4.2 Collocations and Phrasal Verbs for Part 4
Key Takeaways
Collocations are natural word partnerships (make a mistake, go for a walk); Part 4 often tests exactly these pairs.
Master high-frequency make/do contrasts and common free-time, school, and travel collocations at A2.
Learn a small set of everyday phrasal verbs (look after, get up, turn off, put on, find out) with their objects and meanings.
Study collocations in full chunks, not as isolated translations of single words.
Use short mini-drills: delete the verb or particle from a sentence and recover it under time pressure.
4.2 Collocations and Phrasal Verbs for Part 4
Quick Answer: A collocation is a natural word pair or group (make a noise, go for a walk). A phrasal verb is a verb + particle with a special meaning (look after, turn off). Part 4 loves both. Learn them as chunks, practise them in gaps, and prefer the everyday partnership over a “logical” but unnatural synonym.
You can know the dictionary meaning of make and do and still miss Part 4 marks. Cambridge is checking whether your English sounds right at elementary level. This section is a practical word-partnership gym for that skill.
Why Chunks Beat Word Lists
| Weak study habit | Stronger habit for Part 4 |
|---|---|
| Memorise make = crear only | Memorise make a cake / a mistake / friends / a noise |
| Translate each option alone | Insert each option into the full sentence |
| Learn 50 rare words | Master 40 high-frequency pairs deeply |
| Study particles without objects | Learn turn off the light, look after my sister |
When a gap offers make / do / have, your brain should search for the object after the gap, not for a general translation of the verb.
Make vs Do (Highest-Value A2 Contrast)
| Use make for… | Examples |
|---|---|
| Creating / producing | make a cake, make a sandwich, make a film |
| Mistakes / noise / plans | make a mistake, make a noise, make a plan |
| Social results | make friends, make money |
| Causing a state (simple patterns) | make someone happy / sad (recognition level) |
| Use do for… | Examples |
|---|---|
| Work / tasks | do homework, do housework, do the shopping |
| Activities with do | do exercise, do sport (also play for many sports) |
| General actions | do something, do well / badly in a test |
| Jobs / duties | do the washing-up, do a job |
Mini-practice A (choose make or do)
- Please don’t _____ a noise—the baby is sleeping. → make
- I need to _____ my homework before dinner. → do
- She _____ a big mistake on question five. → made
- Can you _____ the shopping on your way home? → do
- They _____ friends easily at the new school. → make
If you miss these, drill them daily for one week before any full Reading mock.
Everyday Free-Time and Daily-Life Collocations
| Chunk | Meaning / use | Near-miss wrong partner |
|---|---|---|
| go for a walk | take a walk for pleasure | make a walk, do a walk |
| go shopping | activity of visiting shops | do shopping (possible in some dialects) vs exam-preferred go shopping / do the shopping for the task list |
| have a shower / bath | wash yourself | make a shower |
| have breakfast / lunch / dinner | eat a meal | take breakfast (less natural in many A2 materials) |
| take a photo | use a camera/phone | make a photo |
| take a bus / train | travel by that transport | drive a bus (only if you are the driver) |
| catch a bus | get on a bus in time | take also possible; watch options |
| miss a bus / lesson | arrive too late / not attend | lose a bus |
| spend time / money | use time or money | pass money for this meaning |
| tell a story / the truth | speak narrative or facts | say a story |
| say hello / sorry | short fixed speech acts | tell hello |
| play football / the guitar | sports / instruments | do football (sometimes heard; play is safer in options) |
| ride a bike / horse | sit on and control | drive a bike |
| watch TV / a film | look at a screen story | see TV as the activity |
| look at the board | direct eyes | watch the board can appear; match exact options |
Mini-practice B (complete the collocation)
- Let’s _____ for a walk after lunch. → go
- He _____ a photo of the castle. → took
- We usually _____ dinner at seven. → have
- Don’t _____ the bus—run! → miss
- She _____ a lot of time on her phone. → spends
School and Exam-Life Collocations
These appear in factual texts about students, courses, and projects:
| Chunk | Note |
|---|---|
| take an exam / a test | sit the paper |
| pass / fail an exam | result verbs |
| get a good mark / grade | result noun partners |
| do a project / an exercise | school tasks |
| make notes | write notes |
| pay attention | focus |
| learn by heart | memorise (recognition) |
| hand in homework | submit |
| break up (for holidays) | school term ends (phrasal; see below) |
Original mini-gap: Students must _____ in their projects on Friday. Options: hand / take / make → hand (hand in).
Common A2 Phrasal Verbs for Part 4
Learn meaning + typical object together.
| Phrasal verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| get up | leave bed | I get up at seven. |
| wake up | stop sleeping | She wakes up early. |
| go out | leave home for social/free time | They go out on Saturdays. |
| come back / go back | return | Come back before dark. |
| look after | take care of | He looks after his little brother. |
| look for | try to find | I’m looking for my keys. |
| look at | direct eyes to | Look at the map. |
| turn on / turn off | start / stop a machine or light | Turn off the lights. |
| put on / take off | dress / undress an item | Put on your coat. Take off your shoes. |
| pick up | lift; also collect someone | Pick up your bag. / Pick me up at 5. |
| find out | learn information | Find out what time it starts. |
| grow up | become an adult | She grew up in Spain. |
| give up | stop trying / stop a habit | Don’t give up! |
| fall over | lose balance and drop | He fell over on the ice. |
| sit down / stand up | change body position | Please sit down. |
Particle traps
| Wrong | Right |
|---|---|
| look after for my sister | look after my sister |
| turn off it (pronoun position can vary in teaching; at A2 prefer turn it off as a chunk) | turn it off / turn off the light |
| put on it (same idea) | put it on / put on your jacket |
| look my keys | look for my keys |
Worked Part 4-Style Lines (Original)
Line 1: Please _____ off your phones before the film starts.
Options: turn / take / go → turn (turn off).
Line 2: My neighbour _____ after our cat when we travel.
Options: looks / watches / sees → looks (look after).
Line 3: We usually _____ up at 6:30 on school days.
Options: get / go / make → get (get up).
Line 4: Can you _____ out what time the museum opens?
Options: find / look / take → find (find out).
Line 5: It’s cold—_____ on a warmer jumper.
Options: put / take / turn → put (put on).
Notice how wrong options are often real verbs that simply partner with other particles or objects.
How Part 4 Writers Build Options
Typical three-option sets:
- Correct collocation verb
- Common rival from make/do/have/take/get
- Topic-related verb that fails the object
Example: gap before a mistake → make / do / take. Only make is standard.
Another set: gap in interested ___ music → in / on / at. Here the “vocabulary” item is really a dependent preposition—still trained with chunks (interested in).
Weekly Practice Routine (20 minutes × 4 days)
| Day | Task |
|---|---|
| 1 | Copy 15 make/do sentences; cover verbs; rewrite from memory |
| 2 | Phrasal verb flash: particle side only; say full sentence aloud |
| 3 | Write a 90-word paragraph using 8 target chunks; gap them for a partner |
| 4 | Timed six-gap micro-text (original or homework-made) in 6 minutes |
Track errors in a “danger list.” If make a photo keeps appearing in your writing, circle it in red and replace with take a photo ten times in new sentences.
Transfer to Other Papers
- Writing Part 6: I’m writing to say… / How about going for a walk… / Please look after…
- Writing Part 7: story verbs—got up, put on, went out, fell over
- Listening: same chunks in short dialogues
- Speaking: fluency improves when you retrieve chunks, not word-by-word translations
Checklist: Are You Part-4 Ready on Vocabulary?
- I can list 10 make and 10 do collocations without notes
- I know at least 12 phrasal verbs with example objects
- I automatically check the noun after a verb gap
- I review a danger list of my personal wrong partners weekly
Collocations make Part 4 feel “easy.” Grammar-function words make Part 5 feel “easy.” Train both—next we open the open-cloze task itself.
Which sentence uses the most natural A2 collocation?
Please do a photo of the lake.
Please make a photo of the lake.
Please take a photo of the lake.
Please carry a photo of the lake with the camera button.
“Can you _____ after my little sister for an hour?” Which word correctly completes the phrasal verb?
see
look
watch
mind
Which pair is the best study method for Part 4 collocations?
Learn make and do as full chunks with common objects, then test them in gapped sentences
Only memorise alphabetical dictionary definitions of single verbs
Avoid multi-word phrases because Part 4 never tests them
Translate each English word to L1 and never practise full sentences
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.