Speak better English with Harry - Episode 349
List of collocations
Harry
English Collocations With Challenge
Hi there, this is Harry and welcome back to another podcast where I try to help you to get a better understanding of the English language so that you will be able to communicate in a much better way. Improve your grammar, your phrasal verbs, your use of expressions.
So what are we talking about today? In this particular podcast episode, we’re going to take a look at some collocations. And in particular English collocations with challenge. Collocations with the word ‘challenge.’
You may remember that some time ago, I had an episode about words that meant the same as difficulty or problem. So challenge was one of those particular words. So here we’re just going to look specifically at challenge and collocations with challenge.
So as always, I’m going to give them to you one by one. And then I’ll go through and give you some examples.
Intermediate to Advanced English Marathon
INSANITY: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
to face a challenge
Meaning: when we face a challenge, to look at it and deal with it
So anytime we have problems, the best way to deal with the problem is to face that challenge, whatever the challenge happens to be.
To face the challenge of getting fit.
To face the challenge of doing the exam.
Parents always tell their children not to run away from a challenge but to face the challenge or face up to the challenge. And when you face the challenge, it doesn’t look as difficult as it as it was at the very beginning.
Next,
to take on a challenge
Meaning: if you accepted the challenge you’re willing to attempt completing a difficult task
Having faced the challenge, the next thing you should do is take on the challenge. So some people are asked,
Would you like to take on this challenge?
It could be anything running the marathon where you have to train in advance for several months and build up your fitness and the strength in your legs and the endurance so that you can get through that very, very difficult challenge of finishing their 40 kilometres. So if you’re up for it, you can take on the challenge.
Many people take on a challenge for charitable purposes.
What challenges will we take on this year? Will we climb this mountain? Will run this race?
How many sausage rolls can you eat in an hour? Let’s take on the challenge.
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to present/pose a challenge
So it could be anything.
Building a house, when you don’t have a lot of money will present you with a challenge.
Building an extension on the house when you’re trying to get the money from the bank will pose a challenge until such time you actually get it.
Finding a job that suits your strengths and your particular skills might present a challenge in economic times when jobs are not so easy to find.
So something will present the challenge or pose the challenge and you have to try and deal with that.
Dealing with lots of problems with immigrants coming into Europe, as they have been doing for many years now presents all of the European countries with a particular challenge.
How to deal with the immigrants to make sure that they’re looked after fairly and that they are treated well? This poses not only a financial challenge but also a challenge of integration.
So dealing with these millions of immigrants presents and poses a significant challenge for the European Union.
to rise to a challenge
to rise to a challenge = to take on a challenge
We need somebody to volunteer to tidy up the schoolyard. Who will rise to the challenge?
So she’s asking for volunteers, and says,
Who will rise to the challenge?
And one or two people put up their hands immediately and volunteer. So they’re presented with a brush, and a bag, and a shovel and a spade and they are told that they will get some little reward at the end. So they will they have risen to the challenge.
English Collocations With Challenge
Share and help other students to improve English language skills.
to provide a challenge
We always look for work that will provide us with a challenge because in many cases, we don’t just want to sit there and draw a salary month after month without something challenging.
When the boss comes to us and says,
We’ve got a new customer. It might provide you with the challenge that you need to show me what you are capable of doing.
So here’s an opportunity, this will provide you with a suitable challenge to impress the management.
We hope that moving to another country or learning a foreign language (like you’re trying to do with English) will provide you with a challenge.
Hopefully, a challenge that you can overcome. A challenge that is certainly achievable.
to enjoy or relish a challenge
Some people like challenges, I love them. But some of them can be a little bit difficult. But if you succeed, then you’ll certainly relish the challenge because you can sit back with that satisfaction that is a job well done. To enjoy a challenge means the cut and thrust the activity, the stress.
Perhaps the sweat if it’s something physical, and you can enjoy it.
I enjoy the challenge every day of doing a short workout.
I didn’t always do it. But with the onset of COVID, I thought it was about time I did something.
I relish the challenge of doing something interesting, I have to keep changing it so I don’t get bored with it.
So you can enjoy or relish the challenge of improving your English, tackling those conditional clauses, understanding the use of adverbs of frequency.
So whatever it might be, you enjoy and relish that particular challenge.
English Collocations With Challenge
And of course, we all want in our lives,
a real challenge
We don’t want something that looks difficult but really isn’t a real challenge.
We want something that will make sure that we think hard. Something that will test us. Something that will push us to our limits. And then we can sit back and say
Wow, that was a real challenge. That was not something I was expecting. But I really enjoyed it.
Doing a master’s degree could be a real challenge.
It could be going back to college every after many years.
It could be doing a new job, getting back into the workforce, all of these things can be a real challenge.
And then finally, challenges like everything can be difficult, some can be impossible.
a daunting/tough challenge
Meaning: very, very difficult, but not impossible
So you’re standing at the foot of the mountain, and your friends say,
Okay, we’re going to climb up there. That’s quite a daunting challenge, but we’re up for it.
It’s not impossible. It’s not Montblanc or it’s not the Himalayas.
Going for a 60 km cycle could be a very daunting challenge if you haven’t been on a bicycle for a while.
So collocations with challenge. Let’s go through them one more time:
- face a challenge
- take on a challenge
- present/pose a challenge
- rise to a challenge
- provide a challenge
- enjoy/relish a challenge
- a real challenge
- daunting/tough challenge
Excellent. So, hopefully, you enjoyed that challenge of getting through those particular collocations. And we’ll do some more at another stage in our podcasts.
And as always, if you’ve enjoyed that, please share it with a friend.
If you want to contact me, you can do so at www.englishlessonviaskype.com Always happy to hear from you.
If you want to take online English lessons, contact me. IELTS exam preparation. CAE preparation. Whatever your needs are.
Thanks for listening. Join me again soon.
More information
For more information on English grammar rules, English collocations and English idioms, check out the links below:
English collocations with TRAFFIC
English idioms about giving ADVICE
You can always study English advanced level at Learning English with the BBC.
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