5. Cụm từ cố định (Collocations)

classically beautiful: đẹp một cách cổ điển

incredibly beautiful: đẹp không thể tin được

highly intelligent: rất thông minh 

profound effect: ảnh hưởng sâu sắc

considerable change: sự thay đổi đáng kể

balanced diet: chế độ ăn uống cân bằng

a bar of soap: bánh xà phòng

brand name: tên thương hiệu

comfort zone: vùng an toàn

lions roar: sư tử gầm

the industry is expanding: ngành công nghiệp đang mở rộng

the temperature rises: nhiệt độ tăng

go on a date: hẹn hò

take a nap: ngủ một lát

leave a message: để lại lời nhắn

apologize for: xin lỗi vì

contribute to: đóng góp vào

participate in: tham gia vào

go upstairs: đi lên tầng

guess correctly: đoán đúng

support enthusiastically: hỗ trợ nhiệt tình

Collocations

Meaning

Examples

take a break

Nghỉ giải lao

Take a break now and let your stress melt away!

take a chance

Come on, take a chance. You may lose, but it's worth trying.

take a look

Hãy nhìn; xem xét

Take a look inside the world's largest cave: Son Doong Cave in Vietnam.

take a rest

Nghỉ ngơi; đi nằm nghỉ

Please go take a rest. Your body needs it.

take a seat

Tìm một chỗ ngồi

Can everyone go ahead and take a seat? And let's get started.

take a taxi

Đón một chiếc taxi

Never, ever take a taxi from the Sài Gòn Airport.

take an exam

Ngọc has to take an exam but she doesn't know any of the answers!

take notes

Ghi chú

Students use laptops or pen and paper to take notes.

take someone's place

Thế chỗ ai đó

Someday someone's going to take your place.

take someone's temperature

Đo nhiệt độ của ai đó

You can take someone's temperature quickly and easily by using a thermometer.

Collocations

Meaning 

Examples

make preparations

Chuẩn bị

Any intelligent person must make preparations for the future.

make a decision

Ra một quyết định

Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.

make a discovery

Khám phá ra

Scientists make a discovery to boost drug development.

make a call

Gọi điện thoại

You can make a call from your Gmail account.

make a noise

Lên tiếng hay làm ồn

Let's just make a noise before someone else gets hurt.

make a promise

Hứa một điều gì

It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it.

make a complaint

Phàn nàn, khiếu nại

You can make a complaint over the phone, by email or in writing.

make an effort

Nỗ lực, gắng hết sức

My advice is to stop worrying about it and make an effort.

make a comment

Cho một lời bình

I want to make a comment on her performance.

make a suggestion

Đưa ra một đề nghị

May I make a suggestion?

make a list

Làm một danh sách

First, I must make a list of all the things I need to do.

make a connection

Tạo kết nối

Let's make a connection and have a conversation!

make a difference

Tạo nên sự khác biệt

Together, we can make a difference.

make a mess

Give it a try, but don't make a mess of it.

make a mistake

When you make a mistake, your boss will be watching you closely.

make money

Kiếm tiền

It is possible to make money from home if you have the right set of skills.

make progress

Tiến bộ

Why do some people make progress and others don't?

make room for

Tạo ra một chỗ trống

Make room for Vinnie. He needs a place to sit.

make a trouble

Gây rắc rối

China makes trouble with Vietnam in South China Sea.

Collocations

Meaning

Examples 

do damage

Làm thiệt hại / hư hại

Unsupervised TV watching would do damage to the child.

do research

Nghiên cứu

He tried to do research on the language of bees.

do justice

She did justice to our side in the contract negotiations.

do harm

Làm tổn thương / tổn hại

Dogs are capable of doing harm to human beings.

do business

Làm ăn / kinh doanh

I found them very easy to do business with.

do nothing

Không làm gì cả

I can't just sit at home and do nothing.

do someone a favor

Giúp ai đó

Can you do me a favor?

do the cooking

Làm bếp

I always do the cooking around here.

do the housework

Làm việc nhà

I always help my mom to do the housework.

do the shopping

Mua sắm / đi chợ

I often do the shopping in the evenings.

do your best

Làm hết sức mình

You must do the best for your health.

do your hair

Làm tóc

You can do your hair after a shower.

do your homework

Làm bài tập ở nhà

You must do your homework every day.

Collocations

Meaning 

Examples

have a headache

Bị đau đầu

Some people never have a headache. 

have an operation

Phải phẫu thuật

I had an operation on my right foot four weeks ago.

have a baby

Có em bé

They decided to have a baby. 

have a party

Tổ chức một bữa tiệc

We're going to have a party. 

have breakfast

Ăn sáng; ăn điểm tâm

They are having breakfast now.

have fun

Vui vẻ; vui chơi

Let's have fun with English!

have a break

Nghỉ ngơi, thư giãn

My employer refused to let me have a break.

have a drink

Uống cái gì đó

Let's go out and have a drink.

have a good time

I hope you have a good time at the beach.

have a problem

Gặp một trở ngại, một rắc rối

I do have a problem with alcohol.

have a relationship

Có quan hệ tình cảm/yêu

It's wrong to have a relationship with a close relative.

have sympathy

Có sự thương cảm.

I have no sympathy for students who get caught cheating in exams.

Collocations

Meaning

Examples

break a habit

Phá vỡ một thói quen

Thumb sucking can be a difficult habit for a child to break.

break a promise 

Thất hứa, phá vỡ một lời hứa

I know it is a bad thing to break a promise.

break a record 

Vượt kỷ lục, phá vỡ một kỷ lục 

The league record was broken after thirty years.

break someone's heart 

Làm cho ai đó đau khổ

It breaks my heart to see him so unhappy.

break the ice 

Phá vỡ sự im lặng

He tried to break the ice, but she was a little cold.

break the law 

Phạm pháp hay phá vỡ luật pháp 

If you never break the law, you will never get arrested.

break the news 

Đưa tin tức khẩn, tin xấu

I hate to break the news, but you're fired.

break the rules 

Phá vỡ quy định, quy tắc

Some people break a few rules, others break all of them.

Collocations

Meaning

Examples

get a job

Xin một công việc làm

To get a job, write your story instead of a resume.

get angry

Nổi nóng, nổi giận

Winnie would never get angry at anything or anybody.

get divorced

Ly dị

The city is the place where couples are most likely to get divorced.

get frightened

Bị khiếp sợ, kinh sợ

She gets frightened when he shouts at her.

get home

Trở về nhà

Have a great time and get home safely without any problems.

get lost

Đi lạc

Follow the path, or you might get lost. 

get married

Kết hôn

Before you can get married in Florida, you need a Marriage License.

get permission

Xin phép

How do I get permission to use content on your website?

get pregnant

mang thai/có bầu

Once you stop using birth control, you can get pregnant at any time.

get ready

Chuẩn bị sẵn sàng

I got ready for bed.

get started

Bắt tay vào việc

It's almost ten o'clock. Let's get started.

get the impression

Có ấn tượng/có cảm giác như

I don't want you to get the wrong impression.

get the message

nhận được tin nhắn,

hiểu ý

Okay, I get the message - you want to be alone.

get upset

Khó chịu, thất vọng, hay lo lắng.

Please don't get upset over minor setbacks.

get wet

Bị ướt / ướt mèm

If you use a raincoat, you won't get wet.

get worried

Bị lo lắng

Try not to get worried. Don't let them upset you.

Collocations

Meaning

Examples 

keep a diary

Viết nhật ký

I have kept a diary since the age of 16.

keep a secret

Giữ một bí mật

keep a promise

Giữ một lời hứa

If you can't keep a promise, then don't make one.

keep an appointment

Giữ hẹn

If you are unable to keep an appointment, please notify us within 24 hours.

keep calm

Giữ bình tĩnh

Now keep calm everyone, the police are on their way.

keep control

Giữ kiểm soát

U.S. should keep control of Internet.

keep in touch

Giữ liên lạc

When friends move away, it's hard to keep in touch with them.

keep quiet

Giữ yên lặng

if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.

keep the change

Giữ tiền lẻ - tiền thối lại

Here's five dollars, and keep the change.

Collocations

Meaning

Examples 

pay a fine

Nộp tiền phạt

I'd rather pay a fine than apologize.

pay attention to

Chú ý

Vin, pay attention to what you're doing!

pay by credit card

Trả bằng thẻ tín dụng

You may choose to pay by credit card instead of cash or check.

pay cash

Trả bằng tiền mặt

Should I finance or pay cash for a vehicle?

pay interest

Trả tiền lãi

They must pay interest on the money that they borrowed.

pay a compliment

Cho một lời khen

I wanna pay a compliment to his performance.

pay a visit

Thăm viếng

Please pay a visit to our house whenever you are in town.

pay the bill

Thanh toán chi phí

You can pay the bill online.

pay the price

Trả một cái giá đắt

Oh, my head! I am paying the price for drinking too much last night.

pay your respects

Kính trọng; dự đám tang

Pay your respects for those who have fallen and fought for our country.