Advanced collocations
Upgrade your collocations: adverb + adjective (bitterly disappointed, highly unlikely), verb + adverb (strongly oppose), and academic noun collocations.
In this lesson you will
- Use adverb + adjective intensifying collocations
- Use verb + adverb collocations
- Use academic and formal noun collocations
Learn
Adverb + adjective: bitterly disappointed, deeply concerned, highly unlikely, fully aware, painfully slow, vastly different, utterly ridiculous, widely available, heavily criticised, perfectly reasonable.
Verb + adverb: strongly oppose/recommend, firmly believe, sincerely apologise, deeply regret, seriously consider, vaguely remember, flatly refuse, readily admit.
Academic/formal noun collocations: conduct research, draw a conclusion, pose a threat, raise concerns, meet criteria, bridge the gap, shed light on, play a pivotal role, a growing body of evidence.
Test yourself: if you’d say very + adjective, look for a stronger collocation: very disappointed → bitterly disappointed; very different → vastly different.
Examples
- I’m fully aware of the risks.
- The proposal was heavily criticised in the press.
- She flatly refused to discuss it.
- This study sheds light on a poorly understood process.
Vocabulary
flatly refuse
refuse completely
pose a threat
be a danger
shed light on
help explain
pivotal
extremely important
vaguely remember
remember a little
Practice
I was ___ disappointed with the result.
Speaking
Describe a public controversy using at least eight advanced collocations (heavily criticised, raise concerns, flatly refuse, deeply divided…).
Writing
Write an academic paragraph (130–160 words) about a research finding, using at least eight advanced collocations.
Lesson quiz
I ___ remember meeting him years ago.
Review
Key points
- Adverb + adjective: bitterly disappointed, highly unlikely.
- Verb + adverb: strongly oppose, flatly refuse.
- Nouns: conduct research, pose a threat, shed light on.
What you learned
- ✓ I use advanced collocations.
- ✓ I replace ‘very’ with precise adverbs.
- ✓ My writing sounds more natural and formal.