Bravehearts
Terrains and collocations
Learn the names of different terrains, and words that naturally go together.
The poem names three terrains: valleys, deserts and marshes. A terrain is a natural shape of the land. India has many more:
| Terrain | What it is |
|---|---|
| plateau | a raised, flat area of land |
| delta | fan-shaped land where a river splits up before meeting the sea |
| peninsula | land surrounded by water on three sides |
| ghats | mountain ranges along India's western and eastern edges |
| mountains | high, steep land |
Careful: a river is water, not land, and a bay is a curve of sea, so neither is a landform like the others.
Now something very useful. Look at these phrases from the poem: "treading the lonely expanses", "climbing the heights", "scorching sun".
Words that naturally go together in English are called collocations. Scorching goes with sun; torrential with rain; heavy with traffic. Nobody decided this; it's just how English settled. Say it differently and people understand you, but it sounds odd.
That's why a dictionary isn't enough. Burning sun and scorching sun mean nearly the same, but scorching sun is the usual pairing.
Choose the natural pair:
| Natural | Sounds odd |
|---|---|
| reach the summit of the mountain | reach the top-point of the mountain |
| the barren landscape of the desert | the empty landscape |
| the dense forest | the heavy forest |
| a very adventurous person | a very heroic person (heroic is for a deed) |
| make a promise | do a promise |
Practise this lesson
Questions that get harder as you improve, a Tutor that helps without giving the answer away, and progress you can see. Free for every learner.
No account, no email address. Opens the real product.