Common English Collocation Mistakes — Depend On, Consist Of, Insist On and 7 More Explained Naturally
Welcome to Episode 13 of No Pressure English — a podcast for intermediate and advanced English learners. In this episode, we focus on one of the most effective ways to instantly improve your fluency — fixing common collocation mistakes.
Collocations are natural combinations of words like “make a mistake” or “depend on” that native speakers use automatically.
In this episode, we look at 10 collocations that learners often get wrong and show you exactly how to use them correctly through clear, real-life examples.
What we’ll focus on:
- Depend on — not depend of or depend from
- Consist of — describing what something is made up of
- Complain about — expressing dissatisfaction naturally
- Insist on — making a strong demand or request
- Married to — not married with
- Interested in and keen on — showing enthusiasm
- Good at and bad at — describing ability naturally
- Listen to — not listen at or listen about
- How collocations appear in work, relationships and daily life
- Why fixing collocation mistakes instantly improves fluency
Here is this episode’s free transcript:
Episode 13: Common Collocation Mistakes
Hello, hello and welcome to No Pressure English with Kevin. Alright, guys, you’re very, very welcome today. This is episode 13 of the podcast.
Today we’re going to focus on common collocations. As always, a quick reminder: this podcast is for intermediate and advanced-level English language learners. There’s a transcript available in the description. I highly recommend checking it out. It has a comprehensive glossary of all the difficult words that might be used. Alright, guys, I hope you enjoy it.
So I’ve chosen ten of these collocations that I hear frequently, and I hear mistakes made all the time. Also, to make a mistake is another collocation—a verb and a noun that I should highlight here. To make a mistake. And we don’t use another verb. It’s to make a mistake. So, we’re going to correct these mistakes today and give some examples of correct use.
1. To Depend On
We’re going to start with the first one, which is to depend on. So, we can depend on someone in general if we need someone’s help.
“I depend on my wife to organise my weekend because I’m usually quite tired by the time Friday arrives, and I just want to relax because I’m a little bit lazy. I need inspiration, and sometimes she’s the one who gives me the inspiration to do things.” So, it’s important.
“And what am I going to do this weekend? Well, it depends on the weather.” And it’s often very rainy in Ireland. And at the moment, it’s quite cold. So it depends on the weather.
“If it’s raining tomorrow, I think I might do some work around the house and maybe watch a movie in the evening. But if it’s not raining, we might go to the playground with the kids and do some family stuff, hang out, meet some family and friends, have a cup of coffee, the usual.” But it depends on the weather.
Guys, I’m going to shoot through these collocations pretty quickly. But we’re going to stay on that first one again. Depend on.
ChatGPT is a great example. Some people depend on ChatGPT for their work. I use it sometimes as well. It’s great for reviewing documentation or class notes. I use it to create stories in other languages when I’m studying. So, I depend on it to create stories in other languages because I can’t do that myself, to create stories at my level in a target language, for example. And it’s very cool for that, guys. I recommend it. But I don’t think you should depend on it. I think it’s a great tool and we should make use of it rather than depending on it.
2. To Consist Of
The next one we have, number two on the list, is consist of. To consist of.
So for example, “My university course consisted of nine modules.” So there were nine modules in my university course in the first year, I think. I can’t remember. It was a long time ago.
Another example: “The climate change team who are meeting at the summit consists of experts from all over the world.” So, it consists of experts from all over the world. It is composed of experts from all over the world.
3. To Complain About
Moving along, we have our next one, number three: to complain about. So guys, look, in Ireland, we complain about everything, more or less. I think everybody complains about everything in most countries. Maybe we are more prone to complaining. I don’t know, but we complain about the weather, politics, sometimes sports, religion, you name it.
All right, we complain about the cost of living. Yeah, that’s a big one, actually: the cost of living crisis. I think the normal things that everyone complains about, we also complain about.
And at the moment, maybe rightfully so, people are complaining about the housing crisis. Just the fact that we don’t have enough houses, which is a huge concern, not only in this country, I’m sure, but in many countries. Everyone should be able to have a roof over their heads.
4. To Insist On
The next one we have is – insist on. So some nice examples.
“My old boss always insisted on paying for our lunch when we went out together to have lunch.” That was a pretty sweet job. Good times.
“Some people, when they stay in hotels, always insist on having a view of either the ocean or the mountains.” I don’t really insist on anything. I’m pretty happy just to be out of the house. Pretty happy just to be out of the house, guys.
5. Married To
The next one is married to. To be married to someone.
So you could say, “Well, my brother is married to my sister-in-law.”
You could also go with, like, famous people. “Brad Pitt was married to Jennifer Aniston, and then I think they got separated or divorced. And then, at some point, I think he got married to Angelina Jolie, too, and then they separated.” Anyway, look, life is complicated. So that’s another example. To get married to someone.
6. Interested In / 7. Keen On
We’re going to get two for the price of one here, guys, which is – interested in and keen on.
For example, at the moment, or last week anyway, everybody was really interested in the Australian Open. Or everyone was keen on watching the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, and the finals. So same thing, really.
In general, we can say, “I’m keen on sports,” or “I’m keen on watching sports. I’m keen on playing sports. I’m interested in playing sports.”
Or “This evening, I would be pretty keen on going to the pub and having a pint, if it were possible, but unfortunately, I don’t think it’s going to happen, guys. I’d be keen on it, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
8. Good At / 9. Bad At
The next one we have is to be good at something or bad at something.
So, from personal experience, I’m really bad at tennis. I’m terrible at tennis. I’m struggling to think of something I’m good at. I’m okay at playing the guitar. I’m relatively good at playing the guitar, but I’m not great.
Yeah, I’m quite good at creating a routine and doing the things that I’ve set for myself, or I’ve set as goals for myself.
In general, I think people in Ireland are really good at taking care of each other. Yeah, usually, I think Irish people are really good at taking care of each other when they see somebody who’s in difficulty.
A lot of the time, I saw it happen a lot in Galway, and I always recommend Galway in general as the best city in Ireland. But the people in Galway are really good at taking care of foreigners, people from abroad as well, because it’s a very multicultural city.
10. To Listen To
Number eight, we are going to look at the verb listen. And the preposition that follows listen is to—listen to. And a really common mistake with this verb is just dropping the preposition, not using it at all. But the preposition is fundamental. We need it.
So, “I listen to podcasts during the day. Usually, I listen to an Irish podcast in the morning and then an Italian podcast at different intervals throughout the day.”
And I try to listen to people who talk sense or who make sense. And I try not to listen to people who don’t make sense or who talk nonsense.
Final Thoughts
All right, guys, I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode and that there was something new in here for you, maybe something to remove from the language you’re using or just modify, remedy, or fix. It’s all good. But look, as I said, it’s not the end of the world if we make small mistakes. It takes time as well.
We might keep making them even when we’re aware of them, but then we might start to notice more when we do make them and then try to remedy them. It’s a process. It’s a process, and it’s a beautiful process. So, let’s keep repeating and let’s keep improving.
Have a great week, guys. Ciao, ciao.
Comprehensive Glossary
to make a mistake (collocation) – to do something incorrectly or wrong
Example: “Everyone makes mistakes when learning a new language.”
to depend on (collocation) – to rely on someone or something; to need someone/something for support or help
Example: “I depend on my alarm clock to wake me up every morning.”
to consist of (collocation) – to be made up of; to be composed of particular parts or elements
Example: “The committee consists of five members from different departments.”
to complain about (collocation) – to express dissatisfaction or annoyance about something
Example: “Customers often complain about the slow delivery times.”
to insist on (collocation) – to demand something firmly; to say that something must happen
Example: “My mother always insists on cooking dinner when I visit.”
married to (collocation) – in a marriage relationship with someone
Example: “She’s been married to her husband for fifteen years.”
interested in (collocation) – wanting to know more about something; showing curiosity about
Example: “I’m really interested in learning about ancient history.”
keen on (collocation) – enthusiastic about; very interested in (British/Irish usage)
Example: “He’s not very keen on spicy food.”
good at (collocation) – skilled or talented in a particular activity
Example: “She’s really good at mathematics and solving problems.”
bad at (collocation) – not skilled in; poor at doing something
Example: “I’m terrible at remembering people’s names—I’m really bad at it.”
to listen to (collocation) – to pay attention to sounds or what someone is saying
Example: “I like to listen to classical music while I work.”
collocations (noun) – words that are commonly used together in a language
Example: “Strong coffee and heavy rain are examples of common collocations in English.”
hang out (phrasal verb) – to spend time relaxing with friends; to socialise casually
Example: “We’re just going to hang out at the park this afternoon.”
shoot through (phrasal verb) – to go through something quickly
Example: “I’ll shoot through these emails, and then we can meet.”
make use of (phrase) – to use something; to take advantage of
Example: “You should make use of all the resources available to you.”
prone to (phrase) – having a tendency or inclination to do something; likely to suffer from
Example: “He’s prone to making careless mistakes when he’s tired.”
the cost of living crisis (noun phrase) – a situation where the cost of everyday necessities increases faster than income
Example: “Many families are struggling because of the cost of living crisis.”
a roof over their heads (idiom) – a place to live; shelter
Example: “Everyone deserves to have a roof over their heads.”
talk sense (phrase) – to say things that are reasonable and logical
Example: “Finally, someone is talking sense about this issue!”
make sense (phrase) – to be logical or understandable
Example: “Your explanation doesn’t make sense—can you clarify?”
talk nonsense (phrase) – to say things that are foolish or meaningless
Example: “Don’t listen to him—he’s just talking nonsense.”
not the end of the world (idiom) – not a disaster; not as serious as it seems
Example: “You failed the test, but it’s not the end of the world—you can retake it.”
remedy (verb) – to fix or correct something; to put right
Example: “We need to remedy this situation before it gets worse.”
intervals (noun) – spaces of time between events; periods between
Example: “Take a break at regular intervals when studying.”
fundamental (adjective) – forming a necessary base or core; of central importance
Example: “Grammar is fundamental to learning any language.”
composed of (phrase) – made up of; consisting of
Example: “Water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen.”
**Alternatively, you can watch the video below and turn on the subtitles by clicking the CC button in the top right corner:
If you liked this episode, you may enjoy the following:
https://nopressureenglish.com/podcast/episode-8-the-beatles-and-language-learning-part-1/
https://nopressureenglish.com/podcast/episode-10-new-years-resolutions-and-smart-goals/
Here are some great collocation exercises:
https://test-english.com/grammar-points/b1/adjective-preposition/
