Do you ever feel like you know a lot of English words, but your sentences still sound a bit... off? You might be using words that are technically correct, but they just don't seem to fit together naturally. For example, we say heavy rain, not strong rain. We make a decision, not do a decision. These natural word pairs are called collocations, and they are one of the secrets that make intermediate speakers sound more advanced.

If you have felt frustrated because your English doesn't flow the way you want, take a deep breath. You are not alone — and the problem is probably not your grammar. It is simply that you haven't yet built a strong bank of collocations. The good news is that you can change that starting today, and it doesn't require memorising long, boring lists.

In this guide, we will explore 75 of the most common English collocations organised by everyday topics like work, education, health, relationships, travel and emotions. For each one, you'll get a clear definition and a natural example sentence you can use right away. We'll also shine a light on the most frequent mistakes learners make (especially tricky verb + noun pairs) and you'll find a quick-reference table plus a mini quiz to test what you've learned. Let's get started.

Why Collocations Matter for Your Exam Score

In both the IELTS and PTE Academic tests, vocabulary range and accuracy play a huge role. For IELTS Speaking and Writing, Lexical Resource is one of the four key criteria — it counts for 25% of your band score. According to the official IELTS scoring descriptors, higher-level candidates show “some awareness of style and collocation”. In PTE Academic, the scoring algorithm rewards natural, native-like word combinations.

Learning collocations helps you:

• sound more fluent and natural
• avoid awkward, translated-sounding sentences
• boost your confidence in Writing Task 2 essays and Speaking Part 3 discussions
• understand fast speech in the Listening section more easily

Cambridge Assessment English, the organisation behind IELTS, often highlights that learning words in chunks (rather than in isolation) can dramatically improve both accuracy and recall. We will do exactly that by studying collocations in meaningful topic groups.

How to Use This Guide

You don't need to swallow all 75 collocations in one sitting. Here is a simple plan:

1. Read one topic section at a time.
2. For each collocation, say the definition and the example sentence out loud.
3. Write two personal sentences using the collocation — ideally about your own life. This makes the learning stick.
4. Try the mini quiz at the end to check your retention.
5. Come back and review one topic each day for a week.

Now, let's dive into the collocations that will transform your English.

Work Collocations

1. meet a deadline – finish a task on time. We had to work late to meet the deadline for the project.

2. take on responsibility – accept more duties or a bigger role. She took on a lot of responsibility after her manager left.

3. do business – engage in commercial activities. Our company does business with clients all over the world.

4. make a profit – earn money after costs are subtracted. The café started to make a profit in its second year.

5. go to a meeting – attend a scheduled gathering. I go to a meeting with my team every Monday morning.

6. hold a meeting – organise and run a meeting. We will hold a meeting to discuss the new safety rules.

7. submit a report – hand in or send a written document for review. Please submit your monthly sales report by Friday.

8. write a report – compose the content of a report. He spent the afternoon writing a report on customer feedback.

9. secure a deal – successfully arrange an agreement or contract. The sales team secured a major deal with a new partner.

10. annual leave – paid time off work allowed each year. I have ten days of annual leave left to use before December.

11. sick leave – time away from work because of illness. Maria is on sick leave this week, so I'll cover her tasks.

12. work remotely – do your job from a location outside the office. Many employees now work remotely at least two days a week.

13. develop skills – improve or build new abilities. This training programme will help you develop leadership skills.

Education Collocations

14. do homework – complete assignments given by a teacher. My daughter does her homework right after school every day. (⚠️ Common error: learners often say make homework, which is incorrect.)

15. take an exam – sit for a test. We will take the final exam next Tuesday.

16. pass an exam – achieve a satisfactory result in a test. She passed the IELTS exam with a band score of 7.5.

17. fail an exam – not reach the required standard. He failed his driving test, but he can take it again next month.

18. get a degree – obtain a university qualification. She got a degree in environmental science last year.

19. attend a lecture – go to a formal talk at a college or university. I attend lectures every morning and tutorials in the afternoon.

20. give a presentation – deliver a spoken talk to an audience. He gave an excellent presentation on renewable energy.

21. write an essay – produce a structured piece of academic writing. For homework, I need to write an essay about the effects of social media.

22. meet a requirement – satisfy a specific condition or standard. Your qualifications meet the entry requirements for the course.

23. take notes – write down key information while listening or reading. I always take notes during lectures to help me revise later.

24. do research – investigate a subject in detail. She is doing research for her Master's dissertation.

25. make progress – move forward or improve. You are making excellent progress with your speaking fluency.

26. continuous assessment – ongoing evaluation instead of only a final exam. The course uses continuous assessment, so every assignment counts.

Health Collocations

27. do exercise – perform physical activity. I try to do exercise at least four times a week. (⚠️ Not make exercise.)

28. take medicine – consume medication. You need to take this medicine twice a day after meals.

29. have a cold – be unwell with a common cold. I can't come to work today because I have a bad cold.

30. catch a cold – become ill with a cold. I caught a cold after walking home in the rain.

31. break a habit – stop doing something regularly, especially something unhealthy. It took months to break the habit of snacking late at night.

32. maintain a healthy diet – continue to eat healthily over time. It's important to maintain a healthy diet even when you are busy.

33. lose weight – become thinner or reduce body mass. He wants to lose weight before his wedding.

34. gain weight – put on extra body mass. I gained a little weight during the holidays.

35. suffer from an illness – experience a particular disease or condition. Many older people suffer from arthritis.

36. get better – recover from an illness or injury. I hope you get better soon so we can go for a walk.

37. feel stressed – experience stress. I usually feel stressed before a big exam, but deep breathing helps.

38. get enough sleep – sleep for an adequate amount of time. If you don't get enough sleep, it affects your concentration.

39. make an appointment – arrange a time to see a doctor or professional. I need to make an appointment with the dentist for a check-up.

40. go for a walk – take a gentle walk, often for health or pleasure. Let's go for a walk in the park after dinner.

Relationships Collocations

41. make friends – form new friendships. It's easy to make friends when you join a language exchange group.

42. get to know someone – become familiar with a person over time. I'd like to get to know my colleagues better outside of work.

43. fall in love – begin to feel romantic love. They fell in love while studying abroad in Italy.

44. have an argument – engage in a disagreement or quarrel. We had an argument about money, but we resolved it quickly.

45. resolve a conflict – find a solution to a serious disagreement. Learning to resolve conflicts calmly is an important life skill.

46. keep in touch – continue to communicate with someone. Let's keep in touch after the course finishes.

47. lose touch – stop communicating with someone over time. We lost touch after university, but I still think of her.

48. break someone's trust – betray the confidence someone placed in you. Lying can seriously break someone's trust.

49. support each other – help and encourage one another. In a strong team, members support each other no matter what.

50. ask someone out – invite someone on a date. He finally asked her out to dinner and she said yes.

51. spend time with – be in the company of someone. I love spending time with my grandparents at the weekend.

52. make a commitment – promise to do something seriously. Getting married means making a lifelong commitment.

53. start a family – have children. They plan to start a family after they buy a house.

Travel Collocations

54. take a trip – go on a journey. We took a short trip to the coast last weekend.

55. go on holiday – travel for leisure (British English; also go on vacation). They went on holiday to Greece and loved the beaches.

56. book a flight – reserve a seat on a plane. I need to book a flight to London for the conference.

57. catch a train – get on a train before it departs. Hurry up — we need to catch the 8 a.m. train to the city.

58. miss a flight – arrive too late to board a plane. I missed my flight because of heavy traffic on the motorway.

59. travel abroad – go to a foreign country. Many students travel abroad during their summer break.

60. pack your bags – put clothes and belongings into suitcases. She packed her bags the night before the trip to save time in the morning.

61. check into a hotel – register at a hotel reception. We checked into the hotel and went straight to the pool.

62. check out of a hotel – leave a hotel and settle the bill. You must check out of the hotel by 11 a.m. on the last day.

63. go sightseeing – visit interesting places as a tourist. We spent the whole day sightseeing in Rome and taking photos.

64. plan a trip – organise travel details such as flights, hotels and activities. I'm planning a trip to Japan for the cherry blossom season.

65. board a plane – get on an aircraft. Passengers are now boarding the plane at Gate 12.

66. long-haul flight – a flight that covers a very long distance. A long-haul flight can leave you feeling quite tired, so drink plenty of water.

67. travel light – pack very little luggage. I always try to travel light — just a backpack and a small bag.

Emotions Collocations

68. feel anxious – experience worry or nervousness. I always feel anxious before speaking in front of a large group.

69. get upset – become unhappy or distressed. She got upset when she heard the bad news about the cancellation.

70. hide your feelings – not show how you really feel. He tries to hide his feelings, but you can see he is hurt.

71. express your feelings – communicate your emotions openly. It's healthy to express your feelings instead of keeping them inside.

72. burst into tears – suddenly start crying. The little girl burst into tears when she couldn't find her mother.

73. overcome fear – conquer or successfully deal with fear. She overcame her fear of public speaking by practising every day.

74. calm down – become less angry, excited or anxious. Take a deep breath and try to calm down before the interview.

75. feel lonely – experience a sense of being alone or isolated. He sometimes feels lonely living in a new city far from his family.

Common Collocation Mistakes to Avoid

One of the biggest traps for intermediate learners is confusing verbs like do, make, take and have. Because many languages use just one verb where English uses different ones, you might naturally say make a homework or do a mistake. Let's fix that right now.

Other frequent confusions include:

• tell a story (not say a story)
• take a chance (not get a chance — which means have an opportunity)
• pay attention (not give attention)
• keep a promise (not hold a promise)

Try this trick: whenever you learn a new collocation, write it with a highlighter in a special notebook and note the correct verb in bold. Over time, your brain will start to feel the natural combination.

Quick-Reference Table of All 75 Collocations

Use this table as a one-glance review. Cover the third column and test yourself!

Mini Quiz: Test Your Collocation Knowledge

Complete each sentence with the correct word. Choose between do, make, take, have, get, go, catch, lose, book, feel, meet, board, break, pack. Sometimes more than one might seem possible, but think about the natural collocation.

1. We need to _____ a decision before the end of the day.
2. Don't forget to _____ your homework before you watch TV.
3. I'd like to _____ an appointment with Dr. Lee, please.
4. Let's _____ for a walk along the beach after lunch.
5. I didn't sleep well, so I _____ really tired this morning.
6. Hurry up or we will _____ the train!
7. She was so moved by the film that she _____ into tears.
8. I always try to _____ enough sleep before an exam.

Answers (check after you attempt all eight):

1. make
2. do
3. make
4. go
5. feel
6. miss (here catch would mean to get on it in time; the sentence implies we'll arrive late, so miss fits; but note: "Hurry up or we will miss the train" is the natural collocation.)
7. burst
8. get

How did you do? If you scored at least 6 out of 8, you are well on your way. Keep practising!

When Life Gets Busy: Micro-Learning Tips

We know that between work, studies and family, finding time to sit down with a textbook can be tough. The great thing about collocations is that you can learn them in tiny pockets of your day.

• One-a-day rule: Choose one collocation from the table each morning. Write it on a sticky note and put it on your mirror or fridge. Use it in a sentence three times during the day.
• Voice memo practice: Record yourself saying five collocations and their example sentences. Listen while you commute or do household chores. Speaking along builds muscle memory.
• Collocation hunt: The next time you read an online article or watch a short video in English, pause when you spot a natural word pair. Write it down. This trains your eye to notice patterns.
• Partner challenge: If you have a study buddy, send each other a voice note each day using two new collocations. Friendly accountability works wonders.

Remember, consistency beats intensity. Five minutes daily is far more effective than an hour once a month.

Final Thoughts

You have just added 75 powerful building blocks to your English toolkit. These collocations are not just words on a page — they are the glue that makes your speech and writing flow smoothly and naturally. The difference between an intermediate speaker and an advanced one often comes down to how comfortably they can reach for phrases like meet a deadline or keep in touch without hesitation.

Be patient with yourself. Learning collocations is a gradual process, and every time you use one correctly in conversation or in a practice essay, you are one step closer to your target band score. Start small, celebrate your progress, and come back to this guide whenever you need a boost. You have everything you need to succeed. Now, go ahead and put these new collocations into practice — your future self will thank you.