‘Confines’ are things that limit you. If you are sick, you might be confined to bed. If you are a prisoner, you will be confined to a cell. If you have a lot of talent, you may find it hard to be confined to a boring job.

When you learn new vocab, make sure that you note collocations too. For this group of words some collocations are:
commence soon, commencement of
compatible with, are incompatible
concurrent with, concurrent to, run concurrently
confinement of, confined to

Check the meanings of the words if you don’t already know them. Check the meanings of the various forms as sometimes they are different. You can check them at Time4english by clicking the words (http://www.time4english.com/aamain/lounge/awl.asp).

Vocabulary for IELTS – Academic Word List 99

Complete the sentences. Choose the correct word and then use the correct form of the word.

1. You can have several different operating systems on your computer ______________. (concurrent, controversy)
2. In some cultures women are ______________ to the house for several weeks after the birth of a baby. This gives them time to rest. (compatible, confine)
3. The changes to working hours were accepted by most of the staff and were fairly _______________. (commence, controversy)
4. Most people think that orange and purple are _______________; what do you think? (confine, compatible)
5. The meeting will stop now and ______________ in two hours. (commence, concurrent)

Answers (in the wrong order)
5. recommence   3. uncontroversial   2. confined   1. concurrently     4. compatible