Collocations for IELTS Word Effort

It is essential for the candidates to learn Collocations while preparing for the IELTS examination. Collocations are part of IELTS since understanding collocations make one sound more like native speakers. They are useful in developing a better vocabulary which is essential for every student who aspires to score well and study abroad. Developing a better understanding of the Collocations will help the candidates in IELTS writing and earn better bands in the IELTS examination.

It is already explained that Collocation is a combination of two or more words that sound correct and meaningful together. Collocations are divided into groups and they can consist of combinations of adverb and adjective, of adjective and noun, of noun and noun, of noun and verb, and verb and noun. ‘Effort’ can be used in a variety of sentence structures since its meaning can be conveyed in different ways. We can understand the use of the word ‘Effort’ in a collocation by referring to the formations and examples given below. Effort can either be used as the ‘physical or mental energy to do something’ or an ‘attempt to do something’. All the sub-classifications of these two are summarized below.

Collocations for IELTS - ‘Effort’

‘Effort’ as a Physical/Mental Energy to do something

Effort can be combined with an adjective to create a collocation. The examples that follow demonstrate the use of effort along with an adjective as a physical or mental energy to do something in order to give proper meanings to sentences.

‘Effort’ as an Adjective

1. Meaning: Concentrated, Concerted, Great, Considerable, Massive, Strenuous, All-out, Big, Determined.

Sentence: A concerted effort has been made to keep the signs on display successfully.

2. Meaning: Brave, Sterling, Bold, Daring, Dauntless, Courageous, Valorous, Audacious, Doughty

Sentence: To get up and kill the poisonous snake was a valiant effort by the hiker which saved his own life.

3. Meaning: Tireless, Continuing, Sustained, Unstinting, Tiring, Determined, Zealous, Vigorous

Sentence: The organization would like to extend its gratitude to the management team for its tireless effort in keeping the meeting running.

4. Meaning: Sufficiency, Adequate, All reasonable, Abundant, Ample, Necessary, Every, Plenty of

Sentence: All reasonable efforts have been made earlier which resulted in the smooth running of the trains.

5. Meaning: Hard, Considerable, Mighty, Hefty, Tremendous, Sharp, Strong, Intense, Persistent

Sentence: It took the company a whole day of hard effort to knock down the entire building.

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‘Effort’ as a Verb

1. Meaning: Demand, Require, Need, Take

Sentence: It takes a lot of effort to become proficient in French.

2. Meaning: Devote, Assign, Allocate, Commit, Afford, Dedicate, Devote, Put in

Sentence: All the people in the National Championship basketball team have put in a great deal of effort.

3. Meaning: Spare+no

Sentence: No efforts have been spared to ensure that the rooms are well cleaned.

4. Meaning: Be (well) worth

Sentence: The journey was difficult but well worth the effort.

5. Meaning: Go into

Sentence: A lot of effort went into maintaining the safety protocols.

‘Effort’ as a Preposition

Effort can be used with ‘with’ and ‘without’ to create a successful collocation.

1. Meaning: With

Sentence: This particular task is easy, therefore it can be done with a very little effort.

2. Meaning: Without

Sentence: My Algebra homework is so easy it can be done without any effort.

‘Effort’ as a Phrase

Effort can be used as a collocation if paired with some words which turns the whole expression into a phrase. Some of them are noted below.

1. Meaning: A great deal of effort

Sentence: I have put in a great deal of effort to achieve perfect scores in my exam.

2. Meaning: Waste of effort

Sentence: Explaining the situation to him was only a waste of effort.

3. Meaning: Make an effort

Sentence: He at least made an effort to save his friend.

‘Effort’ as an ‘Attempt to Do Something’

The word ‘Effort’ can also mean ‘an attempt to do something’. It can be collocated with several words to mean an attempt which might or might not have been successful. Some sub-classifications and examples are noted below.

Effort as an Adjective

The word ‘Effort’ can be paired with adjectives. The examples are given below.

1. Meaning: Big, Brave, Enormous, Determined, Heroic, Herculean, Major, Remarkable, Strenuous, Tremendous, Special

Sentence: We can all see that you have made a big effort to get rid of the bushes in the garden.

2. Meaning: Desperate, Frantic, Wretched, Forlorn, Desolate, Anguished

Sentence: Everyone could witness their frantic efforts to put out the fire.

3. Meaning: Final, Last, last-ditch

Sentence: The government made a last-ditch effort to save the economy.

4. Meaning: Feeble, Weak, Frail, Wasted, Infirm, Delicate, Sickly, Ailing

Sentence: He made a feeble effort to keep walking, but fell down again.

5. Meaning: Sporadic, Infrequent, Periodical, Scattered, Isolated, Odd, Spasmodic, Scattered

Sentence: She made sporadic efforts to sort out the mess.

6. Meaning: Collaborative, Collective, Joint, Team, Concerted

Sentence: All the employees engaged in team effort to make the meeting a success.

7. Meaning: Conscious, deliberated, Calculated, Intended, Planned, Considered, Studied

Sentence: I need to make a conscious effort to be so polite to everyone.

8. Meaning: Voluntary, Discretionary, Non-compulsory

Sentence: The museum is reliant on the voluntary efforts of trustees.

Effort as a Verb

The word ‘Effort’ can also be paired up with verbs. The meanings and examples are given below.

1. Meaning: Increase, Intensify, Renew, Escalate, Enlarge, Expand

Sentence: The detectives have renewed their efforts to find the robbers.

2. Meaning: Channel, Concentrate, Focus, Direct, Centralize

Sentence: The cops channeled their efforts into searching around the lake.

3. Meaning: Resist, Combat, Counter, Weather, Endure, Outlast

Sentence: The scar resisted all my efforts to stop from bleeding more.

4. Meaning: Be rewarded for, reward

Sentence: His efforts were rewarded when he won a Pulitzer Prize.

5. Meaning: Applaud, Cheer

Sentence: The crowd applauded his efforts to keep on trying to win.

6. Meaning: Come to nothing, Fail, Stop, Stall, malfunction, Give out, Go wrong

Sentence: His efforts in handling the situation came to nothing at last.

Effort as a Preposition

1. Meaning: In an/your

Sentence: The club has changed its membership policies in an effort to be fairer.

2. Meaning: Through

Sentence: Through their efforts, enough money was raised to buy the supplies.

Effort as a Phrase

1. Meaning: Your best efforts

Sentence: Despite the team’s best efforts, India lost the match.

2. Meaning: A reward for your efforts

Sentence: The second prize was a fair reward for his efforts.

3. Meaning: Make every effort

Sentence: The organization is making every effort possible to release the hostages.