Category: English Collocations

Don’t judge too quickly!

Hey everyone out there,

Welcome back to your home ‘Your English Vocabulary’- The place for every English learner who has struggled a lot with their English skills and wants to improve their spoken English and vocabulary.

First and foremost, I really wanna thank all my readers for their continuous support and love you been giving to this blog.

Our blog members whom I often refer to as a ‘family’, is growing in numbers day in and out and that’s what keeps me going to do and write more.

I know some of you are a little disappointed with the decrease in frequency of blogs since the last month, but trust me my dear English learners, I try to do my best to bring out the best content for you guys which can add value to your vocabulary.

When I was a learner at beginner or intermediate level, I was a reader of many English learning websites. They were all quite good but the only downside which I used to experience after few months was that they start avoiding the main subject of the blog.

You see what I want to say is, if I write about something that has nothing to do with improving your spoken English or vocabulary, it will just go in vain in terms of adding value and make you just keep rambling around the bush. And since I want to bring out the best content, the content which genuinely adds value and improves your vocabulary, I sometimes take time.

Now I won’t deny it sometimes takes too long for a blog article to go live but the deal is, good things take a little time and I don’t want to waste your time with some topic or tips that has nothing to do improving spoken English and vocabulary.

Moreover, I am not going to lie to you, another reason why I cannot post these days is that I am continuously facing health problems from two months and it doesn’t feel like to do anything. However, if I do it deliberately, I won’t be able to bring out the best content for you all.

And I am pretty sure everyone has their own judgment and if you think it was my mistake- I am sorry.

Since there has been already so much judgment due to my absence in and out, it kind of gives me vibes why not learn to make some judgment or at least some collocations related to it.

So without further ado, let’s get down to the business:

6 Collocation related with Judgment

1: Judge someone harshly.

Meaning: to be very critical of someone for their actions.

Example: The panel judged it too harshly this time. It was just a small mistake.

2: Pass judgment on someone.

Meaning: to criticize someone.

Example: It is better he stops passing judgment on him or he could even get beaten by his fans.

3: Lack of judgment.

Meaning: inability to judge every aspect wisely.

Example: Principal left most of the students without even knowing inside out of the situation. It clearly shows his lack of judgment to solve issues.

4: Snap judgment.

Meaning: a quick decision or opinion

Example: It is better you stop making a snap judgment against such a reputable company else they can file a case against you.

5: An error of judgment.

Meaning: a bad decision

Example: Not including the key players in the final of the tournament showed his error of judgment.

6: Withhold judgment.

Meaning: to delay a decision for a period of time.

Example: The court has withheld the decisions until every detail is clear.

 

How many of the above did you know?

One?

Or more?

Lemme know in the comments section below about your views and suggestions or email me at [email protected]

Make sure you share and subscribe and show your support by liking our Facebook page (the link is somewhere on the right or at the bottom if you are on a mobile device).

Keep learning and improving your vocabulary with ‘Your English Vocabulary’.

Till then, take care and?

Bye-bye.

7 Most Common ‘TIME’ Collocations you should know

7 Most Common ‘TIME’ Collocations you should know

How is your time going these days?

Well, in case if things are not going that good, maybe you should take a timeout for some days and chill out with your friends.

Almost every single person has taken it to account when it came to revealing their secret juice of success. With that being said, I guess you now have a good grasp of knowledge what we are about to dive into.

Hey everyone out there,

Welcome back to your home ‘Your English Vocabulary’- The place for every English learner who has struggled a lot with their English skills and wants to improve their spoken English and vocabulary.

Today we will learn about seven different ‘TIME’ collocations you should know and start using to improve your spoken English and vocabulary.

So without further ado, let’s get down to the business and use our ‘TIME’ learning some useful time collocations:

INFOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION

Time Collocation

Collocation- About time

Meaning:  In short it means ‘finally’. It is often used for something happening now that should have been done or happened earlier.
Example: It’s about time he decided he should buy a new bike and sell the old one.

Collocation- Make time for

Meaning: It means to create time from your busy schedule of work.
Example: I need to make time this weekend for taking my kid to play.

Collocation- Go through a rough time

Meaning: To experience a lot of problems in a period of your life.
Example: Sara has been going through some tough time after her break up with Harry.

Collocation- Stall for time

Meaning- To delay or procrastinate something for later.
Example: The students were trying to stall for time so they don’t have to give any test.

Collocation- Kill time

Meaning- To do something that keeps you busy while you are waiting for something else to happen.
Example: I killed time reading the magazines while waiting for the flights at the airport.

Collocation- Spend time

Meaning- To pass time doing some activity.
Example: He is spending time surfing the web these days.

Collocation- On time

Meaning: neither early nor late, at the right time.
Example: Though there was so much traffic in the way, we managed to reach the place on time.

How many of them did you know?

One?

Three?

Or More?

I hope you would have found this article useful and easy to learn. Make sure you learn these all collocations off by heart and go through this article once again so they become a part of your active vocabulary.

Lemme know in the comments section below about your views and suggestions or email me at [email protected]

Make sure you share and subscribe and show your support by liking our Facebook page (the link is somewhere on the right or at the bottom if you are on a mobile device).

Keep learning and improving your vocabulary with ‘Your English Vocabulary’.

Till then, take care and?

Bye-bye.

 

 

Are you making these Collocation mistakes?

Are you making these Collocation mistakes?

Hey there,

Welcome back to your home ‘Your English Vocabulary’- The place for every English learner who has struggled a lot in their English skills and want to improve their spoken English and vocabulary.

Well…To tell you the truth, I was about post a list of 10 useful collocations and explain them to you, but while I was shopping online today I saw a review from a non- native (I guessed it already from the name, moreover he mentioned which country he belonged to, so he was definitely a non native) and I could not help pending that article aside and writing this one.

Correcting your mistake is way more important than learning a new list of collocations. It’s always my code to live by and  I truly believe it should be the code of every English learner.

I didn’t shop though, just scoured through many other reviews on different products and many other social platforms and found these collocation mistakes which non native still make. So without beating around the bush (Click here!), let’s see some and see if you making one or more of them:

Collocation mistakes you may be making!!!
  •  I would totally recommend this product to all the users who are facing skin problems.
Explanation

I noticed many of non-natives using ‘totally recommend’ many a times in their spoken English, which is not a correct phrase to say. The right collocation which will fit in this sentence is ‘highly recommend’.

So the correct sentence would be:

  •  I would highly recommend this product to all the users who are facing skin problems.

 

  •  It was a so daring experiment to cast a young handsome actor as an old man in this TV series.
Explanation

The perfect collocation that fits this sentence would be ‘bold experiment’ which means tough and risky thing to do.

So the correct sentence would be:

  •  It was a bold experiment to cast a young handsome actor as an old man in this TV series.

 

  •  I already have so much less time. Please let me do my work, else I will be punished tomorrow.
Explanation

The collocation that would fit this sentence is “pressed for time” which means in a rush or hurry when you need to do something and you don’t have enough time.

So the correct sentence would be:

  •  I am already pressed for time. Please let me do my work, else I will be punished tomorrow.

 

  •  Aaron has a high reputation in his society because of his wealth and fame.
Explanation

Almost every second person (the non-native one) I talked with, I have noticed this phrase ‘high reputation’ being used at least once in their speech. Frankly speaking, I was once one of these non natives who used this phrase ‘high reputation’ in his spoken English. The correct phrase or collocation would be rather ‘well deserved reputation’, ‘considerable reputation’ or ‘good reputation’.

So the correct sentence would be:

  •  Aaron has a well deserved reputation in his society because of his wealth and fame.

 

  •  It is so vital to use cheese in this recipe after boiling the whole mixture.
Explanation

The collocation ‘absolutely vital’ sounds more natural and it is correct as well.

So the correct sentence would be:

  •  It is absolutely vital to use cheese in this recipe after boiling the whole mixture.

 

  •  Can you shortly describe about the main concept of this chapter?
Explanation

“Briefly describe” is the right collocation that can be used in this sentence.

So the more natural way of saying this sentence would be:

  •  Can you briefly describe about the main concept of this chapter?

 

  •  Science has disproved many normal assumptions in the past.
Explanation

Assumption often collocates with ‘safe’, ‘false’ or ‘common’. Considering the above sentence, the correct sentence would be:

  •  Science has disproved many common assumptions in the past.

 

  •  Bad family often affects the mental state of children to grow properly.
Explanation

I heard this sentence from one of my colleague who was telling me about his friends who was mentally disturbed those days. I could not understand what he meant, so I asked what he meant by the phrase ‘bad family’? He then explained to me what he really meant, the bottom line was that he wanted to say ‘dysfunctional family’ which means a family in which relationships are bad or unhealthy and people fall out (Click here!) with each other every time.

So the correct sentence would have been:

  • Dysfunctional family often affects the mental state of children to grow properly.

 

  •  We should consider all the problems and difficulty before making our next move.
Explanation

I know, I know it’s a totally correct, but in case you wanna sound more natural and confident.

The colloquial sentence would be:

  •  We should cover every eventuality (means to consider every issue or problem) before making our next move.

Hopefully you would learnt a lot from today’s article about collocation mistakes we, the non natives usually make. Let me know about your views in the comment section below or email me at:

[email protected]

Please share and subscribe and show your support by liking our Facebook page (the link is somewhere on the right or at bottom if you are on mobile device).

Keep learning and improving your vocabulary with ‘Your English Vocabulary’.

Till then take care and?

Bye bye.

Common mistakes non-natives make while speaking English (Updated!)

 

Common mistakes while English speaking

Hey there,

Welcome back to your home ‘Your English Vocabulary’- The place for every English learner who has struggled a lot in their English skills and want to improve their spoken English and vocabulary.

First and foremost, a very Happy New Year to all my dear readers.
“A New Year has tiptoed in.
Let’s go forward to meet it.
Let’s welcome the 365 days it brings.
Let’s live well with love in our hearts towards God and all people.
Let’s walk through its corridors with praise songs on our lips”

I know you had a blast (Click here!) partying on 31st.

And some are even partying today as well.

I am okay with whatever you are doing. After all, partying isn’t bad at all.

Have fun.

Have loads of fun but this time I would request you all to help some poor people around you or at least those who are in need. Trust me it will make your whole year full of joy and happiness and you will definitely have a skyrocketing (Click here!) career down the line.

I won’t take much of your time, so here is today’s post.

We all make mistakes and fail, it’s a part of learning process, be while speaking English or the first time you drove a bike. There is no problem if you make mistakes, the bottom line is to improve down the line (Click here!), so we never make those mistakes again.

So without further ado, let’s see some of the most common mistakes non-natives make while speaking and learn:

Collocations in Use

  •  “My grandparents grew me, I cannot even imagine a day without seeing them”, said Josh.
  • “My grandparents raised me, I cannot even imagine a day without seeing them”, said Josh.

 

  • “They are not real brothers; he is a long relative of Joseph.”
  •  “They are not real brothers; he is a distant relative of Joseph.”

 

  •  “Since he is an international cricketer now, he has to adjust with life surrounded by millions of fans.”
  • “Since he is an international cricketer now, he has to adjust to life surrounded by millions fans.”

 

  • “I don’t think Ben will be approved off in the final football trials”
  • “I don’t think Ben will be approved of in the final football trials”

 

  •  Emma arrived in my house with her mom to invite my family for the wedding ceremony.
  • Emma arrived at my house with her mom to invite my family for the wedding ceremony.

Note: We use ‘arrive at’ for a particular place. On the other hand we could have used ‘arrive in’, had it been a bigger place like country or city.

  •   “My little daughter is so afraid with these household lizards that she doesn’t even go to room alone”, said Susan.
  • “My little daughter is so afraid of these household lizards that she doesn’t even go to room alone”, said Susan.

 

  •  John is very dedicated with his football career, that he doesn’t even miss a single practice session.
  • John is very dedicated to his football career, that he doesn’t even miss a single practice session.

 

  •  The head coach consented with the team’s proposal of conducting extra practice sessions on weekends.
  • The head coach consented to the team’s proposal of conducting extra practice sessions on weekends.

Collocations in use (Updated part!)

  • As the population will increase, the unemployment will also increase.
  • Unemployment goes hand in hand with the growing population.

 

  • Before you give your final reaction I would like to tell you that it was not my mistake.
  • Before you jump to any conclusion, I would like to let you know that it wasn’t my fault.

 

  • The rumor about his affair with his co-worker was not at all accurate.
  • The rumor about his affair with his co-worker was wildly inaccurate.

 

  • I would like to give some suggestions to your brother so he can scale up his growth in his business.
  • I would like to make some suggestions to your brother so that he can scale up (Click here!) his growth in his business.

 

  • Thank you so much for setting up this event and doing these all arrangements.
  • Thank you so much for setting up (Click here!) this event and making these all arrangements.

 

  • I don’t think Joe will say any reason for his brother’s reaction to his boss.
  • I don’t think Joe will give any reason for his brother’s reaction to his boss.

 

  • The workers of his company made a strike due to less payment and no bonus.
  • The workers of his company went on a strike due to less payment and no bonus.

 

  • Though Ron earns money with which he can live, he always looks for new options to earn more.
  • Though Ron gets a living wage, he always looks for new options to earn more.

 

The sentences in red are either grammatically wrong or unnatural to say, while the sentences in green are correct and natural way to talk about a particular situation. So make sure you correct these mistakes if you are making any of them.

Let me about your views in the comment section below, or email us at : [email protected]

Make sure you share and subscribe and show your support by liking our Facebook page (the link is somewhere on the right or at bottom if you are on mobile device).

Keep learning and improving your vocabulary with ‘Your English Vocabulary’.

Till then take care and?

Bye bye.

Improve your vocabulary with these collocations

Improve your vocabulary with these collocations

Hey there,

Welcome back to your home ‘Your English Vocabulary’- The place for every English learner who has struggled a lot in their English skills and want to improve their spoken English and vocabulary.

Context

Steve came to the house soon after the office lunch when his wife Emma told about the school reunion party the coming day. Emma was so pumped up (Click here!) for the celebration that she decided she would go with all new clothes and accessories. In hurry she gulped down the food leaving the leftovers in the fridge, took her credit card and they both left for the shopping.

Steve recently reaped the benefits of his hard work as a bonus of $2000 from the company, but it seemed all in vain (Click here!) as Emma was on a shopping spree. Steve, being a gentleman, though didn’t stop her from buying dresses but when Emma paid $5000 which was the asking price of the bangle drived him up the wall (Click here!) and he could not stay there anymore. He moved to the counter and asked the final price and checked out from the mall disappointed. Emma too, confused with what possibly could she have done, went back to her house.

Meanings
  • Gulped down – It means to eat food in a hurry like you have been hungry from ages (in a bad way).
  • Leftovers – The remaining food which can be eaten later.
  • Reaped the benefits – To gain benefits of something.
  • Shopping spree – To shop excessively, or buy a lot of things in an extravagant way.
  • Asking price – The price told by the shopkeeper that you can negotiate if you want.
Examples
  • It was just five minutes for the bus to arrive so he gulped down and ran out to the station.
  • I really wish people didn’t throw the leftovers and rather gave it to the needy ones.
  • He is reaping the benefits of his hard work as the CEO of the company.
  • People often go on a shopping spree during the wedding season.
  • I didn’t buy those hair clays as the asking price was really high to pay and the shopkeeper didn’t seem to negotiate.

Improve your English vocabulary with these collocations and make sure you make them your active vocabulary. Let me know how many of them you knew from before and your views in the comment section below or email us at: [email protected]

Make sure you share and subscribe and please show your support by liking our Facebook page (the link is somewhere on the right or at bottom if you are on mobile device).

Keep learning and improving your vocabulary with ‘Your English Vocabulary’.

Till then take care and?

Bye bye

Are you making these mistakes?

Never make these mistakes again!

Hey there,

Welcome back to your home ‘Your English Vocabulary’– The place for every English learner who has struggled a lot in their English skills and want to improve their spoken English and vocabulary.

• My wife spends so much of my salary on shopping and all.
• My wife spends an awful lot of my salary on shopping and all.

Collocation: awful lot

Meaning: more than expected, usual, normal, etc.

Examples:
 The company is expecting an awful lot of sale this year.
 We are getting an awful lot of positive response since we started posting frequently.

• I am so much certainly of what he is saying is truth.
• He is almost certainly saying truth.

Collocation: almost certainly.

Meaning: almost definitely.

Examples:
 The company’s downfall is almost certainly the result of their wrong investments.
 He will almost certainly suffer in the long run for the habits he has developed now.

• Robin is so much ill for a month from typhoid.
• Robin is seriously ill for a month from typhoid.

Collocation: seriously ill.

Meaning: very sick.

Examples:
 John’s grandpa was seriously ill for about a year from liver disease before he left the world (Click here!).
 Aryan took a break from his office as he was seriously ill from a month.

• He got back to home totally safe without any sort of problem.
• He got back home safe and sound.

Collocation: safe and sound.

Meaning: not harmed, hurt or damaged in any way

Examples:
 The soldiers got back to their home safe and sound after days of battle with the enemies.
 Though going for such a long trip was risky, we got home safe and sound.

• Please don’t move from here till the time I come back.
• Please stay put till I am back.

Collocation: Stay put.

Meaning: To remain in the same place.

Examples:
 The officers told the family to stay put till they investigate the whole place.
 Make sure you stay put till I bring some popcorn for us.

The sentences in red are the ones which are often used by non-natives, while on the other hand the sentences in green are the sentences how a native would say the same sentence which is more correct and natural.

The sentences in red might be correct in some cases but the main motive is to make these collocations as a part of your active vocabulary and sound more natural.

So learn these collocations by heart using examples as context and try using it in your own spoken English.

Let me know about your views in the comments down below or email me at: [email protected]

Make sure you share and subscribe.

Keep learning and improving.

Till then take care and?

Bye bye.

Collocation- Nervous Wreck

Hey there,Welcome back to your home ‘Your English Vocabulary’- The place for every English learner who has struggled a lot in their English skills and want to improve their spoken English and vocabulary.

I know we are not updating our posts so frequently and we are sorry for that but trust me guys it will soon skyrocket in frequency very soon. So please keep supporting and sharing and without further ado let’s get down to today’s post which is my personal favorite topic to teach- Collocation:))

Context

It was Thursday evening when my friend David came to my house to ask for the notes of Psychology exam which was going to be held on Saturday. I was quite baffled (confused) when he asked me for the notes because a day after was my exam.

David was nervous wreck for the fact that in case if he did not pass the exam, he would have to repeat the year once again. I had no other option but to say no to him because I also had so much to cover up. Had I given him my notes at that time, I would not have got through (click here!) my exams with good grades.

Can you guess now what this collocation meant?

And when to use it?

Yes! You are right. We use this collocation when we are extremely nervous about a person or thing.

Let’s see some of the other examples to clear out its meaning:

Examples

  •  Susan was nervous wreck after listening the news of her brother’s accident.
  •  The man was nervous wreck in front of police which made him a suspicion of the attack.

Let me know in the comment section below when were you nervous wreck recently.

Please share and subscribe.

Till then take care and?

Bye bye.

Collocations in English- YOU SHOULD NEVER IGNORE!

Hey there,

Welcome Home!

So for today we got collocations to cover which seems not to be an issue for a native English speaker, but a non- native English speaker has to put in extra efforts to learn them because they are often difficult to guess.

Don’t know what collocations are?

A collocation is a pair or group of words that are often used together to sound more natural like a native.

We make loads of mistakes day in and out while speaking and please don’t get me wrong, I won’t be like your typical English teacher who will point out where should be your adjective and verb while constructing your sentences. Our posts will be majorly on practical English rather than bookish English.  In the post below there are two sentences- one in red which shows how non-native English speakers would say about a situation in a particular context, while on the other hand the sentence in green is how a native English speaker would say the sentence in same context. I don’t say all are incorrect, but when it comes to speaking fluently, these collocations or the natural way how natives use particular phrase sounds far better than what we would sound if we just plainly say these particular sentences.

It’s going to be a ride for all English learners and I am already so pumped up from inside that I just can’t wait to start it off, so without further ado let’s get down to the business and see some of collocations to enrich your active vocabulary:

  • Highly unlikely

Non-natives say something like this- “I did not think that the car would come my way and hit.”

A native would have said- “It was highly unlikely that the car would hit me.”

  • Room for improvement

Non-natives say something like this- “Though you are doing well, you can improve.”

Native would have said- “Though you are doing well, there is room for improvement.”

  • Ridiculously expensive

Non-native would say- “I don’t want to go to that mall ever again because the products are so expensive.”

Native say- “I don’t wanna go to that mall again because the items are ridiculously expensive.”

  • Strongly object

Non-native would say- “I totally object all the food product companies which use harmful chemical in their products.”

Native would say- “I strongly object all the food product companies who use harmful chemicals in their products.”

  • Dash your hope

Non-natives- “Loosing the stage competition made me give up my hopes of becoming a great musician.”

Natives say- “Loosing the stage competition dashed my hopes of becoming a great musician.”

  • Hasty decisions

Non-natives say- “He made a decision very fast which made him regret his mistakes down the line”

Natives say- “He made a hasty decision which made him regret his mistakes down the line.”

  • Spectacular failure

Non-natives say- “Although the producer had put millions of dollar, the film failed very badly.”

Natives say-“Although the producer has put millions of dollar, the film was a spectacular failure.”

  • Share someone’s opinion

Non-natives say- “I think Harry’s is correct that clay works best for thick hair.”

Natives say-“I share Harry’s opinion that clay works best for thick hair.”

  • Casual link

Non-natives say-“Population is responsible for the poverty all over the place.”

Natives say- “There is a casual link between population and poverty all over the place.”

  • Offer insight

Non-natives say- “I am glad that I subscribed to Your English Vocabulary, it gives deep knowledge of every English topic for free.”

Natives say- “I am glad that I subscribed to Your English Vocabulary, it offers a deep insight of every topic for free.”

 

Now what to do- here’s is the exercise for you.

Go through each of the given collocations and notice how native English speakers use it.

Repeat the same process after one day and see how many you remember.

Practice the same for four to five consecutive times till the time it doesn’t become your active vocabulary.

You liked it?

Tell me in the comment section below.

If you got any queries contact me- [email protected].

Please share and subscribe if you don’t wanna miss any future posts.

Till then,

Bye bye.