ADJ
- basic, cardinal, first, fundamental, golden
- ground ~s
- You and your flatmates should establish some ground rules
- general
- formal, official, written
- informal, unwritten
- rigid, strict, stringent
- absolute, hard and fast
- There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to choosing a typeface
- clear
- simple
- Follow these few simple rules, and you won't go far wrong
- arbitrary
- petty
- He made his children's lives a misery with all his petty rules
- club, company, competition, school, union, etc.
- cultural, ethical, legal, moral, social
- disciplinary, immigration, safety, tax
- grammar, grammatical
QUANT
- set
- The aim is to get each member country to adhere to a single set of rules
VERB + RULE
- draw up, establish, formulate, impose, issue, lay down, make, set out
- abide by, adhere to, follow, go by, obey, observe, play by, stick to
- If he wanted a loan he would have to play by the bank's rules
- be in line with, conform to
- The packaging does not conform to EU rules
- be in breach of, break, disregard, fall foul of, flout, violate
- Their action was in breach of Stock Exchange rules
- apply, enforce
- The referee applied the rules to the letter (= very strictly)
- bend, relax
- Couldn't they just bend the rules and let us in without a ticket?
- waive
- tighten up
- The rules on claiming sickness benefit have been tightened up
- be bound by, be fettered by, be governed by
- Social workers are bound by rules of confidentiality
- interpret, understand
- The punishment depends on how the umpire interprets the rules
RULE + VERB
- apply, be applicable, operate
- provide sth, say sth, state sth, stipulate sth
- The competition rules provide that a cash alternative may be given
- govern sth
- the rules governing the importing of livestock
- allow (for) sth, permit sth
- The existing rules allow for some flexibility
- forbid sth, prohibit sth
- limit sth, restrict sth
- rules limiting imports
RULE + NOUN
- book
- The officials went strictly by the rule book
PREP
- according to the ~s
- According to the rules, no alcohol can be consumed on the premises
- against/contrary to the ~s
- Tackling a player without the ball is against the rules
- in accordance with the ~s
- The music was turned off at midnight, in accordance with the rules
- outside the ~s
- behaviour which is outside the rules
- under a/the ~
- Under this rule, only full members of the club are entitled to vote
- within the ~s
- I believed I was acting within the rules
- ~ about/ concerning/on/regarding/relating to
- What are the school rules about dress?
- ~ for
- There seems to be one rule for the rich and another for the poor. What is the rule for forming plurals?
- ~ of
- the rules of the game
PHRASES
- a breach/violation of the rules, a body/code/network/system of rules, respect for the rules, rules and regulations
ADJ
- general
- There are few exceptions to the general rule that shops close at six o'clock
PREP
- as a ~
- As a rule, hardly anybody uses this road
PHRASES
- be the rule
- Among her friends, casual dress and a relaxed manner are the rule
ADJ
- authoritarian, harsh
- direct, indirect
- emergency
- The president imposed emergency rule following the riots
- majority
- one-party
- Labour, Tory, etc.
- colonial
- home
- civilian, military
- presidential
- mob
- the lawless days of mob rule
PREP
- under … ~
- The country remained under direct rule by the occupying powers
PHRASES
- the rule of law
- a society based on the rule of law