Speaking: Vocabulary for Speaking B1 - Lesson 5: Collocations (e.g., make a decision, take a photo)

Speaking: Vocabulary for Speaking B1

Collocations (e.g., make a decision)

What you will learn: By the end of this lesson, you will be able to recognize and use common collocations with verbs like 'make', 'do', and 'take' to make your speaking sound more natural.

Words That Are Friends 🤝

Some words in English are like good friends—they are almost always found together. These natural word partnerships are called collocations. Learning them as a single "chunk" is a secret to sounding more fluent.

✅ Natural English

I need to make a decision.

❌ Unnatural English

I need to do a decision.

Your Collocation Toolkit

Here are some of the most common collocations. Try to learn them as one complete phrase.

🤔

make a decision

🤦

make a mistake

📝

do homework

🤝

do a favor

📸

take a photo

☕

take a break

🎉

have a good time

💬

have a conversation

Pronunciation & Grammar Rules

🗣️ Pronunciation Focus: Stress in Collocations

In these "verb + noun" collocations, the main stress usually falls on the noun, not the verb. This helps the phrase sound like a single idea.

• make a deCIsion
• do your HOMEwork
• take a PHOto

💡 Grammar Rule: 'Make' vs. 'Do'

This is one of the most confusing pairs. Here is a simple rule of thumb.

Use MAKE for Creating or Producing Something New

• make a cake, make a coffee, make a noise, make a mistake, make a decision

Use DO for Tasks, Jobs, and Activities

• do homework, do the laundry, do business, do exercise, do a favor

Practice Your Collocations 🎯

Activity 1: Choose the Correct Verb

Complete the sentences with: make, do, take, or have.

1. Don't ______ a mistake on your exam! (Answer: make)
2. Let's ______ a break; I'm exhausted. (Answer: take)
3. Could you ______ me a favor and help me with this bag? (Answer: do)
4. We went to a party last night and we ______ a really good time. (Answer: had)

Activity 2: Describe the Situation

What collocation would you use in these situations?

• You need to choose between studying in Battambang or Phnom Penh.
  → You need to make a decision.
• You want to remember a beautiful sunset at the river.
  → You should take a photo.

Vocabulary Reference

• Collocation | កន្សោមពាក្យ
  A natural combination of words that are frequently used together.
• to make a decision | សម្រេចចិត្ត
  To choose what you are going to do after thinking about it.
• to make a mistake | ធ្វើខុស
  To do something incorrectly.
• to do homework | ធ្វើកិច្ចការផ្ទះ
  To complete school work that you do at home.
• to do (someone) a favor | ជួយធ្វើគុណ
  To do something to help someone.
• to take a photo | ថតរូប
  To use a camera to create a picture.
• to take a break | សម្រាក
  To stop working for a short time to relax.
• to have a good time | កំសាន្ត​ឱ្យ​សប្បាយ
  To enjoy yourself.

Your Vocabulary Mission ⭐

This week, your mission is to think in chunks, not single words.

1. Listen for collocations in English songs or movies. Write down two examples that you hear.
2. Write one sentence about your life using a collocation from this lesson.

Example: "I need to do my homework tonight, but first I'm going to take a short break."