This exercise goes with this article. Read the article, and then try the practice exercise.
Instructions: Decide which word is missing from each collocation.
1. I’m teaching my son how to catch. I make him stick out his hands, and then I throw the ball ____ him.
2. Some of the neighbors’ kids threw eggs ____ our house on Mischief Night.
3. My cousin is a cardiologist. She’s performing surgery ____ the hospital right now.
4. How long were you ____ the hospital when you had your shoulder surgery?
5. Before I learned how to do my job, I felt like I was just getting ____ the way of my coworkers.
6. I’m so glad there’s a Starbucks ____ my way to work.
7. I don’t understand why the train isn’t here. It’s always ____ time.
8. What time is it? Are we going to get to the movie ____ time to see the previews?
9. I shouted ____ John, but he had his earbuds in and didn’t hear me.
10. Working in customer service takes a lot of self-control. Sometimes I want to shout ____ our customers for making such ridiculous requests, but I can’t.
11. You’ll lose weight if you substitute soda ____ water.
12. Can I substitute something else ____ the eggs in this recipe? I’m a vegan.
For more practice, see the Practice Exercise section of the site.