Nouns and the words they combine with

Adjective + noun

noun

adjectives that often combine with it

example

contact

useful, valuable, personal, constant, close,
frequent, intermittent

1

I made some useful contacts at the
conference.

debate

considerable, heated

2

, intense, public,

animated

3

After the lecture there was a heated
debate.

element
[= factor]

crucial, decisive, fundamental

Timing is a crucial element of the
experiment.

elements
[= parts]

conflicting, contrasting, constituent

4

There are conflicting elements in the
artist's work.

energy

excess, sufficient, nuclear

Wind turbines create sufficient energy
for the town's needs.

phenomenon

common, isolated, natural, recent, universal

Such anti-social behaviour is a recent
phenomenon.

results

conflicting, (in)conclusive, unforeseen

5

,

preliminary

6

, encouraging, interim

7

O u r preliminary results were
encouraging.

role

decisive, challenging, conflicting, influential,
key, pivotal

8

Student activists played a pivotal role in
the riot.

sample

random, representative

A representative sample of the
population was surveyed.

i n ... te rm s

absolute, broad, relative, general, practical,
economic

People are better off in economic
term s.

way

alternative, efficient, fair, practical,
convenient, proper, acceptable

It is important to treat your research
subjects in a fair way.

1

from time to time

2

strong, often angry

3

lively

4

that combine to make something

5

not expected

6

first

7

temporary

8

important

Noun + verb

Most of the nouns in the table above are also strongly associated with specific verbs.

You can come into contact with someone or something or you can establish, maintain, break off or
lose contact.
Academics may engage in debate or contribute to a debate. You talk about the debate
surrounding an issue.
You can combine, differentiate or discern [recognise] the elements of a chemical compound. You
consume [use], conserve, generate [create], save or waste energy. Phenomena emerge or occur and
students will try to observe, investigate and then explain those phenomena.
Academics collect, collate [organise] and publish their results. Sometimes results are questioned
or invalidated [shown to be wrong]. Occasionally they are even falsified! Roles may be defined
or strengthened. People or factors can play a role or take on a role. You can take or provide or
analyse a sample.

You can discover, devise [think up], work out or develop a way to do something.