I.
noun
1 subject/situation that must be dealt with
ADJECTIVE
▪ important , pressing , serious , urgent , weighty
▪
He left, saying he had pressing ~s to attend to.
▪
The question of his innocence is a weighty ~ for this court.
▪ complex , complicated , controversial , delicate , difficult , sensitive
▪
I wasn't sure how to approach the delicate ~ of pay.
▪ simple , trifling ( esp. BrE ), trivial
▪
It is then a simple ~ to print off the data you have collected.
▪ no easy , no simple
▪
It is no simple ~ starting a new business.
▪ practical
▪
They've agreed in theory, but now we need to discuss practical ~s.
▪ family , personal , private
▪ subject
▪
His articles deal with a wide range of subject ~.
▪ economic , environmental , financial , legal , political , procedural , religious , spiritual , technical
▪ routine
▪
The rest of the meeting was taken up by routine ~s.
▪ related
▪
They talk mostly about work and related ~s.
▪ different , other
▪
I don't mind lizards, but snakes are a different ~.
VERB + MATTER
▪ bring up , broach , raise
▪
I thought I'd better broach the ~ with my boss.
▪
The ~ will be raised at our next meeting.
▪ address , debate , discuss , go into , take up
▪
I don't really want to go into this ~ now.
▪ press , pursue , take further
▪
After legal advice I chose to take the ~ further.
▪ drop
▪
His lawyer advised him to drop the ~.
▪ consider , examine , investigate , look at , look into , tackle
▪ clarify , clear up , decide , resolve , settle
▪
It's a relief to have the ~ settled.
▪ approach , deal with , handle , treat
▪
Police are treating the ~ as a murder investigation.
MATTER + VERB
▪ be related to , pertain to ( formal ), relate to
▪
She was a great source of knowledge on ~s relating to nutrition.
PREPOSITION
▪ in a/the ~
▪
I don't have much experience in these ~s.
▪
Do I have any choice in the ~?
▪ on a/the ~
▪
Speak to your manager if you need help on this ~.
▪ ~ for
▪
The incident is definitely a ~ for the police.
▪ ~ of
▪
It's a ~ of concern to all of us.
▪
We discussed the ~ of whether or not to hire a bus.
▪
Getting the effect you want is a ~ of trial and error.
PHRASES
▪ the crux of the ~ , the heart of the ~ (= the most important part of a subject/situation)
▪ let the ~ drop , let the ~ go , let the ~ rest
▪
She refused to let the ~ rest.
▪ the ~ in hand
▪
Let's concentrate on the ~ in hand for now, and leave other issues till later.
▪ be no laughing ~
▪
The safety of his family was no laughing ~.
2 matters situation you are in
VERB + MATTERS
▪ complicate , confuse , make worse , not help
▪
It didn't help ~s that I had a terrible cold.
▪
To make ~s worse, my friend then lost her keys.
▪ simplify
▪
Let me simplify ~s by giving you my answer now.
▪ arrange
▪
She always arranges ~s to suit herself.
3 substance
ADJECTIVE
▪ solid
▪ organic , vegetable
▪
composed entirely of organic ~
▪ inanimate , inorganic
▪ decaying
▪ dark ( science )
▪ printed , reading
II.
verb
ADVERB
▪ a great deal , a lot , greatly , really
▪
These things ~ a lot to young children.
▪ hardly , little ( formal ), not much , scarcely ( esp. BrE )
▪
She could find a job. It hardly ~ed what.
▪ no longer , not any more
VERB + MATTER
▪ not seem to
▪
Somehow it didn't seem to ~ much any more.
PREPOSITION
▪ about
▪
It doesn't ~ about the mess.
▪ to
▪
It didn't ~ to her that he was blind.
PHRASES
▪ not ~ a/one bit , not ~ a/one jot ( BrE ), not ~ a/one whit ( esp. AmE )
▪
It doesn't ~ one whit what their ethnic background is.