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Upper Primary School English Quiz - Vocabulary 06 - Two-Word Collocations (Questions)

What is a collocation? Well, one of the meanings of COLLOCATION in the dictionary is ‘the arrangement, especially of words in a sentence’. A collocation is two or more words taken together to convey a certain meaning as if the two or more words were a single word. This essentially means that the words always go together and very rarely are changed.

Have you ever heard the phrase ‘lions shout’? Of course not! It is always ‘lions roar’. Somehow, ‘lions shout’ does not seem right and does not convey the same message that ‘lions roar’ does.

Think about other collocations, such as SAVE SPACE, GET DRUNK or DO NOTHING, and you will always associate the two words in each of the collocations almost as if they were one word. You will also not be comfortable replacing any of the words.

[readmore]The essence of collocations is that the words have to be located side by side and in a particular order. Collocations can be formed by a variety of combinations using adjectives, verbs, nouns and adverbs. Prepositions can also be used along with other words to form more collocations.

'Utterly stupid', 'maiden voyage', 'strong coffee', 'miserable soul', 'good time', 'high horse' and 'vaguely remember' are just some of the collocations that you may be familiar with. Collocations are beautiful and powerful phrases that help us to communicate better and make our writing or speaking more vibrant and meaningful. In the quiz that follows you will learn about two-word collocations that will be a boon to your vocabulary.
1. "I --- to people who are ready to listen and act." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[ ] Give advice
[ ] Give birth
[ ] Give evidence
[ ] Give notice
2. "The speaker was very forceful in his exposition and I --- with his strong views." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[ ] Quite enough
[ ] Quite good
[ ] Quite often
[ ] Quite agree
3. "The Managing Director told his secretary to type the --- of his speech before she left for home." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[ ] Rough patch
[ ] Rough draft
[ ] Rough seas
[ ] Rough outline
4. "When the Prime Minister made the dramatic announcement in Parliament there was --- in the august house." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[ ] Deep sleep
[ ] Declare war
[ ] Deafening silence
[ ] Deadly weapon
5. "The --- that he is, he blamed everything except himself for his loss." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[ ] Bad mood
[ ] Bitterly disappointed
[ ] Blind faith
[ ] Bad loser
6. "The India and Australia teams are --- and we can expect a good series down under." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[ ] Evenly matched
[ ] Express interest
[ ] Express concern
[ ] Exceed expectations
7. "Who can forget Sunil Gavaskar's --- innings in the 1975 World Cup match against England." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[ ] Painful reminder
[ ] Painfully thin
[ ] Painfully slow
[ ] Painfully shy
8. "Mukesh Ambani is --- in all aspects of running his vast business empire." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[ ] Above average
[ ] Actively involved
[ ] Absolutely necessary
[ ] Admit defeat
9. "Monotony is an --- that people working on assembly lines must learn to live with." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[ ] Overall effect
[ ] Office hours
[ ] Offer condolences
[ ] Occupational hazard
10. "Experts predict India's GDP growth to --- if urgent reforms are not ushered in." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[ ] Fall dramatically
[ ] Fall asleep
[ ] False impression
[ ] Fair deal
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Upper Primary School English Quiz - Vocabulary 06 - Two-Word Collocations (Answers)
1. "I --- to people who are ready to listen and act." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[x] Give advice
[ ] Give birth
[ ] Give evidence
[ ] Give notice
To 'give advice' is to tell someone what you think he/she should do. The other pairs of words are also collocations and can be used in other contexts. See if you can find out what they mean
2. "The speaker was very forceful in his exposition and I --- with his strong views." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[ ] Quite enough
[ ] Quite good
[ ] Quite often
[x] Quite agree
'Quite agree' means 'to agree completely'. The other pairs of words are also collocations and can be used in other contexts. See if you can find out what they mean
3. "The Managing Director told his secretary to type the --- of his speech before she left for home." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[ ] Rough patch
[x] Rough draft
[ ] Rough seas
[ ] Rough outline
A 'rough draft' is a version of a speech or write-up that is the first unedited version. The other pairs of words are also collocations and can be used in other contexts. See if you can find out what they mean
4. "When the Prime Minister made the dramatic announcement in Parliament there was --- in the august house." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[ ] Deep sleep
[ ] Declare war
[x] Deafening silence
[ ] Deadly weapon
A 'deafening silence' is a silence that attracts everyone's attention or is noticed by everyone. The other pairs of words are also collocations and can be used in other contexts. See if you can find out what they mean
5. "The --- that he is, he blamed everything except himself for his loss." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[ ] Bad mood
[ ] Bitterly disappointed
[ ] Blind faith
[x] Bad loser
A 'bad loser' is someone who does not accept loss gracefully. The other pairs of words are also collocations and can be used in other contexts. See if you can find out what they mean
6. "The India and Australia teams are --- and we can expect a good series down under." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[x] Evenly matched
[ ] Express interest
[ ] Express concern
[ ] Exceed expectations
'Evenly matched' means 'equally strong with very little to choose between them'. The other pairs of words are also collocations and can be used in other contexts. See if you can find out what they mean
7. "Who can forget Sunil Gavaskar's --- innings in the 1975 World Cup match against England." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[ ] Painful reminder
[ ] Painfully thin
[x] Painfully slow
[ ] Painfully shy
'Painfully slow' means 'so slow that people become impatient or intolerant' - just as all of us were when Sunil Gavaskar scored 36 not out in 60 overs against England in a 1975 world cup match at Lord's! The other pairs of words are also collocations and can be used in other contexts. See if you can find out what they mean
8. "Mukesh Ambani is --- in all aspects of running his vast business empire." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[ ] Above average
[x] Actively involved
[ ] Absolutely necessary
[ ] Admit defeat
'Actively involved' means 'to be in the thick of things and play an active role in whatever is being done'. The other pairs of words are also collocations and can be used in other contexts. See if you can find out what they mean
9. "Monotony is an --- that people working on assembly lines must learn to live with." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[ ] Overall effect
[ ] Office hours
[ ] Offer condolences
[x] Occupational hazard
An 'occupational hazard' is a risk, unpleasant experience or danger that people must face while doing a particular job. The other pairs of words are also collocations and can be used in other contexts. See if you can find out what they mean
10. "Experts predict India's GDP growth to --- if urgent reforms are not ushered in." - Choose the appropriate pair of words to fill up the blank.
[x] Fall dramatically
[ ] Fall asleep
[ ] False impression
[ ] Fair deal
To 'fall dramatically' is to fall quickly or drastically. The other pairs of words are also collocations and can be used in other contexts. See if you can find out what they mean
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