Everyday Minor Problems

to leak

to let water, gas, or another liquid escape through a hole or crack

Common collocations

• ____ing pipe

• ____ing roof

• ____ing tap

• start ____ing

The pipe is ____.

___ something The tank had ___ a small amount of water.

to smash (somehting)

to break something into pieces by hitting it hard

Common collocations

• ___ a window

• ___ a plate

• ___ a glass

• smash into

Someone ____ the kitchen window.

He accidentally ____ his phone.

The ball ____ the glass door.

to crack

to break slightly without separating into pieces

Common collocations

• ___ed screen

• ___ed wall

• ___ed cup

My phone screen is ____.

___ something He has ___ a bone in his arm.

run out (of something)

to have no more of something left

Common collocations

• ___ ___ of money

• ___ ___ of time

• ___ ___ of batteries

• ___ ___ of milk

We've ____ milk.

My phone ____ battery.

They ____ time before finishing.

to chip (something)

to damage the edge of something by breaking off a small piece

Common collocations

• ___ed cup

• ___ed plate

• ___ed tooth

• ___ the edge

I accidentally ____ my favourite mug.

The plate is ____.

Be careful not to ____ the table.

power cut/power outage

(North American English power outage)
a period when electricity suddenly stops working

Common collocations

• have a ___ ___

• sudden ___ ___

We had a ____ during dinner.

The lights went out because of a ____.

The storm caused a ____.

to come off

to become separated from something

Common collocations

• handle ___ ___

• wheel ___ ___

• button ___ ___

The door handle ____.

A button ____ my jacket.

One of the wheels suddenly ____.

to fall off

to become detached and drop down

Common collocations

• ___ ___ the wall

• ___ ___ the shelf

• ___ ___ the bike

The picture ____ the wall.

One of the shelves ____.

The mirror almost ____.

to break down

to stop working properly

Common collocations

• washing machine ___ ___

• car ___ ___

• computer ___ ___

My washing machine ____ yesterday.

The car ____ on the motorway.

Our printer keeps ____.

to crush

to press something so hard that it becomes damaged

Common collocations

• ___ a box

• ___ a cake

• get ___

The car was completely ___ under the truck.

Several people were ___ to death in the accident.

to crash

to suddenly stop working because of a technical problem

Common collocations

• computer ___

• system ___

• app ___

Files can be lost if the system suddenly ___.

Their website ___ repeatedly on Tuesday.

___ something A surge of traffic ___ their servers.

to twist something

to injure a part of your body by turning it suddenly

Common collocations

• ___ your ankle

• ___ your knee

• ___ your wrist

She ____ her ankle while running.

to bump / to bang

to hit yourself against something by accident

Common collocations

• ___ your head

• ___ your knee

• ___ into a wall

I ____ my head on the cupboard.

___ into somebody/something In the dark I ___ into a chair.

___ against somebody/something The car ___ against the kerb.

a bruise

a dark mark on the skin caused by an injury

Common collocations

• have a ___

I've got a ____ on my arm.

The fall left a large ____.

to trip

to catch your foot on something and almost fall

I ____ over a bag.

___ over/on something Someone will ___ over that cable.

Be careful not to ____.

to graze something (on something)

to slightly damage your skin by rubbing it against something rough

Common collocations

• ___ your knee

• ___ your hand

• badly ___

He ____ his knee.

He ___ his elbow on a sharp piece of rock.

to mislay

(formal, especially British English) to put something somewhere and forget where it is

Common collocations

• ___ your keys

• ___ your phone

• ___ your glasses

I've ____ my passport.

She always ____ her keys.

I think I've ____ my wallet.

to spill

(especially of liquid) to flow over the edge of a container by accident; to make liquid do this

Common collocations

• ___ coffee

• ___ water

I ____ coffee on my shirt.

The bag ___, and sugar ___ everywhere.

(figurative) Light ___ from the windows.

a stain

a mark that is difficult to remove

Common collocations

• a blood/a coffee/an ink ___

• stubborn ___s (= that are very difficult to remove)

• ___-resistant

The juice left a ____.

I can't remove this ____.

How can I get this stain out?

blocked

unable to let something pass through

Common collocations

• ___ sink

• ___ toilet

The sink is ____.

The toilet became ____.

a dent

a small hollow in metal caused by a hit

Common collocations

• ___ the car

• small ___

• repair a ___

a large ___ in the car door.

The impact of the stones made little ___ in the metal.

to stop working

to no longer function

Common collocations

• suddenly ___ ___

• ___ ___ properly

• completely ___ ___

My mouse suddenly ____.

The printer has ____.

The remote control ____ yesterday.

to lock somebody/yourself out (of something)

to accidentally leave your keys inside and be unable to enter

Common collocations

• ___ yourself ___ of the house

• ___ yourself ___ of the flat

• accidentally ___ yourself ___

I'd ___ myself ___ of the house and had to break a window to get in.

to start

when you ___ a machine or a vehicle or it ___, it begins to operate

___ the engines!

He ___ the recording.

I can't get the car ___.

The car won't ___.

flat

(British English) having no electrical power left

Common collocations

• ___ battery

• battery goes ___

• completely ___

I think the battery is ____.

My phone was completely ____.

The car wouldn't start because of a ____ battery.