catch fire — start burning
collocationB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
to suddenly begin to burn, often by accident.
Say it like a native
Textbook The structure underwent combustion and became engulfed in flames.
Native The building caught fire.
'Underwent combustion' is technical; 'caught fire' is plain English.
Pattern: subject + catch fire
In use
- The curtains caught fire when they got too close to the candle.daily life
- During the interview, I explained how the old building caught fire because of faulty wiring.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ The curtains catched fire.
✓ The curtains caught fire.
Irregular past tense — 'caught'.
Common collocations
catch fire— the curtains, suddenly, easily, nearly
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'set fire to,' which means to make something burn on purpose.