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PTE Reading 2026: 200 Must-Know Collocations (Free download) — Transcript

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0:00Pearson has an official academic
0:02collocation list.
0:03It has 2,469
0:07entries.
0:08If you're trying to memorize that list
0:10before test day, you're going to burn
0:12out, give up, or forget half of it by
0:15the time you sit down. But, here's the
0:18thing. You don't need all 2,469.
0:23The students scoring 79+ learn the right
0:26200.
0:28The ones that actually show up in PTE
0:30reading fill in the blanks, reorder
0:32paragraphs, and the writing tasks.
0:36Today, I'm giving you those 200,
0:38organized, and the journal method to
0:41lock them into your brain in 3 weeks.
0:48Hey, welcome back. This is video four,
0:51the final one in the 2026 PTE strategy
0:55series. If you missed videos one, two,
0:58or three on summarize written text,
1:01summarize spoken text, and the speaking
1:03tasks, they're all linked below. And
1:06honestly, watch them after this. If
1:09you're preparing for test day, they all
1:11work as a set. The 200 collocations I'm
1:14about to show you, plus a full practice
1:17workbook with fill in the blanks drills,
1:19are inside a free PDF I'm calling the
1:22200 must-know PTE collocations download.
1:26Organized by category with example
1:29sentences and the PTE section each
1:31collocation typically appears in.
1:34Email link is in the description, free.
1:37Get it before we go any further. You'll
1:39follow along better.
1:45Quick definition. A collocation is a
1:48pair or cluster of words that natively
1:51go together in English. Conduct
1:54research, not do research, not make
1:57research, just conduct research. It's
2:01the combination that sounds natural to a
2:04native speaker.
2:05And here is why PTE is obsessed with
2:08them.
2:09Almost every reading fill in the blank
2:11question, both the drag and drop version
2:13and the drop down version, uses
2:16collocations as the correct answer.
2:19Pearson specifically designs the wrong
2:22options to test whether you know the
2:24right word
2:26pair. So, if you know the collocation,
2:28the question becomes almost automatic.
2:32If you don't, it feels like a coin flip
2:34between the two words that kind of mean
2:36the same thing.
2:38Collocations also leak into other
2:40sections. Essay writing scores higher
2:42with natural word pairs. Describe image
2:45and retail lecture sound more fluent.
2:48Summarize spoken text reads more
2:50academic.
2:52This is one preparation activity that
2:54pays dividends across the entire test.
3:02Collocations come in seven patterns. You
3:05need to recognize all seven because PTE
3:07uses all seven.
3:09The first is adjective plus noun. This
3:12is the most common pattern in academic
3:15English and the most common pattern in
3:18PTE reading FIB.
3:20Two is verb plus noun.
3:23These are the ones where you'll see trap
3:25options. Do research instead of conduct
3:28research. These are designed to test
3:31whether you know the natural pair.
3:33Number three is noun plus noun. These
3:37are compound nouns that function as a
3:39single concept. Number four is adverb
3:43plus adjective.
3:45These amplify meaning precisely.
3:49Number five is adjective plus
3:51preposition.
3:53Often the blank in PTE is just the
3:56preposition
3:58and only one choice is correct. Number
4:01six is verb plus preposition. Again,
4:04these are often tested at the
4:06preposition level.
4:08Number seven is noun plus preposition.
4:11These are hugely common in data-related
4:14passages. If you walk into the test room
4:17knowing 30 high-frequency collocations
4:20in each of these seven types, you're
4:22going to recognize the right answer
4:24instantly on most reading
4:26fill-in-the-blanks questions, which is
4:28why the free PDF organizes the 200
4:31collocations by these exact seven
4:34categories.
4:39I'm going to show you 30 collocations
4:42right now that appear repeatedly in PTE.
4:45Say each one with me. Hearing yourself
4:48use the word pair helps it stick. Let's
4:51start with adjective plus noun.
4:54Significant increase. The study showed a
4:58significant increase in productivity.
5:02Widespread belief. There is a widespread
5:05belief that technology improves
5:07learning.
5:09Crucial role. Microorganisms play a
5:13crucial role in soil health.
5:16Growing concern. There is growing
5:19concern about data privacy.
5:22Key factor. Education is a key factor in
5:27economic mobility. Verb plus noun.
5:30Conduct research.
5:33The team conducted research on coral
5:36reefs.
5:37Raise awareness.
5:39The campaign aims to raise awareness of
5:42ocean plastic.
5:45Reach a conclusion.
5:47The researchers reached a conclusion
5:50after 3 years.
5:52Draw attention.
5:54The report draws attention to rising
5:57inequality.
5:59Provide evidence. The study provides
6:02evidence of climate impact.
6:05Noun plus noun.
6:07Climate change. Climate change threatens
6:10coastal ecosystems.
6:13Policy framework.
6:15A new policy framework was introduced in
6:182024.
6:20Population growth.
6:23Urban population growth places pressure
6:25on services.
6:27Market trends.
6:29Analysts tracked market trends through
6:312023.
6:33Research findings. The research findings
6:36were published last week.
6:38Adverb plus adjective. Highly effective.
6:42The intervention was highly effective in
6:44reducing risk.
6:47Widely recognized. Her work is widely
6:50recognized in the field.
6:53Deeply rooted.
6:54The custom is deeply rooted in
6:56tradition.
6:58Fundamentally different. The two
7:01approaches are fundamentally different.
7:04Closely linked. The two variables are
7:07closely linked.
7:10Adjective plus preposition.
7:13Consistent with.
7:14The results are consistent with earlier
7:16studies.
7:18Responsible for.
7:20The committee is responsible for
7:22oversight.
7:25Aware of.
7:26Investors must be aware of the risks.
7:30Subject to.
7:32All applications are subject to review.
7:35Dependent on. The outcome is dependent
7:39on cooperation.
7:42Verb plus preposition.
7:45Contribute to.
7:46Regular exercise contributes to mental
7:49health.
7:50Result in.
7:52Policy changes resulted in lower
7:54emissions.
7:57Rely on.
7:58Many communities rely on seasonal
8:01rainfall.
8:03Account for.
8:04This factor accounts for most of the
8:06variation.
8:09Focus on.
8:10The chapter focuses on industrial
8:12policy.
8:15That's 30. There are 170 more in the
8:18free PDF organized the same way.
8:21If you just learn the 30 you heard in
8:24the last 2 minutes, you'll start seeing
8:26them on every single PTE practice test
8:29you take. That's how frequent they are.
8:36Now, memorizing a list just doesn't
8:39work. You have to use the collocations.
8:42That's why I teach the journal method.
8:45Five new collocations a day over 21
8:47days.
8:48Every single one will lock into your
8:50long-term memory. Here's exactly how it
8:53works. For each of the five collocations
8:56you pick that day, write four things in
8:59your journal. Line one, the collocation.
9:02Significant impact.
9:04Line two, the collocation type.
9:06Adjective plus noun.
9:09Line three, a real sentence from an
9:11article.
9:13Open any quality article. It could be
9:15The Guardian, Scientific American, The
9:17Conversation, and find one that uses the
9:20collocation. Write it down.
9:23The new policy had a significant impact
9:26on university admissions.
9:28Line four should be your own sentence.
9:31Write one sentence using the
9:32collocation. It could be about your
9:34life, your studies, your job, anything
9:37that connects it to you personally. For
9:40example, my part-time job has had a
9:43significant impact on my time management
9:45skills.
9:47That personal sentence is the secret
9:49ingredient. When you connect a new
9:52phrase to something that matters to you,
9:54your brain tags it as important and
9:57stores it deeper.
9:59Students who just read a list will
10:01probably forget about 80% within a week.
10:04Students who use the journal method
10:06remember 80% permanently.
10:09Five a day, it takes 10 minutes. Do it
10:11with your morning coffee, do it on the
10:13train, do it for 3 weeks and you'll have
10:16105 new active collocations.
10:20Add the pre-learned high-frequency ones
10:23and you're sitting at 135 plus
10:25collocations in active use. That's a 79
10:29plus territory.
10:31The journal template is in the free PDF,
10:33by the way. Pre-formatted so you can
10:35just fill it in.
10:42Let me show you this in action. Here's a
10:44PT style reading and writing
10:46fill-in-the-blanks.
10:48Each blank has a drop-down with three or
10:50four options. I'll show you the options
10:53after you see the passage.
11:00Let's walk through this with collocation
11:02logic.
11:04Blank one, research blank evidence.
11:08What's the collocation? We just learned
11:10it.
11:11Provides evidence.
11:13Research provides evidence. Not shows
11:16evidence. That's passable but weaker.
11:20Not gives evidence. That implies a
11:23courtroom testimony. And not presents
11:26evidence. That's also weaker. The answer
11:29is provides.
11:32Blank two, a blank impact. This is a
11:35classic colocation check.
11:38Significant impact, not important
11:41impacts. Impacts aren't usually
11:43described as important. Not heavy
11:46impact, that's physical, not academic.
11:50And not great impact, that's too
11:52informal. The answer is significant.
11:57Blank three, inventions are blank to
12:00political and financial constraints.
12:04Adjective plus preposition check.
12:06Subject to, that's the colocation.
12:10Open to is possible, but usually means
12:13receptive, not constrained.
12:16Related to is meaning soft.
12:20Exposed to can work, but is usually for
12:24danger. The natural academic choice is
12:27subject.
12:29So, three correct in about 40 seconds of
12:32reading. That's the advantage colocation
12:35knowledge gives you.
12:37Students who don't know the colocation
12:39spend two minutes agonizing over each
12:41blank.
12:42Students who do know the colocation
12:44recognize the right pair instantly.
12:52A quick point on leverage. Colocations
12:54aren't just for reading. Here's how they
12:57boost your other sections.
12:59In writing, replace weak generic
13:02language with strong colocations.
13:05Instead of, this is a very big problem,
13:08write this poses a significant
13:11challenge.
13:13Instead of, the results show a clear
13:15difference, write the findings reveal a
13:19striking contrast. Your vocabulary score
13:23and your linguistic range score both go
13:25up.
13:27In describe image and retell lecture,
13:29plugging natural collocations into your
13:31response makes you sound fluid, not
13:34rehearsed. The chart shows a sharp
13:36increase in sounds much better than the
13:39chart shows a big rise in.
13:42The lecture drew attention to sounds
13:44better than the lecture talked about.
13:48In summarize spoken text, using
13:50collocations in your summary pushes up
13:53your vocabulary and grammar scores
13:55simultaneously.
13:57The speaker raised concerns about has a
14:00lasting impact on, plays a crucial role
14:03in. These patterns read academic to the
14:06AI.
14:07So, when you invest time in
14:09collocations, you're not working on one
14:11section, you're working on all four.
14:14That's why 79+ scores guard collocation
14:18studies so fiercely.
14:25Before we wrap, let's talk about three
14:27trap patterns PTE uses in reading fill
14:29in the blanks, so you can spot them and
14:32avoid them.
14:33Trap one is the near synonym that breaks
14:37the collocation.
14:39Make a conclusion versus draw a
14:42conclusion.
14:43Both words mean similar things in other
14:45contexts, but only draw pairs with
14:48conclusion.
14:50Always pick the collocation over the
14:52synonym.
14:54Trap two is the register mismatch.
14:58Heavy impact versus significant impact.
15:02Heavy is a physical register.
15:04Significant is an academic register.
15:08PTE passages are academic, so pick
15:11academic.
15:14Trap three is the preposition swap.
15:17Consistent to versus consistent with.
15:21You cannot reason this one out. You have
15:24to know it. That's why the PDF groups
15:26preposition collocations together so you
15:29can burn through them systematically.
15:32Three traps, three habits that beat
15:34them. You'll start spotting them in
15:36every practice test once you know they
15:38exist. All right, everything from this
15:41video, the 200 collocations organized by
15:44seven types, example sentences for every
15:47single one,
15:49a journal method template, and a
15:5130-question fill-in-the-blanks practice
15:53workbook to test yourself, it's all in
15:56the free 200 must-know PTE collocations
15:59PDF.
16:01Drop your email in, link's in the
16:02description, and it lands in your inbox
16:05within a minute. No payment, no upsell,
16:08just free.
16:09And that wraps up the 2026 PTE strategy
16:13series.
16:14Four videos: summarize written text,
16:17summarize spoken text, describe image,
16:21and retail lecture, and today's
16:23collocation and reading vocabulary
16:25episode. That combination of skills is
16:28what it takes to score a 79 plus on the
16:312026 test. If this series helps you, I'd
16:34really love a thumbs up, a comment
16:36telling me which video was most useful
16:38so I know what to build more of, and a
16:40subscribe if you want more PTE 2026
16:43content coming your way.
16:45Share this with anyone you know who's
16:47preparing. Save someone else a retake.
16:49Most importantly, do the work. Pick one
16:52technique from the series, practice it
16:54today, and build from there.
16:57You can do this.
16:58See you in the next video.

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