Rule reminder

Some Italian collocations are counterintuitive for English speakers: 'vincere una scommessa' (NOT 'prendere' or 'guadagnare'), 'perdere un'occasione' (NOT 'sprecare'), 'cogliere l'opportunità' (to seize the opportunity), 'mantenere una promessa' (NOT 'tenere una promessa' — a common Anglicism). These fixed collocations must be memorised as units.