6. Collocation Blanks
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6.1 Why Collocations Cannot Be "Worked Out" — They Must Be Memorised
A collocation is a pairing of words that native and fluent English speakers use together as a matter of habit, not logic. There is no grammatical or semantic reason "make a decision" is standard while "do a decision" is not, or that "heavy rain" is standard while "strong rain" is not, even though "strong" is a perfectly good adjective describing intensity elsewhere. This is precisely why collocation blanks feel unfair to candidates who try to reason their way to an answer — reasoning does not help here. The only durable strategy is deliberate memorisation, ideally by encountering each collocation in a full sentence rather than as an isolated pair of words, since the sentence context is what actually gets recalled under exam pressure.
The catalogue below groups seventy-five high-frequency collocations that repeatedly appear in SSC and Bank cloze passages, each shown inside one original example sentence drawn from the exam-hall, coaching-institute, and government-notification world this guide uses throughout.
6.2 Catalogue of Seventy-Five High-Frequency Collocations
1. pay attention — Candidates rarely pay attention to the fine print at the bottom of the admit card.
2. take into account — The panel agreed to take into account the candidate's rural background while scoring the interview.
3. in accordance with — The revised seating plan was drawn up in accordance with the latest social-distancing guidelines.
4. make a decision — The board took nearly six weeks to make a decision on the disputed question.
5. reach a conclusion — After reviewing all the objections, the committee finally reached a conclusion on the correct answer key.
6. draw a conclusion — It would be premature to draw a conclusion from a single mock-test score.
7. come to terms with — Many aspirants struggle to come to terms with a low rank after months of preparation.
8. play a role — Time management plays as significant a role in the quantitative section as accuracy itself.
9. bear in mind — Candidates should bear in mind that negative marking applies to every objective section.
10. keep in mind — Keep in mind that the descriptive paper is evaluated separately from the objective test.
11. on the verge of — The recruitment drive was on the verge of cancellation before the court granted a stay.
12. in the wake of — In the wake of the leaked paper scandal, the board tightened its printing security.
13. give rise to — The confusing wording of the notice gave rise to widespread panic among first-time applicants.
14. lay emphasis on — The revised syllabus lays emphasis on application-based reasoning rather than rote formulae.
15. set a precedent — This year's leniency on the age limit may set a precedent for future recruitment cycles.
16. meet the requirements — Only candidates who meet the requirements on both height and chest measurement proceed to the medical round.
17. fulfil the criteria — She narrowly fulfilled the criteria for the reserved category cutoff.
18. under no circumstances — Under no circumstances will a candidate be permitted to leave the hall during the first hour.
19. in the event of — In the event of a power failure, the exam will be extended by an equivalent duration.
20. with reference to — With reference to your query dated 3rd March, the board confirms that the exam date remains unchanged.
21. subject to — Admission is subject to the verification of original documents at the time of counselling.
22. at the discretion of — Extra time for scribes is granted entirely at the discretion of the exam controller.
23. by virtue of — She qualified for the reserved seat by virtue of her domicile certificate.
24. in lieu of — Candidates unable to attend the walk-in interview may submit a written statement in lieu of a personal appearance.
25. on behalf of — The association's secretary spoke on behalf of over four hundred affected candidates.
26. in the light of — In the light of the technical glitch, the board agreed to conduct a re-examination for the affected shift.
27. bring to light — The RTI application brought to light several irregularities in the earlier selection list.
28. come into effect — The revised reservation policy will come into effect from the next recruitment cycle.
29. put into practice — The mock interview panel encouraged candidates to put into practice everything they had rehearsed.
30. take advantage of — Candidates should take advantage of the extended registration window rather than wait until the last day.
31. run the risk of — Submitting the form without proofreading, he ran the risk of a clerical rejection.
32. make an effort — She made every effort to attend both the written test and the physical efficiency test on consecutive days.
33. exercise caution — Candidates are advised to exercise caution while entering their category and sub-category codes.
34. strike a balance — A good study plan must strike a balance between speed and accuracy.
35. carry weight — A recommendation letter from a serving officer carries considerable weight during the interview stage.
36. hold good — The previous year's cutoff no longer holds good as a reliable benchmark, given the tougher paper this year.
37. break the news — The centre superintendent had the difficult task of breaking the news that the exam was cancelled midway.
38. raise an objection — Several candidates raised an objection to Question 42 of the reasoning section.
39. lodge a complaint — She decided to lodge a complaint with the grievance cell regarding the malfunctioning biometric scanner.
40. draw attention to — The invigilator's report drew attention to an unusual pattern of matching wrong answers in one row.
41. abide by — All candidates must abide by the code of conduct issued along with the admit card.
42. comply with — Institutes that fail to comply with the fire-safety norms will not be approved as examination centres.
43. account for — A ten-minute gap in the CCTV footage remained unable to account for by the centre's administration.
44. in the pipeline — A fully online application process is reportedly in the pipeline for the next recruitment cycle.
45. get to the bottom of — The vigilance officer was determined to get to the bottom of the leaked question paper before the next shift began.
46. leave much to be desired — The ventilation at several rural exam centres leaves much to be desired, especially during the summer sessions.
47. go a long way — A well-structured mock-test schedule can go a long way towards reducing exam-day anxiety.
48. in due course — Selected candidates will receive their formal appointment letters in due course, once all verification is complete.
49. at the earliest — Candidates facing a discrepancy in their roll number are urged to contact the helpdesk at the earliest.
50. on a par with — This year's cutoff for the general category is roughly on a par with last year's, despite a tougher paper.
51. in the interest of — In the interest of fairness, the board decided to re-conduct the shift affected by the server outage.
52. as a rule — As a rule, calculators and smartwatches are not permitted inside any examination hall.
53. by and large — By and large, this year's candidates found the reasoning section more manageable than the quantitative one.
54. in due time — The revised answer key will be published in due time, once every objection has been individually examined.
55. draw up — The recruitment cell was asked to draw up a fresh seating plan within forty-eight hours.
56. set out — The notification clearly sets out the eligibility criteria for each reserved category.
57. lay down — The commission has laid down strict guidelines on the use of scribes for differently-abled candidates.
58. call for — The scale of the malpractice calls for a far stricter biometric verification process going forward.
59. put forward — The candidates' association put forward a detailed proposal for extending the exam duration.
60. carry out — An independent agency was hired to carry out the entire verification process.
61. work out — It took the statistics cell nearly a week to work out the exact normalisation formula for this cycle.
62. rule out — The board has categorically ruled out any further extension to the application deadline.
63. single out — It would be unfair to single out one centre when the same lapse occurred at several others.
64. weigh in on — Several retired officials chose to weigh in on the debate over the revised age-relaxation policy.
65. fall short of — Her final score fell short of the cutoff by a narrow margin of two marks.
66. account for — The revised marking scheme fails to account for partially correct answers in the descriptive section.
67. in response to — The board issued a fresh clarification in response to the flood of objections received.
68. give way to — The initial optimism soon gave way to frustration once the delays became routine.
69. in tandem with — The verification drive is being conducted in tandem with the ongoing biometric upgrade.
70. at stake — With her final rank at stake, she chose to file a formal revaluation request rather than let the matter rest.
71. on the grounds of — His candidature was rejected on the grounds of an incomplete category certificate.
72. in the absence of — In the absence of a clear directive, most centres simply followed the previous year's protocol.
73. with a view to — The board revised its notification format with a view to reducing confusion among first-time applicants.
74. in short supply — Invigilators were in short supply at several rural centres during the peak examination season.
75. beyond doubt — The revaluation placed her actual score beyond doubt, settling the dispute once and for all.
6.4 A Supplementary Catalogue of Idiomatic and Phrasal Expressions
The idiomatic/phrasal category introduced in Section 2.5 overlaps with collocations but tends to be more figurative — the individual words, taken literally, would not predict the expression's actual meaning. The thirty expressions below are drawn specifically from the register this guide's passages use, and each is worth memorising as a whole unit, exactly as you would a collocation.
1. make sense of — meaning "to understand something confusing." It took her a while to make sense of the revised marking scheme.
2. come to terms with — meaning "to accept a difficult situation." He eventually came to terms with missing the cutoff by a single mark.
3. break the news — meaning "to tell someone unwelcome information." The centre superintendent had to break the news of the postponement calmly.
4. in the same boat — meaning "in the same difficult situation as others." Every candidate in the flood-affected district was in the same boat this year.
5. a far cry from — meaning "very different from." This year's paper was a far cry from the comparatively easy one set two years ago.
6. once in a blue moon — meaning "very rarely." A leak of this scale happens once in a blue moon, but its damage is severe.
7. against the clock — meaning "with very little time remaining." She finished the last section working entirely against the clock.
8. at the eleventh hour — meaning "at the very last possible moment." The board extended the deadline at the eleventh hour, just hours before it was due to close.
9. keep one's fingers crossed — meaning "to hope for a good outcome." All she could do after submitting the appeal was keep her fingers crossed.
10. read between the lines — meaning "to understand an implied meaning." Careful candidates learned to read between the lines of the vaguely worded circular.
11. call it a day — meaning "to stop an activity, usually work." After twelve hours of continuous invigilation duty, the staff finally called it a day.
12. a blessing in disguise — meaning "something that turns out to be good despite initially seeming bad." The postponement, though frustrating at first, proved a blessing in disguise for under-prepared candidates.
13. go back to the drawing board — meaning "to start planning again from scratch." When the first cutoff proved unrealistic, the board had to go back to the drawing board.
14. bite the bullet — meaning "to face a difficult situation with resolve." Rather than wait another year, she decided to bite the bullet and attempt the exam immediately.
15. under the weather — meaning "mildly unwell." He appeared visibly under the weather on the morning of the physical efficiency test.
16. a drop in the ocean — meaning "a very small amount compared to what is needed." The handful of extra seats announced was a drop in the ocean given the number of aspirants.
17. cut corners — meaning "to do something in a cheaper or easier way, often sacrificing quality." The institute was accused of cutting corners on its faculty screening process.
18. get the ball rolling — meaning "to start a process." The notification got the ball rolling on what would become a year-long recruitment cycle.
19. up in the air — meaning "undecided or uncertain." The exact interview schedule remains up in the air pending a court order.
20. iron out the details — meaning "to resolve minor remaining problems." The committee spent an extra week ironing out the details of the revised marking scheme.
21. par for the course — meaning "typical, to be expected." Long queues on the first day of counselling are par for the course at this centre.
22. take it in one's stride — meaning "to accept a difficulty calmly, without being upset." She took the last-minute venue change in her stride and reached in good time.
23. cast doubt on — meaning "to make something seem less certain or trustworthy." A handful of unusually similar wrong answers cast doubt on the integrity of that particular hall.
24. hit the ground running — meaning "to start something with immediate energy and effectiveness." The new batch of trainees hit the ground running from their very first week of induction.
25. a level playing field — meaning "a fair situation where nobody has an unfair advantage." Standardised biometric checks are meant to ensure a level playing field for every candidate.
26. keep something at bay — meaning "to prevent something undesirable from happening or advancing." Strict entry checks have so far kept impersonation attempts at bay in this recruitment cycle.
27. draw a blank — meaning "to fail to find or remember something." She drew a blank on the very question she had revised most recently.
28. against all odds — meaning "despite very unfavourable circumstances." He cleared the exam against all odds, having lost nearly two months of preparation to illness.
29. food for thought — meaning "something worth considering seriously." The auditor's report offered plenty of food for thought for the board's next policy review.
30. a ballpark figure — meaning "an approximate number or estimate." The official gave only a ballpark figure for this year's total applicants, pending final verification.
6.5 A Practical Way to Build Your Own Collocation Memory
The catalogue above is a starting point, not a ceiling. The most effective way to expand it further is to read one government notification, one newspaper editorial, or one formal circular each week and underline every fixed two-to-four-word partnership you notice, regardless of whether you already "know" it. Recording the collocation inside its original sentence — never as an isolated pair of words on a flashcard — trains the same recall pathway that a cloze passage actually tests, since you will always meet the collocation embedded in a sentence, never in isolation, on exam day.