Collocations in Use tous les exercices

damage

A devastating flood might destroy people's homes and workplaces, _____ or destroy crops.

stories; jokes

After dinner everyone sat around sharing funny _____.

make; invent; make up; find; give; provide

Do you __ excuses if someone asks you a favour?

swallowed

Her father _____ his pride and admitted that he was wrong.

done

I can't go now, I haven't __ my hair yet.

truth

I hope you will always tell me the _____.

take

Some people _____ a dislike to those who have good qualities.

advantage

Take __ of being in London; there are always plenty of jobs there.

make; take; announce

Who has to __ the final decision?

became

Janet __ depressed after failing her final exams.

falling

My grandfather is afraid of _____ ill while he is abroad.

judgement

Once the journalists learn to trust your _____, you will find that they will come to you for expert comment as a matter of routine.

gone

Once upon a time the walls were probably cream but they have __ brown now and badly need painting.

made

Redecorating the house has really __ an improvement.

exploitation

The sexual _____ of children is a world-wide problem, as is child labour.

launching

We always carry out market research before _____ a new product.

difficulty; problems; trouble

What's the matter? Are you having __ reading this article?

have

When I get married, I'd like to __ lots of children.

make; suggest

Would you please __ a comment on my document?

do; try

Always __ your best!

do

Let's first __ the work before we go out.

vivid; fertile; great; rich; wild

You need a _____ imagination to find such a book exciting!

run

You need a wide range of skills in order to _____ a successful business.

made; proved

Your comment __ a useful contribution in the meeting last week.

dead-end

A _____job is a job in which there is little or no chance of career development and advancement.

leaked

Although the two stars tried to keep their relationship secret, news of it soon _____ out.

headline; front-page news

Any story about the Royal Family will be _____ in Britain.

fell

As the headmaster walked into the hall, the children all __ silent.

pay

At a funeral people _____ their last respects to the person who has died.

respects

At a funeral people pay their last __ to the person who has died.

popular

Contrary to _____ belief, it is not true that blondes are dumb.

have; take

Could you _____ a look at this e-mail before I send it?

a look

Could you take __ at this e-mail before I send it?

became; got

Dinosaurs ____ extinct thousands of years ago.

politics

Embracing green _____ may be our best hope in the long term, but we need urgent short-term measures too.

doubts

Even if you have _____ about the two options, you should not postpone the discussion on these criteria.

made; given

Have you __ the phone calls to organize the event?

done; prepared

Have you __ your exercises?

addresses

He always _____ people to politely and apologises too profusely.

grudge

He will grow up without a father and bear a _____ against society forever.

revealed

His wife's failure to support him has certainly _____ her true character.

believer

I am a great _____ in healthy eating and exercise.

I can't believe it! The train is ON time today!

I can't believe it! The train is in time today!

I can't believe that the local post office was ROBBED again last week.

I can't believe that the local post office was stolen again last week.

voice

I don't like your note of _____ - there's no need to be so aggressive.

conversation; contact

I find it difficult to get into _____ with new people.

fulfilling

I gain satisfaction from helping my clients; I consider I have a ______ job.

crack

I gave him my word that I wouldn't ____ any jokes, as I'm really bad at telling jokes.

doing

I hate __ my homework at the last minute.

misgivings

I have serious _____ about his research and I have doubts about the accuracy of some of his facts.

go

I think I'd __ mad if I had to put up with such a terrible boss!

went; turned

I was so embarrassed that I __ bright red.

I was surprised that there were very FEW policemen at the football match.

I was surprised that there were very little policemen at the football match.

compliment

I was trying to pay a __ but she misunderstood my words.

ladder

I'll explain what career planning is and the steps you need to take to climb the career _____.

turn

If it is about to rain, the sky might _____ grey.

CORRECT

If the film starts on time we should get out in time to catch the last bus.

go; turn

If the news is a great shock your hair might _____ white.

set

If you want to pass this exam you must _____ high standards for yourself.

balance

In order to _____ the budget, you must cut spending to match lower tax receipts.

make; give

It is still expensive to __ phone calls when you are abroad.

turned

It was a wonderful sunset. The sky __ gold and we sat on the terrace enjoying it.

It's not far to the stadium, so we don't need to go BY car.

It's not far to the stadium, so we don't need to go with your car.

Karen was so angry with Keith she threw her tennis racket AT him.

Karen was so angry with Keith she threw her tennis racket to him.

make; invent; make up; find; give; provide; look for

Let's _____ an excuse and stay at home.

a break

Let's have __ when you finish this exercise!

service

Many companies don't bother with the after-sales _____ despite its importance.

crops

Many farmers in Asia will be able to protect themselves against ruin when their _____ fail.

Mick and Sarah arranged to meet at the disco.

Mick and Sarah arranged to meet themselves at the disco.

become

More people have __ homeless this year than in any previous year.

lift

More people than ever are living below the poverty line, we must help these people to _____ them out of poverty.

asylum

Most immigrants are _____ seekers , but some are economic migrants looking for a better life.

had; suffered

My grandfather __ a heart attack last winter.

falling; becoming

My grandmother is a little afraid of __ ill while she is abroad.

had

My sister __ a baby last week.

try

Nice car! Can I have a __ on it?

joke; trick

One day the men played a _____ on him, driving away while he spoke to a farmer.

assumptions

One of the problems when you make _____ and when stereotypes are created is you lose sight of what might really be happening.

put

Our company has ____ in a bid for the new leisure centre contract.

informed

Our reporter is keeping you _____ of the situation as the news develops.

turnover

Our sales figures improved and soon we had an annual _____ of more than ten million pounds.

vacancy; opportunity; opening

Over the past year, the number of applications for each job _____ has jumped by more than 50 per cent.

mind; humour

People always feel threatened by his razor-sharp _____.

temper

Perhaps it might be better to lose my _____ and let her know how I really feel.

strong

Respondents may not have knowledge or _____ opinions about issues that do not affect them on a day to day basis.

Robert's mum told him to throw the ball TO his little sister.

Robert's mum told him to throw the ball at his little sister.

doing; carrying out; conducting

Scientists are __ an experiment to test the effectiveness of the drug.

flicked

She _____ through the newspaper because she didn't have time to read it properly.

minutes

She arranges meetings for him and takes the _____ at the meetings.

attracted

She has _____ attention over her controversial decision to reintroduce charges for museum entry.

make

She needed to __ a choice between her family and her career.

whispered

She slipped her arms around his neck and _____ against his lips, "yes".

terms

She's found it hard to come to ____ with her new situation.

making

Sociable people are very good at __ friends.

society

Some of the deprived regions have large populations living on the margins of _____.

a dislike to

Some people take __ those who have good qualities.

record

Speaking off the _____, every time you give her instructions, she never seems to understand.

Sue's car is being repaired, so she's going to come BY bicycle.

Sue's car is being repaired, so she's going to come with her bicycle.

retirement

Taking early _____ can affect the pension and benefits you get.

hold; have

The British Prime Minister is to_____ talks with the American President at the G20 summit on Sunday.

attaches; gives

The Chinese Government _____ importance to the employment of ethnic minorities.

went

The composer Beethoven ____ deaf at the end of his life.

launched

The government has _____ a campaign to clean up the countryside.

bankrupt

The leading reasons for businesses to go _____ are job loss and business failure.

item

The main ____ of news today is the earthquake in the main city of the country.

grew

The noise on the street __ louder and I looked out of the window to see what was happening.

down

The parties could not agree and the talks broke ___.

goals

The reason he wins is precisely because he's willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his _____.

career

The scandal ruined his _____ and he never worked in the stock market again.

makes

The secretary _____ appointments for her boss.

did; caused; inflicted

The storm __ much damage to the village.

gulf; gap; divide

The widening _____ between rich and poor in some countries is often due to external forces beyond their control.

make; introduce; implement; effect

There are many more changes we need to __ .

fumes

There are more and more cars and other vehicles emitting exhaust _____.

fish

There is some evidence to suggest that ____ stocks are beginning to rise slightly in the North Sea.

apart

They'll never sign the contract because they are poles _____.

competition

This creative advertisement has set some stiff _____ for other important businesses.

view; opinion

We all hold the _____ that competition is vital to the economy and requires there to be efficiency.

an argument; a row; a fight; a disagreement; a conflict; a quarrel; a rift

We had __ about how to study solve the problem and he got very angry.

We had to carry our bags upstairs because the lift was out of ORDER.

We had to carry our bags upstairs because the lift was out of work.

profit

We made a loss at the beginning, then it got better and we've made a _____ most years ever since.

having; experiencing

What's the matter? Are you _____ difficulty reading this article?

going; to go

When I start __ grey, I'm definitely going to dye my hair.

When Jeff got locked out of the house, he tried KNOCKING on the door.

When Jeff got locked out of the house, he tried to knock on the door.

complain

When students receive a lot of homework, they always ____ bitterly.

paying

When the employee retired, his boss made a speech ____ tribute to all he had done for the company.

tribute

When the employee retired, his boss made a speech paying __ to all he had done for the company.

point

Whenever I make a speech, I always try to get to the _____ as quickly as possible.

Why is it always my luggage that the customs officials want to CHECK?

Why is it always my luggage that the customs officials want to control?

spanning

With a career _____ over 20 years in the financial industry, I've learned many facets of the business.

becoming

Would you be interested in __ involved in this project?

becoming; getting

Would you be interested in _______ involved in this project?

made; invented; made up; found; gave; provided

Yesterday she __ an excuse to avoid attending the meeting.

does

You can't work all the time! It __ you good to relax sometime!