Collocations 25: Health and illness

Jul 31, 2016

Common verb collocations referring to illnesses and injuries
- . . .
  catch
  a cold, the flu, a chill, pneumonia — Example
  I got soaking wet and caught a cold.
- . . .
  contract
  [formal] a disease, malaria, typhoid — Example
  Uncle Jess contracted malaria while he was working in Africa.
- . . .
  develop
  (lung/breast) cancer, diabetes, AIDS, arthritis — Example
  My grandfather developed Alzheimer’s disease and could no longer remember things or recognize people.
- . . .
  suffer
  from asthma, hay fever, backache — Example
  She has suffered from asthma all her life.
- . . .
  have an attack
  of bronchitis, asthma, hay fever, diarrhea — Example
  She had an attack of hay fever and was sneezing non-stop.
- . . .
  be diagnosed
  with (lung/breast) cancer, AIDS, leukaemia, autism — Example
  He was diagnosed with lung cancer and died a year later.
- . . .
  suffer
  or . . .
  sustain
  [formal] (major/minor/serious/head) injuries — Example
  The driver sustained serious head injuries in the crash.
Fitness and good health
- 1.
  Do you take regular . . .
  vigorous exercise
  ?
- 2.
  Do you eat a . . .
  balanced diet
  ?
- 3.
  Do you care about . . .
  healthy eating
  ?
- 4.
  Do you follow a personal . . .
  fitness programme
  ?
- 5.
  Do you always . . .
  stick
  to your programme?
- 6.
  In general, have you . . .
  kept fit
  over the last two years?
Collocations about sickness and pain in context.
- My poor friend Gina is . . .
  terminally
  ill. [She will die soon.] She suffers . . .
  excruciating
  / . . .
  unbearable
  pain most of the time. Apparently it’s an . . .
  incurable
  illness that runs in her family.
  
  Paul annoys everyone at work. He takes days off even for the most trivial/minor . . .
  ailments
  . It’s a serious . . .
  illness
  , but probably not . . .
  life-threatening
  .
  
  For a few days it was . . .
  acutely
  / . . .
  intensely
  painful, but now it’s just a . . .
  dull
  ache. My doctor . . .
  prescribed
  me some tablets and they . . .
  relieved
  / . . .
  alleviated
  the pain.
  
  Lorna was . . .
  taken ill
  the other day. She’s in hospital. They’re not sure what it is yet.
  
  I had a heavy . . .
  cold
  and a . . .
  splitting
  headache, so I wasn’t in a good mood. [the opposite of a heavy cold is a . . .
  slight cold
  ]
Match the verbs and expressions with their collocations.
- sustain . . .
  minor injuries
  1. minor injuries
  2. diarrhoea
  3. typhoid
  4. autism
  5. breast cancer
  6. a cold
- contract . . .
  typhoid
  1. diarrhoea
  2. a cold
  3. minor injuries
  4. autism
  5. typhoid
  6. breast cancer
- have an attack of . . .
  diarrhoea
  1. autism
  2. minor injuries
  3. breast cancer
  4. typhoid
  5. diarrhoea
  6. a cold
- develop . . .
  breast cancer
  1. a cold
  2. diarrhoea
  3. breast cancer
  4. minor injuries
  5. typhoid
  6. autism
- be diagnosed with . . .
  breast cancer
  / . . .
  autism
  1. diarrhoea
  2. a cold
  3. typhoid
  4. autism
  5. minor injuries
  6. breast cancer
- catch . . .
  a cold
  1. typhoid
  2. a cold
  3. autism
  4. minor injuries
  5. diarrhoea
  6. breast cancer
Use the right collocation in these newspaper extracts.
- 1. Many musicians who . . .
  develop arthritis
  experience the tragedy of no longer being able to play their instrument.
  1. get arthritis
  2. develop arthritis
- 2. More than 50 passengers on the flight . . .
  had moderate or severe attack of diarrhoea
  . Medical officials suspect the in-flight catering was responsible.
  1. got moderate or severe diarrhoea
  2. had moderate or severe attack of diarrhea
- 3. To . . .
  be diagnosed with cancer
  is the most frightening experience, and people often need intense counselling to cope with it.
  1. be diagnosed with cancer
  2. get cancer
- 4. Millions of people . . .
  contract malaria
  each year in poorer countries, and drugs to treat it are in short supply.
  1. get malaria
  2. contract malaria
- 5. Mr Taylor escaped with bruises, but experts say he was lucky not to have . . .
  sustained serious injuries
  .
  1. have got serious injuries
  2. sustained serious injuries
- 6. Patients often . . .
  catch pneumonia
  while in hospital. In fact, experts now think hospitals may be the worst place to be if you are sick and weak.
  1. get pneumonia
  2. catch pneumonia
Complete the collocations.
- 1. Flu is not a illness for most people, but it can be - for elderly people who are weak and who haven’t been vaccinated.
- 2. Patients who are ill often prefer to die at home surrounded by their loved ones.
- 3. I’m not in pain, it’s just a ache in my back tooth. I hate going to the dentist’s.
- 4. The children have a diet, with lots of fruit and vegetables and only a few sweet things now and then.
- 5. Turn that music down! I’ve got a headache.
- 6. You shouldn’t waste the doctor’s time with ailments. Get something at the chemist’s instead.
- 7. I need to adopt a proper fitness programme and to to it to get into shape again. I was in good a year ago but then I became a bit lazy.
- 8. Diseases which are now will be beaten one day if scientists continue to make progress with drugs and genetic science.
- 9. My aunt was ill when she was on holiday. Apparently, she was in pain. Luckily she had travel insurance.
- 10. I believe in eating and I try to do exercise every other day.
- 11. My doctor me a new drug to my backache. It worked!
- 12. I took a day off work yesterday. It was nothing serious, just a cold.

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