37 Money

A Spending money
Here are some verbs which often collocate with money.

collocation meaning example

spend money (on) give money as payment for something Juan spends a lot of money on travelling.

save money keep money for use in the future We’re saving a little money each month
to buy a new car next year.

waste/squander spend money in a bad way; squander is Sara wasted/squandered all her money
money (on) stronger and is only used about large on clothes and fast cars.
sums of money

change money exchange one currency for another, You can change some money at the
e.g. dollars for euros airport.

throw money spend money in an obvious and If Jim keeps on throwing his money around
around careless way on unnecessary things like that, he soon won’t have any left.

throw money at spend a lot of money, possibly more than The government think they can solve the
necessary, trying to solve a problem problem by throwing money at it.

donate money (to) give money to help society in some way The business donates a lot of money
each year to charity.

B Prices
Many collocations including the word price are connected with height. Prices can be high or low.
If they are very low, they may be called (usually by advertisers) rock-bottom prices. Prices may
increase, prices go up and prices rise. If they go up very fast we say that prices soar. Occasionally
prices go down. If you say that something is reasonably priced, you think it is neither too cheap
nor too expensive. Calling something a ridiculous price may mean it is much too cheap or much
too expensive.

C Getting money
Henry and his brother grew up in a family where money was always tight1. Henry hoped that when
he was grown-up, money would be never be in short supply for him. Henry’s brother only wanted
a steady income but Henry wasn’t interested in just earning a good salary, he wanted to make big
money2, to be seriously rich3. He started making money at school when he sold the sandwiches his
mother had made him to other children. He also worked in his school holidays to earn money. He
put this money in a bank account and hardly ever made a withdrawal4 from it. When he left school,
he raised enough money through the bank to buy his first shop. He got a really good deal5 because
he found a shop that was going cheap6. By the time he was twenty he had already made a small
fortune7 though, of course, most of his money was tied up8 in his business.
1
there wasn’t much money
2
informal: a lot of money
3
informal: very rich
4
took money out of the bank
5
informal: got a bargain
6
informal: selling for a low price
7
made a large amount of money
8
not available for spending because
it was needed for his business

78 English Collocations in Use Intermediate

37.1 Read these remarks by different people, then answer the questions.
Lauren: I sent 100 euros to the Children’s Fund for the Developing World.
Anthony: I went into the bank with 1,000 euros and came out with the equivalent in
Australian dollars.
Patrick: I won 100,000 dollars on the lottery and bought stupid, useless things.
I have almost nothing left now.
Emilia: The garden was in a terrible mess after the storm. I paid a gardener a lot of
money to sort it out but he didn’t seem to make it any better.
Hannah: I put 5,000 euros in an account which gives 4% interest.

name
1 Who threw money at something?
2 Who saved money?
3 Who donated money?
4 Who squandered money?
5 Who changed money?

37.2 Complete these sentences using collocations from B opposite. Use each collocation once only.
1 In January, the price of gold was 35,000 dollars a kilo. In July it was 44,000 dollars. In just six
months the price had .............................................. .
2 An airline is offering a return flight from London to New York for just 50 dollars. At first sight this
seems like a ..............................................., as many people on the same flight will be paying 1,000 dollars
or more.
3 Given that most first-class hotels were charging 350 dollars a night because of the festival, at 275
dollars our four-star hotel seemed .............................................. .
4 Tablet computers are now selling at .............................................. prices because there’s so much competition.
One that cost 150 dollars a year ago now costs only 70.
5 Car prices .............................................. down last year, but they will probably .............................................. again before
the end of the year as steel becomes more expensive.
37.3 Choose the correct collocation.
1 Bank assistant: Can I help you?
Customer: Yes. I’d like to take / get / make a withdrawal from my account, please.
2 Bank Manager: Is your company getting / making / taking money?
Business customer: Yes. We are in profit. So I have a firm / steady / strong income.
3 Teenage son: Dad, will you lend me some money to buy a car?
Father: Well, money is rather slim / hard / tight at the moment. Ask your mother.
4 Jake: These cameras aren’t as expensive as I thought.
 Fran: They’re going / asking / giving cheap right now because a new model has just come out.
The new ones are ridiculously expensive because they are in such low / short / little supply.
5 George: We need to bring up / rise / raise money for the new gym. Any ideas?
Joe: Well, we could have a children’s sports day and get all the parents to contribute.
6 Mick: You must have made a slight / slim / small fortune when you sold your house.
Kathy: Yes, I did, but the money is all closed up / tied up / packed up in the new one.
7 Oscar: I guess Zara is making big / large / huge money with her Internet business.
Erica: Oh yes, she’s absolutely / utterly / seriously rich now.

English Collocations in Use Intermediate 79

Unit 37
37.1 1 Emilia 4 Patrick
2 Hannah 5 Anthony
3 Lauren
37.2 1 soared 4 rock-bottom/ridiculous
2 ridiculous price 5 went; go up / rise
3 reasonably priced
37.3 1 make 5 raise
2 making; steady 6 small; tied up
3 tight 7 big; seriously
4 going; short

Unit 38
38.1 1 go; avert 3 fight
2 raged; opened 4 join(ed); horrors
38.2 1 The war between the two countries broke out in 1983 after a dispute over territory in the northern
province. At first there were just minor incidents but it soon turned into all-out war. The war
ended after a decisive battle in 1987.
2 There was fierce fighting in the capital city yesterday. United Nations peacekeeping forces are
expected to enter the city as soon as a ceasefire is called.
3 Forces sent in to keep the peace in the troubled region of the island had to retreat after they came
within (firing) range of rebel artillery.
4 The military forces today declared war against the guerillas.
5 Armed troops were sent in to restore order after the riots and violence of last week.
6 Even though the two sides signed a peace treaty / peace agreement last July, fighting has
started again and hopes for a lasting peace are fading.
7 As more of our soldiers were killed or taken prisoner, peace activists organised demonstrations
against the unpopular war.
8 Representatives of the two sides are meeting in Zurich in an attempt to bring about peace in the
troubled region. It is hoped that they will negotiate a peace agreement which both governments
can accept.
38.3 1 … a running battle …
2 … losing the battle …
3 … put up a heroic fight …
4 … offered no resistance …
5 … fighting for (her) life …
38.4 Possible answers:
army – an army advances, marches, retreats; to mobilise an army; a victorious army
soldier – veteran soldier; rank-and-file soldier; a wounded soldier; to serve as a soldier
battle – a fierce battle; a battle of words; a battle of wits; to go into battle; to win/lose a battle
weapon – deadly weapon; chemical weapon; biological weapon; to carry a weapon
to fight – to fight bravely; to fight bitterly; to fight hard
peace – to make peace; the peace process; a peace conference; to take part in a peace demonstration

146 English Collocations in Use Intermediate