PTE Reading: 100 Essential Collocations

PTE Reading: 100 Essential Collocations

(Verb + Noun, Noun + Verb, Adjective + Noun, Adverb + Adjective, Noun + Preposition)

These 100 collocations are frequently tested in PTE Reading Fill in the Blanks (both dropdown and drag-drop). Master these to answer faster and more accurately.

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📌 Part 1: Verb + Noun (30 examples)

#	Collocation	Example Sentence
1	make a decision	The committee needs to make a decision by Friday.
2	take responsibility	Managers must take responsibility for their team's performance.
3	have an impact	Social media has an impact on mental health.
4	draw attention	The protest aimed to draw attention to climate change.
5	pose a threat	Pollution poses a threat to marine life.
6	conduct research	Scientists conduct research in controlled laboratories.
7	reach a conclusion	After hours of debate, they reached a conclusion.
8	play a role	Genetics plays a role in many diseases.
9	gain access	Students can gain access to online libraries.
10	raise awareness	The campaign raised awareness about poverty.
11	hold a view	Many experts hold the view that exercise is essential.
12	take advantage	Some companies take advantage of loopholes.
13	express concern	Parents expressed concern about school safety.
14	receive support	The proposal received support from both parties.
15	face challenges	Startups often face challenges in their first year.
16	build relationships	Networking helps build relationships with clients.
17	cause damage	The storm caused damage to coastal areas.
18	offer advice	Mentors offer advice to young professionals.
19	set a goal	Athletes set goals for the upcoming season.
20	achieve success	Hard work leads to achieving success.
21	perform a task	The robot can perform tasks autonomously.
22	meet requirements	All applicants must meet the requirements.
23	provide evidence	The study provided evidence supporting the theory.
24	resolve a dispute	Mediators help resolve disputes peacefully.
25	generate revenue	Online ads generate revenue for websites.
26	establish a connection	Researchers established a connection between diet and health.
27	overcome obstacles	She overcame obstacles to achieve her dream.
28	fulfill a need	The new service fulfills a need in the market.
29	seize an opportunity	Successful entrepreneurs seize opportunities quickly.
30	waste time	Don't waste time on unimportant details.

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📌 Part 2: Noun + Verb (10 examples)

#	Collocation	Example Sentence
31	opportunity arises	When an opportunity arises, be ready to act.
32	problem emerges	New problems emerge as technology advances.
33	demand increases	As population grows, demand increases for resources.
34	prices rise	Housing prices rise in popular urban areas.
35	conflict occurs	Conflict occurs when interests differ.
36	evidence suggests	Evidence suggests that exercise improves memory.
37	trend continues	This upward trend continues into the next decade.
38	technology evolves	Technology evolves at an unprecedented pace.
39	attention shifts	Public attention shifts to new issues over time.
40	memory fades	Childhood memory fades as years pass.

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📌 Part 3: Adjective + Noun (30 examples)

#	Collocation	Example Sentence
41	significant impact	Climate change has a significant impact on agriculture.
42	key factor	Education is a key factor in economic growth.
43	major challenge	Poverty remains a major challenge for developing nations.
44	strong evidence	There is strong evidence linking smoking to cancer.
45	potential risk	Investors must assess potential risks before committing.
46	common practice	It is common practice to arrive early for interviews.
47	direct consequence	Lack of sleep is a direct consequence of stress.
48	rapid growth	The tech sector experienced rapid growth last decade.
49	critical issue	Water scarcity is a critical issue in arid regions.
50	positive outcome	Mediation often leads to a positive outcome.
51	negative effect	Pollution has a negative effect on air quality.
52	primary reason	The primary reason for failure was poor planning.
53	essential element	Trust is an essential element of any relationship.
54	economic development	Foreign investment drives economic development.
55	environmental damage	Oil spills cause severe environmental damage.
56	social behavior	Culture influences social behavior in profound ways.
57	academic performance	Sleep affects academic performance in students.
58	mental health	Exercise improves mental health and well-being.
59	physical activity	Regular physical activity reduces disease risk.
60	financial stability	Saving money provides financial stability.
61	political pressure	The government faced political pressure to reform.
62	cultural identity	Language preserves cultural identity for immigrants.
63	technological advancement	Technological advancement drives productivity gains.
64	medical treatment	Access to medical treatment is a basic right.
65	historical context	Understanding historical context aids interpretation.
66	natural habitat	Deforestation destroys animals' natural habitat.
67	renewable energy	Solar and wind are forms of renewable energy.
68	consumer behavior	Advertising influences consumer behavior strongly.
69	competitive advantage	Innovation provides a competitive advantage.
70	professional development	Workshops aid professional development for teachers.

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📌 Part 4: Adverb + Adjective (15 examples)

#	Collocation	Example Sentence
71	highly effective	This method is highly effective for language learning.
72	strongly correlated	Income is strongly correlated with education level.
73	widely accepted	Evolution is widely accepted by scientists.
74	closely related	These two species are closely related genetically.
75	deeply concerned	Researchers are deeply concerned about biodiversity loss.
76	increasingly important	Data privacy is becoming increasingly important.
77	severely limited	Resources were severely limited during the war.
78	readily available	Information is readily available online.
79	highly unlikely	It is highly unlikely that dinosaurs will return.
80	strongly opposed	Local residents were strongly opposed to the project.
81	completely different	The results were completely different from expectations.
82	relatively simple	The solution is relatively simple to implement.
83	extremely difficult	Space travel remains extremely difficult.
84	perfectly normal	Feeling nervous before a test is perfectly normal.
85	absolutely necessary	Safety equipment is absolutely necessary for this job.

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📌 Part 5: Noun + Preposition (10 examples)

#	Collocation	Example Sentence
86	impact on	Social media has a huge impact on teenagers.
87	connection between	There is a clear connection between diet and health.
88	reason for	The main reason for the delay was weather.
89	solution to	We need a solution to the traffic problem.
90	cause of	Smoking is a leading cause of lung cancer.
91	effect on	Caffeine has a stimulating effect on the nervous system.
92	interest in	She has always had an interest in ancient history.
93	demand for	There is high demand for skilled engineers.
94	access to	All citizens deserve access to clean water.
95	awareness of	Public awareness of climate change is growing.

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📌 Part 6: Verb + Preposition (5 examples)

#	Collocation	Example Sentence
96	depend on	Success depends on hard work and persistence.
97	consist of	The committee consists of ten members.
98	lead to	Poor diet can lead to serious health problems.
99	result in	The crash resulted in multiple injuries.
100	account for	Women account for nearly half of the workforce.

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🧠 Quick Study Tips for These Collocations

Tip	How to Apply
Learn in pairs, not alone	Don't memorize "decision" alone. Memorize "make a decision."
Create your own sentences	Write 5 original sentences daily using these collocations.
Test yourself	Cover the right column and recall the missing word.
Group by verb	Study all collocations with "make" together (decision, progress, effort).
Spot them in reading	Underline collocations while reading news articles.

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✅ Exam Day Reminder

• Dropdown blanks: Grammar + collocation = answer
• Drag-drop blanks: Scan word bank → match common pairs
• If two options fit grammatically, the correct one is almost always a fixed collocation from this list