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ALL FREE LESSONS

English Lesson: Collocations for Making Decisions

24/9/2018

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In this lesson, we will focus on collocations connected with getting the information and advice you need to make a decision as well as thinking before making any decisions. 

These collocations can be used in informal situations.

Always think about your audience and the situation you are in when using collocations. 


GETTING INFORMATION OR ADVICE TO MAKE A DECISION 

seek advice (= try to get some advice) 

  • If you plan to travel to Seoul, you'd better seek advice from someone who knows the city. 
  • If you feel unwell, you should definitely seek medical advice. 
  • Why don't you seek advice from an accountant? 


carry out research (into/on) | do research (into/on) 

  • You need to carry out some research before travelling abroad. 
  • The research was carried out by professors at Tokyo University. 
  • They're doing some research on the way children learn vocabulary. 


pick someone's brain(s) (= to ask someone for ideas; to ask someone's advice) 

  • If you know someone who has been there before, buy them a coffee and pick their brains. 
  • Here's her phone number. Why don't you call her and pick her brains? 
  • Do you mind if I pick your brains? I really need some fresh ideas. 
  • I just started learning Korean and I'd love to pick your brain for any tips you might have. 
​

helpful hints 

  • This website contains helpful hints on how to remember vocabulary. 
  • I've got a book with lots of helpful hints on living in the UK - you can borrow it if you like. 


THINKING BEFORE YOU MAKE A DECISION 

something crosses your mind (= when an idea suddenly comes into your thoughts) 

  • It crossed my mind that she might be lying about what had happened. 
  • I never sent an email back even though it crossed my mind a hundred times. 
  • What was the first thing that crossed your mind when you won the competition? 
  • It never crossed my mind that he might be married. (= I never thought about that.) 


have a brainwave (= you suddenly have a clever idea) 

  • I had a brainwave last night about how we can sell the car. 
  • After many hours of searching, I had a sudden brainwave. 


toy with an idea (= thinking about doing something, but not very seriously) 

  • We're toying with the idea of going to Japan next year. (= haven't decided yet) 
  • I've been toying with the idea of living abroad. (= consider and think about an idea) 


think long and hard (= consider something very carefully before making a decision) 

  • I thought long and hard about what universities to apply to -- it wasn't a rash decision. 
  • I got a job offer yesterday but I thought long and hard about taking it. 


English collocation lessons: 
English Lesson: Collocations for Leisure 
English Lesson: Collocations for Success 
English Lesson: Collocations for Feelings 
English Lesson: Collocations for Rural Life 
English Lesson: Collocations for Urban Life 
English Lesson: Collocations for Saving Money 


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English Lesson: Collocations for Describing a Conversation

17/9/2018

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In this lesson, we will focus on collocations that are used to describe conversations. 

How can you describe a conversation you have had or heard? Well, there are many collocations that can help you do that, so let's look at the most common ones. 
​

exchange greetings (= say hello to each other) 

  • I'm not very close to my neighbours but we exchange greetings when we see each other. 
  • I saw her briefly and we exchanged greetings but we didn't have a proper conversation.  


drop a hint (= give a hint; when you say something in an indirect way) 

  • 'So, what shall we get her?' -- 'Actually, that wouldn't be so difficult. I talked to her yesterday and she was dropping quite a few hints about what she'd like for her birthday.' 
  • It's always a good idea to drop a hint about your birthday, so none of your friends forget. 
  • My mum dropped several hints about me getting a job right after graduation. 
  • My co-worker dropped a hint that she was going to leave the company. 


a snatch of conversation (= when you hear a short part of a conversation) 

  • I heard a few snatches of conversation on the bus that made me think of my school years. 
  • I heard snatches of conversation from the table next to us where the woman was talking about her travel experience in Spain. ​


make small talk 

Examples: 
  • I'm not very good at making small talk. 
  • I've noticed that a lot of people make small talk about the weather. 
  • 'What did you talk about?' -- 'Oh, nothing interesting. I just made small talk about the weather and my new job.' 


a quick chat | a brief chat 

  • I met Alex at the gym on Saturday. We had a quick chat - he said to say hi to you. 
  • Do you have time for a brief chat about the meeting? 


a little chat 

  • Are you still mad at him? Why don't you call him and have a little chat? 
  • Can you come to my office in an hour? I'd like to have a little chat with you. 


a cosy chat (British English) | a cozy chat (American English)
(= a relaxed, private conversation) 


  • She was quite upset so I made some coffee and we had a cosy chat. 
  • Come and join us for lunch and a cosy chat. 


​a quiet chat (= when you don't want to be interrupted by other people) 

  • Let's have a quiet chat over lunch. 
  • That's my favourite coffee shop to meet friends for a quiet chat. 


go into detail(s) (about/on) (= give a lot of details about a situation) 

  • He didn't go into great detail about the meeting. 
  • I don't think your essay goes into detail about the problems caused by air pollution. 
  • They said they'd had a great holiday but they didn't go into details. 
  • 'Did I tell you I had started a new course?' -- 'Actually, you mentioned it briefly but you didn't go into details.' 


a long discussion (about/on) | a lengthy discussion (about/on) 

  • After a long discussion, we finally made a decision. 
  • We had a very long discussion about our future plans. 
  • After a lengthy discussion with her parents, she decided not to move out. 


​English collocation lessons: 
English Lesson: Collocations for Success 
English Lesson: Collocations for Feelings 
English Lesson: Collocations for Rural Life 
English Lesson: Collocations for Urban Life 
Collocations and Expressions for Childhood 


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Students learn and practise new vocabulary, and improve grammar as well.
You will receive feedback on your mistakes and advice how to improve.
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English Lesson: Collocations for Saving Money

10/9/2018

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In this lesson, you will learn useful collocations to talk about saving money. Using collocations will help you improve your spoken English and you will sound more natural in conversations or speaking exams. 

Apart from the collocation 'save money', what other interesting ways can you use to express the same meaning? Let's look at the examples below. 


a tight budget (= enough money for what you want to buy, usually a small amount of money) 

  • Most university students have to live within a tight budget. 
  • Those living on a tight budget can come up with different ways to save money. Packing your lunch for school or work is a good example how you can reduce your daily expenses. Eating in and watching movies at home is another way to bring down the cost of entertainment. 
​
VOCABULARY 
  • come up with (phrasal verb) - to think of something such as an idea or a plan 
  • a good example (collocation) 
  • bring down the cost | reduce the cost | cut the cost (collocations) 


a limited budget 

  • Many people spend most of their income on household expenses, and have a limited budget.
  • If you are on a limited budget, you can always do your shopping at the end of the day when supermarkets reduce their prices. 

VOCABULARY 
  • living expenses | household expenses (collocations) - money that you spend on basic things such as rent, food, and electricity 
  • reduce prices (collocation) 


a budget for something 

  • We only have a small budget for furniture. 
  • The company's budget for advertising has been reduced by 10%. 

VOCABULARY 
  • reduce a budget OPP. increase a budget (collocations) 


keep within a budget | stay within a budget (= spend only the money that is available) 
​
  • I'm keen on travelling a lot and I tend to book my trips in advance and keep within my budget. 
  • I always keep track of my expenses and try to stay within budget. 

NOTE: You can also say 'stay within my budget' or 'stay within the budget' depending on what you are talking about.  

VOCABULARY 
  • to be keen on something | to be keen on doing something (phrase) - when you are interested in something, especially an activity that you do often (Example: I'm keen on swimming.) 
  • book a trip (collocation) 
  • keep track (phrase) - to have all the information that you need about something 


on a budget (= with only a small amount of money) 

  • You can still travel abroad even on a small budget. 
  • When we moved into our new flat, it wasn't fully furnished, but we managed to decorate the living room and the bedroom on a really small budget. 


English collocation lessons: 
English Lesson: Collocations for Success 
English Lesson: Collocations for Feelings 
English Lesson: Collocations for Rural Life 
English Lesson: Collocations for Urban Life 
Business English: Collocations with Business 

Other lessons: 
Business English: Phrasal Verbs for Work 
​Business English: How to Talk about Money 
Story Time: Running out of petrol on the highway 
English Conversation: Buying sunscreen products at a store 
English Conversation: Socialising with people and working in coffee shops 


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If you think that you need to improve your speaking skills, click the buttons below to read more about each course or check the other online courses.
English Speaking Course
Business English Speaking Course
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English Lesson: Collocations for Leisure

3/9/2018

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Photo Credit: Victoria Bilsborough (Florida, USA)
In this lesson, we will focus on things people do in their spare time, such as having some hobbies, shopping and sleeping. The best way to sound more natural and concise in English is by using collocations. 
​

COLLOCATIONS FOR HOBBIES 

take up a hobby (= start going it) 

  • If you feel stressed, you can take up a hobby to keep yourself busy with something interesting. 
  • Taking up a hobby is a great way to fill up your free time with something meaningful. This could be anything from learning a new language to cooking or gardening. 

pursue your hobbies (formal) (= do them) 

  • When I graduated from high school, I had more time to pursue my hobbies. 
  • When I was doing a 9-to-5 job, I never had any time to pursue my hobbies, especially during the week. 

take up a sport (= start doing it)  

  • I really need to take up a sport to get fit. 
  • In my opinion, taking up a sport can have a positive impact on people's well-being. (= general health and happiness) 
 ​
develop a passion for something | have a passion for something 

  • While at school, I developed a passion for dancing. 
  • I think many people have a passion for music. They can actually turn their hobby into a career. 

go for a stroll | go for a walk (= to walk somewhere for pleasure) 

  • I often go for a stroll in the park. 
  • On Sunday. I go for a walk in the park near my flat. 


COLLOCATIONS FOR SHOPPING 

go to the shops (= go shopping) 

  • I have to go to the shops in town this weekend. 
  • I normally go to the shops twice a week and I tend to stick to my shopping list so that I don't spend more than I have planned. 

do the shopping | do some shopping 

  • On weekends, I usually do the shopping and play tennis with friends. 
  • I do my grocery shopping online. (= food shopping) 

weekly shopping | monthly shopping 

  • I do my weekly shopping on a Friday. (= every Friday) 
  • I go to the supermarket only once a month. I normally make a list of what I already have and what needs to be purchased. The best way to do my monthly shopping is by planning ahead. 

online shopping 

  • One of the main advantages of online shopping is that it saves people time and energy because they don't have to go to physical stores. 
  • Online food shopping is convenient for many reasons. One of them, for example, is that you get the best prices and you can browse offers at your leisure. Another advantage of ordering food online is that you can avoid crowds and queuing at the checkout to pay. 


COLLOCATIONS FOR SLEEPING 

sleep late (= wake up late) 

  • At weekends, I usually try to relax and sleep late. 
  • As far as I'm concerned, sleeping late is considered to be unhealthy. I prefer to get up early because I feel physically active, I can focus my mind on work, and I'm productive throughout the day. 

catch up on some sleep (phrase) (= sleep after not having enough sleep) 

  • I normally catch up on some sleep at the weekend since my schedule is quite busy during the week. [You can use 'since' to give the reason for something.] 
  • I usually study hard and catch up on some sleep after my exams are finished. 

a good night's sleep (phrase) (= when you sleep well)  

  • My weekdays are always very busy and I tend to get up quite early in the morning. I can only get a good night's sleep at the weekend. 
  • I've noticed that I'm most productive after a good night's sleep. 

​
English collocation lessons: 
English Lesson: Collocations for Feelings 
English Lesson: Collocations for Success 
English Lesson: Collocations for Rural Life 
English Lesson: Collocations for Urban Life 
Collocations and Expressions for Childhood 

Other lessons: 
English Lesson: 5 Types of Lifestyle 
English Lesson: Describing a Friend 
English Conversation: Saying Goodbye 
Commonly Used Phrases in Spoken English 
Spoken English: How to Agree and Show Interest 


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DO YOU WANT TO IMPROVE YOUR ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS?

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English Speaking Course
Business English Speaking Course
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