English Collocations | Smart Method to Build Up Vocabulary

Have you ever found yourself struggling to find the right words to

express yourself in English?

Only to end up feeling awkward and misunderstood,

knowing that something wasn't quite right?

If you immediately answered yes to that question,

then here's what might be missing from your English vocabulary.

Collocations, let me explain what collocations are and why they're so crucial.

You might already be familiar with the word situation in English,

but here's the secret. Knowing that word isn't enough,

native and advanced-level English speakers use specific

word combinations or collocations to sound more natural and

fluent and to use quick, precise communication. For example,

in the past, you've learned to use, make a decision,

not take a decision truthfully,

there's really no difference in the meaning of those two combinations,

but English speakers say, make a decision, period,

and that is a collocation,

words that go together in a way that sounds natural to English speakers,

I like to think of them as word partners or best friend words that go

hand in hand together. Now here's the thing,

expanding your knowledge of collocations isn't just about being more fluent or

sounding natural.

It's also about avoiding common mistakes and misunderstandings.

Think about it for a moment.

If you rely completely on word for word translation from your

native language into English,

it's likely that at times you'll end up with an expression or phrase that is

inaccurate and confusing.

This can lead to misunderstandings and worse,

it can make you sound less confident than you actually are.

So by learning English collocations,

you gain several advantages including natural sounding speech,

improved comprehension, effective communication,

and expanded vocabulary.

Now that you're clear on this smart way to advance your English,

let's talk about how we're going to tackle this lesson.

I want you to learn in the most effective way possible,

in a way that allows you to not just learn new vocabulary,

but remember it and use it to do that,

there are two things that you'll find in this lesson. First,

I've identified common collocations that go with the word situation in English,

and I've grouped them by theme so they're easier to learn and

remember,

this will also allow you to see how these collocations fit into different

contexts. The second thing you'll find is that with each collocation,

I'll give you the exact definition and an example sentence of how to use it.

This not only furthers your understanding,

but it also contributes to remembering what you've learned so that you can

use these collocations in your English conversations. By the end,

you'll have 21 common English collocations with the word situation.

So if you're ready to dive in, let's get started.

Very briefly, if this is your first time here, welcome. I am Annemarie,

an English confidence and fluency coach.

Everything I do is designed to help you get the confidence you want for your

life and work in English.

If you'd love to get years of my confident English lessons and free resources

for me,

including my free fluency training called How to Get the Confidence to

Say What You Want in English,

you can find all of that at my Speak Confident English website.

A moment ago I highlighted that I've identified groups or themes to help

better remember these different collocations.

The themes that we're going to take a look at today include work and challenges,

difficult and dangerous situations,

social and personal situations,

emerging and changing situations,

and then one final category titled other because the three colorations I have

there just didn't fit very well into the themes that I've got for you today.

So first,

work and challenges these first six collocations will help you be

more precise when talking about difficult or advantageous situations in your

workplace or in demanding situations.

And first is simply a challenging situation.

As you might guess,

we use this to describe a situation or problem that requires

skill to solve. For example,

I'm in a super challenging situation at work.

I have to train a new employee and somehow still meet all my

deadlines. The second collocation is tough situation,

and this can be used to describe any difficult situation, choice,

or circumstance. For example,

it's a tough situation when you need to choose between taking a much-needed

break and caring for a loved one.

Number three in this category is a no-win situation

and this is a situation in which everyone loses. For example,

I keep telling my kids it's a no-win situation.

When they argue over who should do which chore, they should just work together.

Of course,

the direct opposite of that is a win-win situation in which everyone involved

wins or gains some benefit. For example, at the end of the discussion,

it was a win-win situation.

Everyone walked away from the table with something they wanted.

Next in this group is a delicate situation. In other words,

a situation that is fragile and needs to be handled carefully so

that other problems don't arise. For example,

negotiating for a pay raise is always a delicate situation.

And number six, to lose control of a situation. Of course,

someone would use this to say that they no longer have the ability to manage

or influence a situation. For example,

when the manager left,

we quickly lost control of the situation with our new client. Alright,

let's transition to difficult and dangerous situations.

These seven collocations are perfect when describing severe,

risky or precarious situations,

and we often need that if we're talking about an emergency or something that

requires immediate attention. For example,

a dire situation.

This is used to describe a very serious problem that requires immediate

attention. For example,

the wildfires caused a dire situation for families who lost

their homes. Second, a precarious situation.

We use this to indicate that a situation is unstable and could quickly

become worse. For example,

the children were stuck in a precarious situation when the rollercoaster

stopped working. As you can imagine,

that would be an extremely unstable situation with

significant potential for getting worse. Next,

on our list is an unbearable situation,

and this describes something that is so terrible that you cannot

tolerate it. For example,

yesterday's heatwave was an unbearable situation, particularly for the elderly.

Number four in this category is an untenable situation.

This means that a situation has gotten so bad or a problem has gotten so

bad that it's no longer possible to maintain it.

For example, after missing more than two car payments,

Georgia found herself in an untenable situation.

Number five is a sticky situation.

We use this to describe an awkward or sensitive situation

that is difficult to get out of. For example,

if you find yourself caught between two people you love who are having an

argument, you're in a sticky situation.

It is awkward and sensitive and not easy to get out of a

volatile situation.

This is a situation that could easily get blown out of proportion becoming

chaotic or even violent. For example,

any political conversation in my family becomes a volatile situation.

It's better to not bring it up.

Our final collocation for this category is a deteriorating

situation. This is a situation that is becoming worse and worse as it goes on.

For example,

the deteriorating situation with crime in the neighborhood made everyone feel

less safe.

Our third category for today is social and personal situations.

The collocation you learn here can be used to describe everyday social

contexts, embarrassing moments and personal encounters.

Number one is an awkward situation,

and of course this could be used to describe any situation that is uncomfortable

or embarrassing. For example, for example,

we found ourselves in an awkward situation when we both showed up

to the wedding wearing the same dress.

Next on our list is social situation.

This describes any context in which you're interacting with someone else

or with others, and here's an example.

New social situations can feel a bit intimidating at first.

Next, a real life situation.

This is a situation that occurs in everyday life.

It is not imagination or fiction. For example,

in a real life situation,

you wouldn't have the opportunity or the time to write down your thoughts

before engaging in small talk with someone. Number four,

the collocation to discuss a situation,

and of course this means to talk about a specific circumstance.

For example, you might say to a team member,

we need to discuss the situation before making a decision next

to encounter a situation.

This means to come across to meet or face a particular circumstance.

For example, during our trip,

we encountered a situation that required us to change our plans

and the last one for this category to avoid a situation,

and of course this means to stay away from or prevent a situation from

happening. For example,

she managed to avoid a difficult situation by preparing

in advance. Okay, I have six more collocations I want to share with you,

but I briefly wanna check in and encourage you to share your favorite

collocation from this lesson so far with me.

You can do that by sharing a comment below. While you do that,

I want you to also try using it in an example sentence.

That extra step will help lock that collocation into your memory

so you're able to use it with confidence in your next English conversation.

And now let's get into three collocation that describe emerging and

changing situations.

You'll often hear these collocations used in conversations discussing

current events,

new developments and dynamic or quickly changing conditions.

First current situation,

we use this to talk about what is happening right now. For example,

due to the current situation of rising gas prices,

many families are looking for ways to save money on transportation.

Next, an emerging situation,

we use this to talk about a new situation that is developing.

It might be developing while someone is speaking.

You'll hear this often if you listen to the news when a big unexpected event

happens. Now, here's an example sentence.

The company is facing an emerging situation with a competitor offering

the same exact service. In this particular context,

the company is just becoming aware of this situation.

They don't have all the details or information they need yet.

The third one for this category, an evolving situation.

This describes a situation in which everything is changing constantly.

Again, it's another one that you're likely to hear in the news, for example,

due to the rapidly evolving situation,

the government is working hard to improve emergency responses.

And now our final category titled other because these three

complications just didn't fit perfectly into those other themes.

The first one, an economic situation.

This is most commonly used to talk about this state of a

country's economy, including its jobs, money, wealth,

et cetera. For example, since the pandemic,

the economic situation in most countries has improved. Next,

an ideal situation. This describes a situation that would be perfect.

It's exactly what we want or hope for. For example, you might say,

in an ideal situation, we would be living abroad and working remotely.

And finally an unlikely situation.

This is a situation that is highly improbable. For example,

winning the lottery is an unlikely situation.

You should now have a strong grasp of 21 English

collocations with the word situation. Again,

these not only contribute to sounding more fluent and natural,

they also contribute to precision and accuracy in your speech. Now,

I know that practice leads to progress.

I really want you to learn, remember, and use these collocations.

So I've got a bonus for you.

Visit this lesson over at my Speak Confident English website to get a

PDF worksheet you can download for that extra practice.

I'll share a link to this lesson in the notes below the video.

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Thank you so much for joining me and I look forward to seeing you next time.