(1) I'd just like to make a comment...
(2) I made a few phone calls...
(3) Apparently he made a mess of his audition...

(1) She started to weep uncontrollably.
(2) He wept for joy.
(3) I do not weep over his death.

(1) He's a really successful man─you can't argue with that.
(2) He was too tired to argue the point (= discuss the matter) .
(3) a well-argued article

(1) He was accused of lies and deceit.
(2) Everyone was involved in this web of deceit.
(3) Their marriage was an illusion and a deceit.

(1) She finished the race panting heavily.
(2) She could hear him panting up the stairs (= running up and breathing quickly) .
(3) He found her panting for breath at the top of the hill.

(1) the anti-terrorist branch
(2) the branch of computer science known as ‘artificial intelligence ’
(3) a branch of the Rhine

(1) He discovered, on closer inspection, that the rocks contained gold...
(2) Both nations are seeking closer links with the West...
(3) He lived alone, keeping close contact with his three grown-up sons.

(1) The concert will be broadcast live (= at the same time as it takes place) tomorrow evening.
(2) They began broadcasting in 1922.
(3) I don't like to broadcast the fact that my father owns the company.

(1) The numbers attending fell short of expectations.
(2) The event did not live up to expectations .
(3) Some parents have unrealistic expectations of their children.

(1) Several cars went off the rails.
(2) a sleeping/dining car
(3) Where can I park the car?

(1) The baby had been abandoned by its mother.
(2) The study showed a deep fear among the elderly of being abandoned to the care of strangers.
(3) Snow forced many drivers to abandon their vehicles.

(1) a mode of communication
(2) a mode of behaviour
(3) environment-friendly modes of transport

(1) On one side of the main entrance there's a red plaque.
(2) ...a photograph with me in the centre and Joe and Ken on each side of me.
(3) We put a notice on the side of the box.

(1) to register a birth/marriage/death
(2) to register a company/trademark
(3) The ship was registered in Panama.

(1) They realized that he had gone mad .
(2) Inventors are not mad scientists.
(3) I'll go mad if I have to wait much longer.

(1) a ban on the importation of ivory
(2) customs imported from the West
(3) goods imported from Japan into the US

(1) the Edinburgh festival
(2) the Cannes film festival
(3) a beer festival

(1) I'm truly sorry that things had to end like this.
(2) a truly memorable occasion
(3) a truly democratic system of government

(1) a spontaneous offer of help
(2) The audience burst into spontaneous applause.
(3) spontaneous remission of the disease

(1) high/low temperatures
(2) a fall/drop in temperature
(3) a rise in temperature

(1) I turned left automatically without thinking.
(2) You will automatically get free dental treatment if you are under 18.
(3) The heating switches off automatically.

(1) After a while his eyes adjusted to the dark.
(2) You'll quickly adjust yourself to student life.
(3) He smoothed his hair and adjusted his tie.

(1) Experts put the real figure at closer to 75%.
(2) the latest trade/sales/unemployment, etc. figures
(3) By 2004, this figure had risen to 14 million.

(1) He had attempted to rescue the drowning man.
(2) She tried to drown herself.
(3) He was drowned at sea.

(1) In terms of price there's no comparison (= one thing is much more expensive than the other) .
(2) The tallest buildings in London are small in comparison with New York's skyscrapers.
(3) The second half of the game was dull by comparison with the first.

(1) We need to analyse what went wrong.
(2) The job involves gathering and analysing data.
(3) He tried to analyse his feelings.

(1) a museum of modern art
(2) a science museum
(3) For months Malcolm had wanted to visit the Parisian art museums.

(1) He looked straight ahead and overtook a lumbering lorry.
(2) They used a lorry to ram the main gate.
(3) The lorry driver escaped unhurt, but a pedestrian was injured.

(1) He's upstairs unpacking his bags.
(2) She opened her bag (= her handbag ) and took out her comb.
(3) She ate a bag of chips.

(1) He heaped his team with praise.
(2) He heaped praise on his team.
(3) She heaped my plate with food.

(1) oriental languages
(2) There were oriental carpets on the floors.
(3) ...oriental food.

(1) a 60-watt bulb
(2) a room lit by bare bulbs (= with no decorative cover)
(3) The stairwell was lit by a single bulb.

(1) a war memorial (= in memory of soldiers who died in a war)
(2) a memorial to victims of the Holocaust
(3) The painting will be a lasting memorial to a remarkable woman.

(1) to make progress
(2) slow/steady/rapid/good progress
(3) We have made great progress in controlling inflation.

(1) We sat there in dumb silence.
(2) That was a pretty dumb thing to do.
(3) If the police question you, act dumb (= pretend you do not know anything) .

(1) He was found guilty of murder.
(2) She has been charged with the attempted murder of her husband.
(3) to commit (a) murder

(1) a nice day/smile/place
(2) nice weather
(3) Did you have a nice time ?

(1) ‘It isn't fair! ’, he exclaimed angrily.
(2) She opened her eyes and exclaimed in delight at the scene.
(3) He exclaims that it must be a typing error.

(1) My funny drawings amused the kids.
(2) This will amuse you.
(3) It amused him to think that they were probably talking about him at that very moment.

(1) You need to practise every day.
(2) She's practising for her piano exam.
(3) I've been practising my serve for weeks.