Adjective-Noun and Adverb-Adjective Collocations Practice Exercise

1. I was exhausted, so I drank a double espresso. Now I’m _____ awake.

2. I wasn’t expecting much of a raise, so I was ______ surprised when I got a sizeable raise.

3. We should hold ourselves to _____ standards. We shouldn’t be satisfied with these mediocre results.

4. Our CEO and company president got into a(n) _____ debate yesterday. They were at each other’s throats.

5. Bill’s doctor told him that he needs to start getting ______ exercise. He’s overweight and has high blood pressure.

6. We can’t afford to hire someone we need to train. We need someone who can step in and have a(n) _____ impact.

7. I didn’t want to bother Carl. He was in his office and it looked like he was lost in ______ thought.

8. I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You’re making a _____ mistake.

9. I have _____ admiration for the senator. She’s been a respected member of Congress for over thirty years.

10. Some people will undoubtedly be a few minutes late. There is really ______ traffic today.

11. Last year we had several blizzards and it was bitterly cold almost every day. Fortunately, this year we’re having a _____ winter.

12. There is a _____ chance that I’ll have to travel to one of our subsidiaries in April.

13. Can we meet at 6:30 instead of 7:30 for dinner? I had a _____ lunch, and I’m starting to get hungry.

14. Do we have any idea what the _____ cause is of this issue?

15. Honestly, I have no idea which candidate I’m voting for. I just don’t have very _____ political beliefs.

16. I was expecting a brief overview, so I was surprised when they went into everything in _____ detail.

17. The news was a shock for Miguel. He stared at his friends in _____ disbelief.

18. Big Data is a _____ topic right now in the IT field.

19. This research is too general. What we need is more _____ information.

20. I didn’t like the house I looked at today. It was rather cramped and there was a _____ smell in the basement.

21. I had no idea that Dave left the company. This comes as a _____ shock to me.

22. This isn’t something to be taken lightly. It’s a _____ decision. Why don’t you sleep on it and tell me your answer in the morning?

23. The weather report is calling for _____ rain this afternoon. There’s a flood watch in effect for several counties.

24. You can’t eat a bag of Doritos and a diet Coke for lunch every day. You need to eat ______ meals.

25. We arrived in London very quickly. I had no idea the train traveled at such a _____ speed.

26. It’s hard to take _____ criticism, especially if it’s true.

27. The database has an incredibly ______ amount of information.

28. I was nervous about skydiving at first, but now I’m happy I did it. What a(n) _____ experience!

29. The _____ majority of Americans have never been to Europe.

30. To work in customer service, you need to be able to keep a _____ head. You can’t get upset every time someone yells at you.