COLLOCATIONS

“Tell me who you go with and I'll tell you who you are”

A collocation is two or more words that often go together. These combinations just sound "right" to native English speakers, who use them all the time. On the other hand, other combinations may be unnatural and just sound "wrong". Look at these examples:

Natural English...	Unnatural English...
the fast train fast food	the quick train quick food
a quick shower a quick meal	a fast shower a fast meal

Why learn collocations?

• Your language will be more natural and more easily understood.
• You will have alternative and richer ways of expressing yourself.
• It is easier for our brains to remember and use language in chunks or blocks rather than as single words.

How to learn collocations

• Be aware of collocations, and try to recognize them when you see or hear them.
• Treat collocations as single blocks of language. Think of them as individual blocks or chunks, and learn strongly support, not strongly + support.
• When you learn a new word, write down other words that collocate with it (remember rightly, remember distinctly, remember vaguely, remember vividly).
• Read as much as possible. Reading is an excellent way to learn vocabulary and collocations in context and naturally.
• Revise what you learn regularly. Practice using new collocations in context as soon as possible after learning them.
• Learn collocations in groups that work for you. You could learn them by topic (time, number, weather, money, family) or by a particular word (take action, take a chance, take an exam).
• You can find information on collocations in any good learner's dictionary. And you can also find specialized dictionaries of collocations.

For example, we talk about heavy rain but not heavy sun, or we say that we make or come to a decision, but we don’t do a decision. So, heavy rain and make a decision are often referred to as collocations and we say that heavy collocates with rain, or that heavy and rain are collocates of each other. With collocation software we can search for all the collocates of a particu­lar word, that is, all the words that are used most frequently with that word and especially those with a higher than anticipated frequency.

This is particularly useful for finding the collocates of verbs like have, get, make, and do, which are often referred to as delexical verbs. These are verbs which don’t have a (lexical) meaning of their own, but take their meaning from the words that they collocate or are used with. For example, the verb make has a different meaning in each of the expressions make a cake, make a decision, and make fun of, so it is sensible to teach verbs like these in expressions, as col­locations, instead of trying to identify and distinguish basic meanings, which is difficult and, in many cases, almost impossible.

Some of the most frequent collocates of the words make and do. They include words that come immediately after the word (make sure) and words that come two or more words after it (make a difference, make a huge mistake).

MAKE: sure, difference, sense, decision, mistakes, decisions, money, judgments, mistake, reservations, copies, effort DO: anything, something, things, job, well, nothing, work, whatever, aerobics, gardening, stuff, homework, laundry

Types of Collocation

There are several different types of collocation made from combinations of verb, noun, adjective etc. Some of the most common types are:

• Adverb + Adjective: completely satisfied (NOT downright satisfied)
• Adjective + Noun: excruciating pain (NOT excruciating joy)
• Noun + Noun: a surge of anger (NOT a rush of anger)
• Noun + Verb: lions roar (NOT lions shout)
• Verb + Noun: commit suicide (NOT undertake suicide)
• Verb + Expression With Preposition: burst into tears (NOT blow up in tears)
• Verb + Adverb: wave frantically (NOT wave feverishly)

In this lesson we look at some sample collocations, and end with quizzes to check your understanding:

• Sample Collocations
• Collocation Lists
• Collocation Quizzes

Sample Collocations

There are several different types of collocation. Collocations can be adjective + adverb, noun + noun, verb + noun and so on. Below you can see seven main types of collocation in sample sentences.

1. adverb + adjective

• Invading that country was an utterly stupid thing to do.
• We entered a richly decorated room.
• Are you fully aware of the implications of your action?

2. adjective + noun

• The doctor ordered him to take regular exercise.
• The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage.
• He was writhing on the ground in excruciating pain.

3. noun + noun

• Let's give Mr Jones a round of applause.
• The ceasefire agreement came into effect at 11am.
• I'd like to buy two bars of soap please.

4. noun + verb

• The lion started to roar when it heard the dog barking.
• Snow was falling as our plane took off.
• The bomb went off when he started the car engine.

5. verb + noun

• The prisoner was hanged for committing murder.
• I always try to do my homework in the morning, after making my bed.
• He has been asked to give a presentation about his work.

6. verb + expression with preposition

• We had to return home because we had run out of money.
• At first her eyes filled with horror, and then she burst into tears.
• Their behaviour was enough to drive anybody to crime.

7. verb + adverb

• She placed her keys gently on the table and sat down.
• Mary whispered softly in John's ear.
• I vaguely remember that it was growing dark when we left.

Collocation Lists

On this page you can find a few short lists of collocations to give you more of an idea about them. Many good learner's dictionaries show collocations associated with specific words. There are also dictionaries of collocations, though these are more difficult to find.

Some common verbs
have	do	make
have a bath have a drink have a good time have a haircut have a holiday have a problem have a relationship have a rest have lunch have sympathy	do business do nothing do someone a favour do the cooking do the housework do the shopping do the washing up do your best do your hair do your homework	make a difference make a mess make a mistake make a noise make an effort make furniture make money make progress make room make trouble
take	break	catch
take a break take a chance take a look take a rest take a seat take a taxi take an exam take notes take someone's place take someone's temperature	break a habit break a leg break a promise break a record break a window break someone's heart break the ice break the law break the news to someone break the rules	catch a ball catch a bus catch a chill catch a cold catch a thief catch fire catch sight of catch someone's attention catch someone's eye catch the flu
pay	save	keep
pay a fine pay attention pay by credit card pay cash pay interest pay someone a compliment pay someone a visit pay the bill pay the price pay your respects	save electricity save energy save money save one's strength save someone a seat save someone's life save something to a disk save space save time save yourself the trouble	keep a diary keep a promise keep a secret keep an appointment keep calm keep control keep in touch keep quiet keep someone's place keep the change
come	go	get
come close come complete with come direct come early come first come into view come last come late come on time come prepared come right back come second come to a compromise come to a decision come to an agreement come to an end come to a standstill come to terms with come to a total of come under attack	go abroad go astray go bad go bald go bankrupt go blind go crazy go dark go deaf go fishing go mad go missing go on foot go online go out of business go overseas go quiet go sailing go to war go yellow	get a job get a shock get angry get divorced get drunk get frightened get home get lost get married get nowhere get permission get pregnant get ready get started get the impression get the message get the sack get upset get wet get worried
Miscellaneous
Time	Business English
bang on time dead on time early 12th century free time from dawn till dusk great deal of time late 20th century make time for next few days past few weeks right on time run out of time save time spare time spend some time take your time tell someone the time time goes by time passes waste time	annual turnover bear in mind break off negotiations cease trading chair a meeting close a deal close a meeting come to the point dismiss an offer draw a conclusion draw your attention to launch a new product lay off staff go bankrupt go into partnership make a loss make a profit market forces sales figures take on staff