Sports & Recreation — Part 1
The Celpip Plus team
Written and reviewed against the official CELPIP scoring criteria
What you'll learn: the verb + noun collocations that describe playing, training for, and competing in sports — foundational vocabulary since sports and hobbies are a recurring CELPIP Speaking topic and a common Writing Task 2 opinion theme.
Why the right verb changes the meaning
Sports vocabulary is full of verbs that sound interchangeable but aren't: you "score" a goal but "break" a record; you "join" a team but "attend" practice. Using the wrong verb — "make a goal" instead of score a goal — is understandable but marks you immediately as a non-native speaker to a fluent listener, and CELPIP raters are listening for exactly this kind of precision under the Vocabulary criterion.
From beginner to competitor
These collocations map a natural progression: you first take up a sport, then join a team and attend practice, gradually build stamina, and eventually might break a record or win a championship — though suffering an injury along the way is just as common a story. Learning them in this rough order mirrors how a real athlete's story unfolds, which makes them easier to string together in a Speaking response.
Word bank: core sports collocations
| Collocation | Meaning | Example sentence |
|---|---|---|
| play a match | compete in a game | Our club plays a match every Saturday morning. |
| score a goal | put the ball or puck into the net | She scored a goal in the final minute of the game. |
| break a record | surpass a previous best result | He broke the record for the 100m sprint. |
| join a team | become a member of a team | I joined a team at my local community center. |
| attend practice | go to a training session | Players must attend practice twice a week. |
| win a championship | become the top team or player in a competition | The team won the championship in 2019. |
| take up a sport | start doing a sport as a new hobby | I took up tennis after moving to a new city. |
| hit the gym | go work out at the gym | I try to hit the gym before work most days. |
| go for a run | do a running exercise session | She goes for a run every morning before breakfast. |
| build stamina | increase physical endurance | Swimming laps helps build stamina over time. |
| suffer an injury | get hurt, often during play or training | The striker suffered an injury during training. |
| set a goal | establish a personal objective | I set a goal to run a marathon this year. |
Worked example — Speaking Task 2
Prompt: Describe a sport or physical activity you enjoy.
"A few years ago, I decided to take up a sport I had never tried before — rock climbing. At first, I could barely build stamina for even a short route, so I started to attend practice at a local climbing gym twice a week. I eventually joined a team that competed regionally, which pushed me much harder than climbing alone ever had. I even set a goal to complete a route that had intimidated me for months. Along the way I suffered an injury to my ankle that kept me out for six weeks, but it didn't stop me — I came back determined to eventually break a record at my own gym for that route."
Common mistakes
- "Make a goal" instead of score a goal — "make" is the wrong verb here; goals are specifically "scored."
- "Do practice" instead of attend practice — "attend" is the fixed collocation for scheduled training sessions.
- "Begin a sport" instead of take up a sport — "take up" is the natural phrasal-verb collocation for starting a hobby.
- "Get an injury" used loosely — suffer an injury is the more precise, commonly used collocation in both spoken and written English.
Recap
Verb + noun sports collocations trace the arc from starting a new activity to competing seriously, giving you a ready-made vocabulary set for describing hobbies, fitness routines, or competitive experiences. Practice by picking three collocations and building one true sentence about your own sports or exercise history for each.