Joy English · Level C1 · Academic Englishjoy-english.com
Academic verbs and collocations
Name:Date:
Learn precise verbs and fixed phrases such as underpin, corroborate, shed light on and give rise to for essays, reports and discussions.
Choose the best word or phrase
Choose the option that completes each sentence correctly.
- The researchers could not ___ their claim with any hard data.
- Her second study used a different sample and ___ the earlier findings, which strengthened confidence in them.
- The writer only ___ the scandal in a footnote, never naming it directly.
- The team found an unusual pattern in the results, and it was striking enough to ___ further investigation.
- What does the phrase cast doubt on mean?
- The new satellite data ___ light on why the glaciers retreated so quickly.
- Unplanned growth in the region has ___ rise to a host of transport problems.
- Labour costs ___ for roughly forty per cent of the company's expenses.
Type the missing word
Type the word that completes each sentence. Use each word once: account, allude, cast, corroborate, distinction, underpin, undermine, yield. Change the form of the verb if necessary.
- Three simple principles ___ the whole theory.
- Constant interruptions began to ___ her confidence in the project.
- Years of fieldwork finally ___ some remarkable results.
- The author draws a careful ___ between honesty and bluntness.
- Two independent witnesses were able to ___ her account of what happened.
- How do you ___ for the sudden fall in sales last spring?
- The poem ___ to ancient myths without ever naming them.
- Several critics have ___ doubt on the reliability of the survey.
Answer key
Choose the best word or phrase
- c) substantiateWe substantiate a claim by giving evidence for it. The other options do not fit with claim in this way.
- a) corroboratedCorroborated means confirmed with extra evidence, which fits strengthened confidence. Undermined would weaken confidence.
- b) alluded toAllude to means mention indirectly, which matches never naming it directly.
- d) warrantWarrant means justify. A striking pattern justifies further investigation.
- b) make people less sure that something is trueIf you cast doubt on a claim, you make others less certain that it is true.
- a) shedThe fixed phrase is shed light on, meaning help to explain.
- c) givenThe fixed phrase is give rise to, meaning cause. With has, we need the past participle given.
- b) accountHere account for means make up a proportion of. The other verbs do not describe a share.
Type the missing word
- underpin / underpinned / underlieUnderpin means form the basis of. The subject is plural, so we use the base form.
- undermine / erode / shake / sapUndermine means weaken gradually.
- yielded / produced / delivered / generatedYield means produce. The sentence is in the past, so we need yielded.
- distinctionWe draw a distinction between two things.
- corroborate / confirm / verify / supportCorroborate means confirm with additional evidence.
- accountAccount for means explain the reason for something.
- alludes / refers / alluded / referredAllude to means mention indirectly. The subject is singular, so we need alludes.
- cast / thrownThe fixed phrase is cast doubt on. Cast is also the past participle.