ADJ

acute, big, enormous, grave, great, serious
Our greatest problem is the lack of funds
little, minor, petty
complex, complicated, difficult, knotty, thorny
growing
basic, central, main, major
common
pressing, urgent
immediate
insoluble, insuperable, insurmountable, intractable
Depression is a natural feeling if your problems seem intractable
long-standing, long-term, perennial
practical
technical
attitude, behavioural, emotional, psychological
His teachers say he has an attitude problem
health, physical, sexual
back, heart, knee
drink, drug
social
housing
economic, financial
They sold their car to ease their financial problems
environmental
legal

VERB + PROBLEM

be, pose, present (sb with)
Inadequate resources pose a problem for all members of staff
have
bring, cause, create
Success brings its own problems. Staff shortages cause problems for the organization
be beset with, be confronted by/with, be dogged by, be faced with, be fraught with, confront, encounter, face, run into
He has been faced with all manner of problems in his new job. The scheme has been fraught with problems from the start
raise
She raised the problem of falling sales at the last meeting
identify
consider, debate, discuss, look at/into
address, approach, attack, combat, come/get to grips with, grapple with, handle, tackle
The next meeting will address the problem of truancy
avoid, circumvent, find a way around/round, get around/round
clear up, cure, deal with, overcome, resolve, solve
He had to undergo surgery to cure the problem with his knee
alleviate, ease, reduce
exacerbate
analyse, explore

PROBLEM + VERB

arise, come up, occur
problems arising from poor ventilation
exist
persist, remain
If the problem persists you should see a doctor. The basic problem remains the lack of housing available
confront sb, face sb
lie in sth
The problem lies in the lack of communication between managers and staff

PROBLEM + NOUN

area
child

PREP

~ about
I didn't imagine there would be a problem about getting tickets
~ for
The rail strike is a problem for all commuters
~ of
the problem of poverty
~ with
Have you got a problem with her?

PHRASES

an approach to a problem, the crux/heart/root of the problem
We need to get to the root of the problem before we can solve it
a remedy/solution to a problem, the scale of a problem

ADJ

complicated, difficult
easy, simple
mathematical
solving simple mathematical problems

VERB + PROBLEM

do, find the answer to, solve
I have five problems to do for homework

PROBLEM + NOUN

solving
This kind of activity develops the children's problem-solving skills