Collocation Corner: Word Pairs for Higher Band Scores

Have you ever heard a sentence that was grammatically correct but just sounded... wrong?

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  Example: "I did a mistake." (Grammatically okay-ish, but wrong).
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  Correction: "I made a mistake." (Natural).

This is a collocation: words that naturally go together. Native speakers use them instinctively. If you use them, you sound fluent. If you don't, you sound unnatural.

Here are some essential collocations to boost your Lexical Resource score.

1. Verb + Noun Collocations

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  Make an effort (Not "do an effort")
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  Take a risk (Not "make a risk")
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  Pay attention (Not "give attention")
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  Keep a promise (Not "hold a promise")
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  Solve a problem / Resolve an issue

2. Adjective + Noun Collocations

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  Heavy rain (Not "strong rain")
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  High quality (Not "big quality")
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  Severe damage (Not "bad damage")
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  Key role (Not "main role")
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  Active interest

3. Adverb + Adjective Collocations

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  Highly controversial (Not "very controversial")
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  Bitterly disappointed
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  Deeply concerned
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  Virtually impossible
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  Perfectly clear

4. How to Learn Collocations

You can't just memorize a dictionary.

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   Read widely: When you see a new noun, look at the verb before it and the adjective before that.
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   Chunking: Don't learn the word "decision." Learn "make a decision." Treat the phrase as one single unit of vocabulary.
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   Practice: When writing an essay, check if your word combinations "fit."

Conclusion

Collocations are the bridge between "student English" and "fluent English." mastering them will boost both your Speaking (fluency) and Writing (lexical resource) scores. Start noticing them in your reading today!

Check out our other IELTS resources and practice tests to help you achieve your target band score!