Speak Better English with Harry | Episode 545

Want to improve your English vocabulary and sound more fluent in conversations? In this episode, you’ll learn how to use advanced English collocations naturally and correctly. These combinations will help you speak more clearly and write more effectively in real-life situations.

Collocations are word combinations that native speakers use every day. Learning them is one of the simplest ways to boost your speaking and writing skills quickly. This lesson is perfect for intermediate and advanced learners preparing for English exams like CAE or looking to speak English more confidently at work, in meetings, or during everyday conversations.

Transcript

0:09

Hi there, this is Harry and welcome back to Advanced English Lessons with Harry where we try to help you to get a better understanding of the English language. And in the lesson this week, we're looking at co-locations with belief. So it's advanced English lessons, advanced English lessons using co-locations with the word belief. So I've got a list of 10 of them. Okay, I'm going to go through them one by one and then I go back and I'll give you some worked examples of those. Okay, so let's get back to the lesson. So here are the 10. Express belief. To express belief is to give your opinion that you believe in something. For example, if the prime minister of a country goes live on television to tell the country that he's going to do something and he's going to do something quickly about this inflation, well then other ministers will come out and express the belief that he is going to deliver. Yes, they express the belief and the support that it's going to work and whatever they do, they're going to take the measures that are needed to help the poorer people in our society. So they express belief, they express their belief in what the prime minister has said. Okay, number two, to have a belief. Well, as I said at the beginning, we all have a belief in something. He has a belief in his own value. He has a belief in what he can achieve. He has a really deeply held belief in his own ability. So we should all have belief in what we can do. If we've gone to school, if we've gone to university, if we've worked hard for what we've achieved, then we should have confidence in our own ability. So he has belief in what he can do and what he can achieve in the future to have a belief. We can also hold a belief or hold beliefs. He holds a religious belief. So he really believes in his own particular religion, whatever that is. He holds deep religious beliefs in the customs of his country. So he believes in it, so he respects it, and why not? This is what we should do. So he holds deep beliefs in lots of things, religion, whatever it might be. And for those of you and your friends or family who want one-to-one lessons, well, you know what to do. Just get in touch, www.englishlessonviaskype.com and you can apply for a free tri-lesson and we'll be very happy to hear from you and very happy to help you. A popular belief, well a popular belief is something that is held by lots and lots of people. There's a popular belief that the government is going to resign. They don't believe that they've got it right in terms of inflation, so they believe the government are going to step down and let another party take control. A popular belief is that it's going to be a very long, hard, cold winter. We've had quite a reasonable summer, but people think, well, I don't think it's going to last. I think we're going to have lots of cold days. Perhaps we'll have snow this year when we haven't had it before. Yeah, I suspect a long, hard, cold winter. So that could be a popular belief. Okay, so something that is held by lots and lots of people. It doesn't mean by everybody, of course, but just it's popular. A firm, strong belief. Well, a firm or a strong belief is something you believe in deeply. He has a firm, strong belief in his own importance. He has a firm, strong belief that if he continues to work the way he is doing, then he'll get that promotion. He'll get that rise in salary. He will achieve what he wants to achieve. So a firm, strong belief. And if you want something bad enough, then you do have to have a strong, firm belief in not other people, but in yourself. Okay? A mistaken or a false belief, well, this can be something that you believe is true, but really it isn't. He has a mistaken belief in this friend of his. He has a false belief that this friend is looking after his interests, but really the friend is looking after his own interests first. Okay, so it's a mistaken belief that being friendly with this guy will lead him to success. It's a false belief that if he leaves studying until the two weeks before the exams, that he will remember more. That's not going to happen. Okay, so a mistaken or false belief is something that is wrong. Somebody will tell you, somebody will advise you that that's a mistaken belief. It's just not going to happen. Or that's a false belief. It's just not going to happen. A passionate belief. Well, a passionate belief is something you really believe in deep down. He has a passionate belief in family values. So somebody who really respects the value of a family, that he puts his wife or partner or her partner and children before anything else, before job, before sport, whatever it takes. He has a deep, passionate belief in family values. And that's really, really important to lots of people. And it should be really, really important to lots of people. A widely held belief. Well, before we used a popular belief and something similar is a widely held belief. So if it's widely held, it means it's held by lots and lots of people in the community, in the country, or the cities, wherever it might be. Again, it might not be unanimous, but it could be the majority, a widely held belief. There's a widely held belief that the manager of the local football team is going to be sacked because the team has lost its first three or four games of the season and the board of directors will not be happy. Well, in fact, when the statement comes out by the board of directors, they're going to give the manager their full support. So perhaps the widely held belief is wrong or perhaps they are right and in a few days, if they lose the next match, the manager is going to get the sack. Okay, so a widely held belief, wide meaning in the community among lots and lots of people. Beyond belief. Well, if something is beyond belief, it's just unbelievable. Yeah, wow, it's beyond belief that they could actually land a rocket on the surface of Mars. It's beyond belief that somebody could travel in a rocket to go to Mars because it takes six months to get there. So it's not going to happen in my lifetime. So it's beyond belief, in my opinion, something that I just cannot fathom, something that I just can't get my head around. So it's beyond belief. And then finally, we've got contrary to popular belief or contrary to popular opinion. As I said, this is a specific phrase. So what could be contrary to popular belief? Well, contrary to popular belief is the fact that we are going to get out of this recession sooner than later. Popular belief might believe that the recession is going to go on a long, long time, that inflation is going to continue to rise and rise. So when something is contrary to popular belief, it goes against what the popular belief is. Popular belief might be that the government are not going to survive. But contrary to popular belief, the government have been there for over four years. So they've done really, really well. Okay, so popular belief and then contrary to popular belief is the opposite. Okay, so let's go through those particular co-locations again. And as I said, these are advanced co-locations connected with the word belief. So they're not so simple. So you've got to pick out one or two. You know the drill by now. So I've given them to you. You've got to practice. Pick out a couple that you think will work and then go back and look at a few more. So here we go. Express belief. To have a belief. To hold a belief. A popular belief is. A firm or strong belief in something. A mistaken or false belief. A passionate belief. A widely held belief. Beyond belief. And then finally, contrary to popular belief or contrary to popular opinion. Okay, so I really, really appreciate you joining in, listening and watching. As always, if you need me, you can contact me on www.englishlessenvicecoupe.com. Very happy to hear from you and always happy to help. Thanks for listening. This is Harry saying goodbye. Join me again soon.