ADVERB/ADJECTIVE COLLOCATIONS

 

 THE ADVERB / ADJECTIVE COMBINATIONS YOU SEE ABOVE ARE KNOWN AS COLLOCATIONS. Collocations are word pairs that are expected to come together. Good examples of this type of word pairing are combinations with ‘make’ and ‘do’. You make a cup of tea, but do your homework. Collocations are very common in business settings when certain nouns are routinely combined with certain verbs or adjectives. For example, draw up a contract, set a price, conduct negotiations, etc.

WE ARE GOING TO CONCENTRATE ON ADVERB / ADJECTIVE COLLOCATIONS FOR THE MOMENT.

Adverb + Adjective Matching 1

Some adverb + adjective collocations are often fairly strong. Match each adverb in List 1 with an adjective in List 2.












Now complete each of these sentences with one of the expressions from the lists above:
1.The election is very …….. at the moment. Either party could win.
2.The new production of ‘Hamlet’ was …….. by the first night audience.
3.She’s too …….. for the job – we don’t want someone with a degree.
4.The house is …….. , ten minutes from the sea, and ten minutes to the mountains.
5.If you think I’m going to agree to that, you’re …….. .
6.The disco was already …….. when the fire started.
7.His words were ……..to ensure they appealed to different sections of the audience.
8.The President has been…….. with the idea from the start, so he’s very anxious that it is a success.

Adverb + Adjective Matching 2

 Match the adverbs in List 1 with the adjectives in List 2.

 

1.The group’s new tour was …….. and tickets were  supposed to be ……….. but in fact they were ……….. to two per person. I was …….that I couldn’t get any tickets all.
2.A new …….. biography of Princess Diana has just  appeared. It seems to have been ……. by interest in America. There are some new, rather personal photos, supplied by so-called friends of hers who have, no doubt, been ……….. for supplying personal details. Famous people often don’t realise their reputation can be …….. by so-called friends. I’m  glad I’m not famous.

Other words for VERY

 

Try not to use the adverb ‘very’ too much. There are many other words with a similar meaning which are stronger or more precise. For example: highly qualified and bitterly disappointed. Add a word that means ‘very’ to each of these adjectives:
exhausted encouraged disorganised unexpected
handicapped recommended disillusioned prepared
greedy impractical
inaccurate offensive remarkable ruthless
sceptical sure theoretical unacceptable
grateful honest


 KEY TO EXERCISES HERE