.
Choose five nouns that collocate with break and
write your own example sentences.
brass section in an orchestra
note at
instrument
picture at
music
brat
/
bræt
/
noun
[C] a child who behaves badly
and anno s you
bravado
/
br
əˈ
v
ɑː
d
əʊ
/
noun
[U] a confident way
of behaving that is intended to impress people,
sometimes as a way of hiding a lack of confidence
brave
1
/
bre
ɪ
v
/
adj
(
braver
;
bravest
)
1
ready to do
things that are dangerous or difficult without show-
ing fear:
the brave soldiers who fought in the war
‘
This may hurt a little, so try and be brave,
’
said
the dentist.
2
needing or showing courage:
a brave
decision
a brave fight against cancer
bravely
adv
:
The men bravely defended the town for three
days.
brave
2
/
bre
ɪ
v
/
verb
[T] to face st unpleas nt, dan-
gerous or difficult without showing fear:
S braved
the rain and went out into the street.
bravery
/
ˈ
bre
ɪ
v
ə
ri
/
noun
[U] actions that are
brave
:
After the war he received a medal for bravery.
courage
bravo
/
ˌ
br
ɑːˈ
v
əʊ
/
exclam
a word that people shout
to show that they have enjoyed sth that sb has done,
for example a play
brawl
/
br
ɔː
l
/
noun
[C] a noisy fight among a group
of people, usually in a public place
brawl
verb
[I]:
We saw some football fans brawling in the street.
brawn
/
br
ɔː
n
/
noun
[U] physical strength:
To do
this kind of job you need more brawn than brain
(= you need to be strong rather th n clever)
.
brawny
adj
:
He folded his brawny arms acr ss his
chest.
brazen
/
ˈ
bre
ɪ
zn
/
adj
without embarrassment,
especially in a way which shocks people:
Don
’
t
believe a word she says
—
she
’
s a brazen liar!
bra-
zenly
adv
:
He brazenly admitt d he
’
d been having an
affair.
brazil
/
br
əˈ
z
ɪ
l
/ (also
bra
ˈ
zil nu
)
oun
[C] a nut that
we eat, with a very hard shell that has three sides
picture at
nut
breach
1
/
bri
ː
t
ʃ
/
noun
1
[C,U]
breach (of sth)
an
act tha breaks an agreemen , a law, et :
Giving pri-
vate information about clients is a breach f confi-
dence.
The c mpany was found to b
in breach of
c ntract.
2
[C] a break in friendly relations b tween
people, groups, etc:
The incident caused a breac
between the two countries.
3
[C] an opening in a
wall, etc. that defends or prot cts sb/sth:
The wave
made a breach in the sea wall.
breach
2
/
bri
ː
t
ʃ
/
verb
[T]
1
to break a agreement,
a law, etc:
He accused the G vernme t of breachi g
international law.
2
to make an opening in a wall,
etc. that defends or protects sb/sth
bread
/
bred
/
noun
[U] a type of food made from
flour, water and usually
yeast
(= a substance hich
makes the bread rise) mixed together and baked in
A
loaf
of bread is bread that has been
sha ed and cooked in one piece. A
roll
is bread
baked in a round shape for one person to eat.
Wholemeal
bread is made from flour that con-
tains all the grain.
breadcrumbs
/
ˈ
bredkr
ʌ
mz
/
noun
[pl] very
small pieces of bre d that are used in cooking
breadth
/
bred
θ
/
noun
[U]
1
the distance
between the two s des of sth:
We measured the
length and breadth of the garden.
width
2
the
wide v iety of things, subjects, etc. that sth
i cludes:
I was amazed by the breadth of her know-
ledge.
adjective
broad
the length and breadth of sth
length
breadwinner
/
ˈ
bredw
ɪ
n
ə
(r)
/
noun
[C,usually
sing] the p rson who earns most of the money that
their family needs:
When his dad died, Steve became
the breadwinner.
break
1
/
bre
ɪ
k
/
verb
(
pt
broke
/
br
əʊ
k
/;
pp
broken
/
ˈ
br
əʊ
k
ə
n
/)
IN PIECES
1
[I,T] to separate, or make sth separate,
into two or more pieces:
She dropped the vase onto
the floor and it broke.
He broke his leg in a car
accident.
picture at
chip
STOP WORKING
2
[I,T] (used about a machine, etc.)
to stop working; to stop a machine, etc. working:
The photocopier has broken.
Be careful with my
camera
—
I don
’
t want you to break it.
LAW/PROMISE
3
[T] to do sth that is against the law,
or agai st what has been agreed or promised:
to
break the law/rules/speed limit
Don
’
t worry
—
I never
break y promises.
STOP
4
[I,T] to st p doing sth for a short time:
Let
’
s
break for coffee now.
We decided to break the jour-
ney and stop for lunch.
END STH
5
[T] to make sth end:
Once you start smok-
i
it
’
s very difficult to
break the habit
.
Suddenly,
the silence was broken by the sound of a bird singing.
BEGIN
6
[I] to begin:
Day was breaking as I left the
house.
We ran indoors when the storm broke.
OF NEWS
7
[I] if a piece of news
breaks
, it becomes
known:
When the story broke in the newspapers,
nobody could believe it.
look at
break the news
OF A WAVE
8
[I] to reach its highest point and begin
to fall:
I watched the waves breaking on the rocks.
slice
a loaf of bread
a bread roll
bread
B
85
brat
break
Dictionary entries from
Oxford Wordpower Dictionary
, 4th edition