Collocations With "BALANCE" in English

BALANCE collocations

balance noun

¹ even combination/distribution

ADJ.

correct, equal, even, exact, ideal, necessary, optimum, perfect, proper, right

With children, it is important to achieve the right balance between love and discipline.

| comfortable, equitable, excellent, good, happy, harmonious, healthy

a healthy balance of foods

| acceptable, adequate, appropriate, fair, reasonable, sensible

How do you find an acceptable balance between closeness and distance in a relationship?

| careful, delicate, fine, subtle

Being a good boss requires a fine balance between kindness and authority.

| fragile, precarious, uneasy | overall

It is the overall balance of the diet that is important.

| ecological, natural

Pulling up all the plants will disturb the natural balance of the pond.

| hormonal, nutritional | ethnic, gender, social

There is an even gender balance amongst staff and students (= equal numbers of men and women).

VERB + BALANCE

require | seek | achieve, create, find, strike

We need to strike a balance between these conflicting interests.

| keep, maintain, sustain

You have to maintain a balance in your life or else you'll go crazy.

| disturb, upset

Tourists often disturb the delicate balance of nature on the island.

| redress, restore | affect | alter, change, shift

BALANCE + VERB

change, shift

PREP.

on ~

(= after considering all the information) On balance, the company has had a successful year.

| in ~

It is important to keep the different aspects of your life in balance.

| ~ between

the balance between academic and practical work

| ~ of

the balance of animals and plants in the environment

PHRASES

the balance of nature

² division of power/influence

ADJ.

changing, shifting | military, political

VERB + BALANCE

hold

to hold the balance of power (= to be in a position where your support would be just enough to give overall power to one group or another)

| affect | change, shift | swing, tilt, tip

(= to influence a result/decision) In an interview, smart presentation can tip the balance in your favour.

BALANCE + VERB

change, shift

PHRASES

the balance of advantage

The balance of advantage has shifted from the unions to employers.

| the balance of forces/power

the changing balance of power between the working and middle class

| checks and balances

Democracy depends on a system of checks and balances.

³ of the body

ADJ.

excellent, good | poor

VERB + BALANCE

have

Gymnasts have excellent balance.

| affect

Tightness in one set of muscles will affect your whole balance.

| keep

I struggled to keep my balance on my new skates.

| lose

She lost her balance and fell.

| recover, regain | knock sb off, throw sb off

The sudden movement threw him off balance.

PREP.

off ~

PHRASES

a sense of balance

Cats have a very good sense of balance.

⁴ money

ADJ.

account, bank | cash, money | credit, favourable, healthy, positive | debit, negative | cleared, net

Interest is calculated on the daily cleared balance and paid direct to your account.

| opening | final, outstanding | trade

VERB + BALANCE

have

Everyone likes to have a healthy bank balance.

| ask for, request

He asked the cashier for the balance of his current account.

| check

I'll need to check my bank balance before I spend so much money.

| show | achieve | be due

The final balance is due six weeks before departure.

| pay

I'll pay the balance later.

| use

The balance of the proceeds will be used for new equipment.

| bring forward, carry forward

the balance brought forward from the previous year

BALANCE + NOUN

sheet

the company's balance sheet

PHRASES

the balance of payments the balance of trade

(= the difference between the amount of money coming into and going out of a country), (= the difference in value between imports and exports)

balance verb

¹ keep steady

ADV.

carefully, precariously

PREP.

on

He balanced the glasses carefully on the tray.

² compare two things; give them equal value

VERB + BALANCE

have to, need to | seek to, try to

The plan seeks to balance two important objectives.

| manage to

PREP.

against

We have to balance the risks of the new strategy against the possible benefits.

| with

She tries to balance the needs of her children with those of her employer.

What is a collocation?

A collocation is two or more words that often go together. These combinations (for example collocations with “BALANCE”) just sound “right” to native English speakers, who use them all the time. On the other hand, other combinations of “BALANCE” may be unnatural and just sound “wrong”.

Using collocations list of “BALANCE” improves your English, especially your English speaking skills, and increases your vocabulary words in English.

Why learn collocations with “BALANCE”?

• When using collocations with “BALANCE”, Your language will be more natural and more easily understood.
• You will have alternative and richer ways of expressing yourself.
• It is easier for our brains to remember and use language in chunks or blocks such as Common Collocations with “BALANCE” rather than as single words ( BALANCE | Translation, Meaning in Persian (Farsi) )

How to learn collocations with “BALANCE”?

• Be aware of collocations with BALANCE , and try to recognize them when you see or hear them.
• Treat collocations as single blocks of language. Think of them as individual blocks or chunks, and learn strongly support, not strongly + support.
• When you learn a new word ( e.g. BALANCE | Translation, Meaning in Persian (Farsi) ), write down other words that collocate with it.
• Read as much as possible. Reading is an excellent way to learn vocabulary and collocations of “BALANCE” in context and naturally.
• Revise what you learn regularly. Practice using new collocations with “BALANCE” in context as soon as possible after learning them.
• Learn collocations with “BALANCE” in groups that work for you. You could learn them by topic (time, number, weather, money, family) or by a particular word (take action, take a chance, take an exam).

Types of collocation with “BALANCE”

• adverb + adjective: completely satisfied (NOT downright satisfied)
• adjective + noun: excruciating pain (NOT excruciating joy)
• noun + noun: a surge of anger (NOT a rush of anger)
• noun + verb: lions roar (NOT lions shout)
• verb + noun: commit suicide (NOT undertake suicide)
• verb + expression with preposition: burst into tears (NOT blow up in tears)
• verb + adverb: wave frantically (NOT wave feverishly)

Using Collocations of BALANCE to Boost Your IELTS Score

The correct use of collocations of “BALANCE” is an essential part of improving your English level and boosting your IELTS score. Using collocations + “BALANCE” in sentence examples correctly allows you to write and speak more like a native speaker and they are also one of the things that examiners look out for when marking your tests.

BALANCE Collocation Frequently Asked Questions

Why are BALANCE collocations important? BALANCE collocations are important because they make your language sound natural. If you master BALANCE collocations, your English will be more idiomatic, that is, more similar to the way it is spoken by native speakers. It is acknowledged that knowledge of BALANCE collocations helps to improve learners' language skills, enhance learners' communicative competence, and achieve native-like fluency.