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Grammar fix

long journey

extended trip

A trip or travel experience that takes a lot of time or covers a great distance.

collocationB1common

Hear it in context

Notice where the phrase sounds natural.

  • After a long journey, we finally arrived at the hotel, exhausted but excited.travel
  • I once took a long journey by bus across the country to visit my grandparents. It took almost twelve hours, but I enjoyed seeing the different landscapes along the way.IELTS speaking

Fix the pattern

Pattern: a long journey (noun phrase)

WrongWe did a long journey.

RightWe had a long journey. / It was a long journey.

You HAVE a journey (BrE) — 'do a journey' sounds off; 'make a journey' is fine in formal use.

Patterna long journey (noun phrase)

Use it right

Choose the version that sounds natural in speech.

Stiff We undertook an extensive and protracted voyage.

Natural It was a long journey.

'A long journey' is natural; 'protracted voyage' is archaic.

Build natural chunks

Words that usually travel with it.

  • a long journey
    haveaheadtiringmake

Don't confuse it

Compare with 'short journey', which means a trip that does not take much time.

Try it in Daily Speak →