English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)
COLLOCATIONS
She knows the poems ~off head~ (nonstandard).
She knows the poems *by heart* (standard). If you know something such as a poem by heart, you have learned it so well that you can remember it without having to read it.
I may not be able to give an answer to that ~by heart~ (nonstandard).
I may not be able to give answer to that ~offhead~ (nonstandard).
I may not be able to give answer to that *offhand* (standard). If you say something offhand, you say it without checking the details or facts of it.
*Although* I invited her ~but~ she did not come (nonstandard).
*Although* I invited her *yet* she did not come (standard).
Note that the sentence will still be correct without “yet” provided there is a comma:
Although I invited her, she did not come (standard).
GAB
