Fill in the Blanks
🔒 Log in to trackCollocation blanks: word partnerships that decide the answer
🔒 Log in to trackA collocation is a pair of words that English always uses together, like pay attention or heavy rain. In these blanks, most options fit the grammar. Only one option is the usual partner of the word next to the blank. So you pick the partner, not just a word with the right meaning.
What the blank really tests
Look at this blank: Please ___ attention to the rules. The options are give, do, make and pay.
All four fit the grammar. But English says only pay attention. The question tests the partner word, not the meaning.
Rule: Find the word right next to the blank. Ask: "Which word does this one usually go with?"
- Blank after a verb → pick the verb's usual object (break the news, take place).
- Blank before a noun → pick the noun's usual adjective (grave mistake, close scrutiny).
- Blank after a noun → pick the noun's usual verb (prices soar).
Verb + noun pairs
These swaps come up again and again. The last column shows the wrong verb that papers offer.
| Verb | Goes with | Wrong swap |
|---|---|---|
| pay | attention, a visit, a compliment, heed | give, do, make |
| take | place, a decision, a step, a risk, pride, measures | give, do |
| make | a mistake, progress, an effort, amends, a noise | do |
| do | harm, good, a favour, one's duty, business, justice | make |
| commit | a mistake, a crime, an error (formal) | did |
| keep / break | a promise, a secret / a promise, the news, a record | |
| catch | a cold, a thief, a signal | take |
| reach | a conclusion, a verdict, a consensus | arrive |
| meet / strike | a deadline, a requirement / a balance, a deal, a bargain | |
| cast / lay | a vote, a glance / emphasis, claim, hands on | |
| gain / bear | ground, momentum / fruit, a resemblance | |
| burst into | tears, laughter |
Tip: Learn each pair as one chunk, like "pay-attention". Never learn the verb alone.
Adjective + noun pairs
The wrong options here are near-synonyms. Strong rain, quick asleep and tight escape look fine but are wrong.
| Pair | Meaning |
|---|---|
| heavy rain / traffic; strong wind / coffee / odour | usual pairs |
| fast asleep; sound sleep | deeply asleep |
| narrow escape / margin / victory; close shave / contest | only just |
| grave mistake / risk / crisis | very serious |
| solemn pledge / promise; stark contrast / reality | formal pairs |
| staunch supporter | loyal follower |
| soaring prices | prices rising fast |
| scathing attack | bitterly critical |
| abject poverty | utter, hopeless poverty |
| conclusive evidence | proof that settles the issue |
| glaring error | shockingly obvious error |
| close scrutiny | careful examination |
| teeming millions | huge crowds of people |
| invaluable service | too valuable to price |
| level playing field | fair conditions for all |
| barren land / effort | producing nothing |
| loud applause | usual pair |
Pairs with a fixed preposition
Sometimes the sentence already gives the preposition. Then only one word completes the pair.
emphasis on, comply with, abide by, capable of, fond of, congratulate someone on, insist on, married to, superior to.
Watch: deal in means trade (deal in cloth). deal with means handle (deal with a problem).
Frozen pairs and formal tone
Some pairs never change: null and void, part and parcel, safe and sound, first and foremost. No word can be swapped in.
When two options are both real pairs, choose the neutral, formal one. Hold talks beats hold chats. Offer condolences is right; give sorrows is not English.
If two options still look right, read the whole sentence. The setter usually locks the answer with a preposition or a phrase elsewhere.
How to practise
Learn ten pairs a day. Test yourself both ways: verb to partner, then partner to verb. Use each pair in a sentence of your own.
In the exam, say the full sentence silently. Give attention to the rules sounds wrong to a trained ear. If you hesitate, you never learnt that pair.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
do / make / take / give / pay swap
The blank is a verb before a noun like attention, place, a visit or a decision. The options are pay, give, do, make, take.
Read the noun after the blank.
Recall its fixed verb: pay attention, take place, pay a visit, take a decision.
Reject verbs that fit grammar but not usage (give attention, do a visit).
All five verbs fit the grammar, so only the fixed pair can decide.
Please ___ attention to the instructions before the demo begins.
Show solutionHide solution
The noun after the blank is 'attention'.
The fixed pair is 'pay attention'.
Give, do and make attention are not used in English.
pay
Adjective + noun pair
The blank is an adjective before a noun such as rain, escape, sleep or pledge. The options are near-synonyms (heavy / strong, narrow / close).
Name the noun after the blank.
Recall its fixed adjective: heavy rain, narrow escape, solemn pledge.
Say each decoy aloud (strong rain, quick asleep) and reject it.
The decoys are chosen because they almost sound right; only the fixed pair is correct.
The trekkers were caught in ___ rain on the third day.
Show solutionHide solution
The noun is 'rain'.
English says 'heavy rain'.
Strong rain and powerful rain are not used.
heavy
Illness and feeling reactions
The sentence is about falling ill or a sudden feeling (a cold, tears, laughter). The options are verbs like catch, burst, take, rush.
Name the event: falling ill, crying or laughing.
Recall the chunk: catch a cold, burst into tears, burst into laughter.
Reject word-for-word swaps like take a cold or rush into tears.
These chunks are fixed; students who translate word for word pick the decoys.
She ___ into tears when the results were announced.
Show solutionHide solution
The event is sudden crying.
The fixed chunk is 'burst into tears'.
Break, rush and dash into tears are not used.
burst
Fixed expressions (break the news, a narrow escape)
The sentence is about giving news, escaping just in time or a similar event. One option completes a fixed expression.
Read the whole sentence to see the situation.
Match it to the fixed expression: break the news, a narrow escape.
Reject synonyms such as crack the news or thin escape.
A fixed expression works like one word; half-remembered versions are the decoys.
The manager had to ___ the news of the layoffs to the staff.
Show solutionHide solution
The situation is giving bad news.
The fixed expression is 'break the news'.
Crack, tear and split the news do not exist.
break
reach / meet / strike + result nouns
The blank comes before a result noun (a balance, a deadline, a conclusion, a verdict). The options are verbs like strike, hit, meet, match.
Name the result noun.
Recall the pair: strike a balance, meet a deadline, reach a conclusion, arrive at a decision.
Check any preposition: meet a deadline takes none; arrive takes at.
These verbs look alike, but each noun has one locked partner.
The team worked over the weekend to ___ the submission deadline.
Show solutionHide solution
The result noun is 'deadline'.
The fixed pair is 'meet a deadline'.
Match, catch and equal a deadline are not used.
meet
Word + fixed preposition
The preposition after the blank is printed (___ on, ___ with, ___ by). The options are words of similar meaning.
Read the preposition after the blank.
Recall which option pairs with it: emphasis on, comply with, abide by, capable of.
Reject options that need a different preposition.
Each word takes its own preposition, so the printed preposition picks the word.
All shops must ___ with the new safety rules by March.
Show solutionHide solution
The preposition after the blank is 'with'.
'Comply with' is the fixed pair.
Obey, follow and respect take no 'with'.
comply
Formal adjective + noun (abject poverty)
The sentence is formal (news, reports). The blank is an adjective before poverty, error, supporter, evidence or a similar noun.
Name the noun after the blank.
Recall its formal partner: abject poverty, glaring error, staunch supporter, conclusive evidence.
Check the meaning fits the sentence (very bad, very obvious, loyal, settling).
Formal nouns have strong adjective partners, and the exam tests exactly these.
Many families in the flooded district still live in ___ poverty.
Show solutionHide solution
The noun is 'poverty'.
Its formal partner is 'abject' (utter, hopeless).
Stark, grave and glaring do not pair with poverty here.
abject
Shortcuts that save time
Read up to the blank and stop. Ask what the word before it usually takes. Say your answer, then find it among the options.
The two leaders held detailed ___ on the border dispute.
Show solutionHide solution
'Held detailed ...' needs a noun for a formal discussion.
Deliberations fits. Celebrations and medications do not suit a border dispute.
Reverberations are echoes of sound, so they are out too.
deliberations
Collocation options often share an ending (-tion, -ment). Remove the ones that do not suit the topic first. A border dispute invites talks or deliberations, never medications.
For a verb blank, turn the phrase around: 'attention is ___' gives 'paid'. If your word is an option, mark it and move on.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Choosing a synonym that breaks the pair, such as 'give attention'.
Pick the fixed partner: pay attention, take place, commit a crime.
Choosing the longest or most impressive word.
The collocation answer is usually an ordinary, everyday word.
Ignoring the preposition after the blank ('___ on', '___ with').
Let the preposition fix the chunk: emphasis on, comply with, abide by.
Treating near-synonym adjectives as equal (strong rain, quick asleep).
Learn the adjective with its noun: heavy rain, fast asleep, narrow escape.
Answering after reading only half the sentence.
Read to the full stop. A later phrase often decides between two real pairs.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
The word next to the blank decides the answer, not the general meaning.
pay attention / heed; take place / a step; make a mistake / progress; do harm / good; commit a crime.
heavy rain, strong wind, fast asleep, narrow escape, solemn pledge, stark contrast.
abject poverty, staunch supporter, glaring error, conclusive evidence, close scrutiny.
A given preposition fixes the pair: emphasis on, comply with, capable of, abide by.
Frozen pairs never change: null and void, part and parcel, safe and sound.
Say the finished sentence silently: the right pair sounds whole.
Practice: 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 7 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.