English collocations examples in sentences

English collocations – how words are put together

DEFINITION:
Collocation is a sequence of words that often occur together, because they sound correct and natural. Similar combination of words describing the same thing or situation might sound unnatural or even funny.

What could be the result?
As a result, it may have a negative impact on your confidence to speak English. Therefore good knowledge of English collocations and phrases is very mportant. It will help you speak more fluently with higher confidence and your English will sound much more natural.

Collocations examples – correct and incorrect:

	heavy rain -> correct
	strong rain -> incorrect

	run fast -> correct
	run quick -> incorrrect

	fast food -> correct
	speed food -> incorrect

	do the homework -> correct
	make the homework -> incorrrect

	fight hard -> correct
	fight tough -> incorrect

	well done -> correct
	good done -> incorrrect

Collocation types with examples

There are several forms of collocations in English language. The most common types along with some examples are described in the following table:

verb + noun	catch a bus, make a call, do a homework, take a photo, pay attention
verb + adverb	regret deeply, disagree strongly, deny completely, accuse falsely
adjective + noun	heavy rain, strong supporter, fast car, quick shower, big surprise
adverb + adjective	bitterly angry, deeply concerned, widely acceptable, highly appreciated
noun + noun	round of drinks, sense of humor, smell of success, bar of soap

This is a short video that explains some of the most common verb + noun collocations.

Collocations versus phrasal verbs / idioms

Unlike phrasal verbs or idioms, collocations can be quite easily understood. That makes them a little bit easier to learn. However, the best way to learn them quickly and correctly is to read a lot of examples.

Here are some useful tips for your self-study:
1. in any situation, try to be aware of any collocation you hear or read
2. if you notice a collocation, write it down or associate it with a situation (context)
3. organize your list by words or by topic

Remember, it is very likely that you will have to memorize some English collocations. It will be the same process as learning new words. In other cases, though, the collocation may come naturally and you will understand and learn it by reading and listening.

Therefore it’s strongly advisable (another nice example of adverb + adjective collocation) that you read a lot of news articles where you can learn many collocations from daily life.

Our 2-step method:

In order to help you to understand correctly when somebody uses a collocation in a speech or conversation, we have created a concept based on examples from movies.

As you probably know, you can hear lots of collocations in American movies and TV shows. In fact, they are really frequently used in spoken English.

The method is very simple, yet very effective.

STEP 1. Listen to collocations in short video samples in real-life situations

duty calls

get lost

These are the examples of some of them, which you will certainly hear in many conversations with English speakers on a daily basis.
So the best way to master them is to learn them in context in real sentences. And I am pretty sure that the best context is your favorite movie or TV show 🙂

STEP 2. Practice them in short exercises

If teacher in a school smokes a cigarette, he is ______ a bad example for his students.

setting

bringing

putting

giving

Collocations sample

You got {{userScore}} out of {{maxScore}} correct

More collocations exercises »

More examples of sentences with English collocations

1. John was complaining bitterly about the poor attitudes of his staff.
2. Don’t judge him too harshly. You don’t know all the details.
3. Could you please do me a favor and stop smoking?
4. The proposed Enbridge pipeline poses a massive threat to pristine areas across central B.C.

Back to vocabulary list »

Collocations | Idioms | Phrasal verbs | Words

LIST OF COLLOCATIONS WITH MEANINGS

(117 terms)
flax seeds	seeds of a flax plant
move forward	the next step in a process
cruise ship	large ship for pleasure voyages
to get something looked at	to get something checked (by a doctor)
split x ways	to divide into x parts
cake recipe	step by step process for preparing a cake
straight up	directly
to taste good	to have a good taste
cop-watch	watching whether police is not approaching
first mate	the first officer on a ship after captain
take a look	to have a look
take it slow	to do something slowly
freshly prepared	recently prepared fresh food
for a while	certain amount of time
rib of beef	meat from a rib section of beef
well-groomed	very well maintained person with regard to dress and appearance
by the way	incidentally
crooked as a politician	corrupted as politician
so to speak	when you try to get an attention to a choice of words (if metaphoric phrase is used)
tax evasion	not paying taxes
all over	everywhere
to be on sale	when something is for sale at a discount price
soul mate	person with strong emotional connection
retread tires	to replace worn out material on tires
go for something	to start doing something
meal to go	takeout food, food in plastic container
fall asleep	to start sleeping
snow squall	heavy snow precipitation
beat downs	physical attacks
say hi	form of greeting
evade responsibility	to run away from responsibility
in vain	without sense, pointless
couple of weeks away	in a few weeks
put (something) in action	to turn theory into action
out of nowhere	when something appears suddenly and unexpectedly
chem analysis	chemical analysis
on your own	to be solely responsible for something
whipped cream	cream mixed using a whisk or mixer
clam chowder	thick soup with clams (seafood)
bring to the boil	to reach the state when water boils
do a favor	to help with something
make fun of somebody	make jokes about somebody, to mock
take a nap	to have a quick, short sleep
all of a sudden	suddenly, unexpectedly
without consent	without agreement or approval from other person
play somebody against somebody	to make someone to have a conflict with someone else
file (tax) returns	to submit taxes to authorities
unspoken agreement	agreement without saying any words
take turns	when two or more people alternate in doing something
take a while	to take some amount of time
Behave yourself	to behave decently
no offense	without intention to offend somebody
long-distance call	phone call between two distant cities or countries
flat tires	tires with no air
take something the wrong way	to misunderstand or misinterpret something
hard wood	floor made of wood
raise an objection (to someone or something)	to disagree or to protest against someone or something
happen to notice	to see accidentally
stay put	stay where you are
best man	friend of the bridegroom at the wedding
give a warm welcome (to someone)	to welcome someone with applause
never mind	it does not matter
criminal charges	formal accusation that somebody has commited a crime
jet lag	conditions of sleep problem when travelling
needles to say	when something is known and can be taken for granted, of course
seat is taken	seat is not vacant, seat is unavailable
take eye off something	to look in the different direction
side note	extra piece of information
fancy dinner	dinner in an expensive restaurant
make (something) happen	accomplish or achieve something, not just talking but actually doing it
in my time	during my life
get to know each other	know other person better
keep a promise	to do what was promised
take a chance	to risk
jumper cables	cables to help start the car engine when an auto battery is low
human being	human (man or woman)
all around	all over the place
nasty freak	pervert person
pick pockets	to steal personal belongings of tourists from pockets
to be better off	to be in a better position than before
take chances	to go into risk
get going	to move, to start moving
come easy	happen easily
sexual ardour	sexual passion
tartar sauce	mayonnaise with chopped pickles
find (someone) attractive	to think that someone is attractive
to be of service	to offer service
long-distance relationship	relationship when partners are living far from each other
on purpose	to do something deliberately with an intention to do it
snow-capped	covered with snow
do one’s best	to do the maximum
time zone	geographical zone with specific time
I am sorry about your loss	phrase used at funerals to express condolences
This is so us!	This is typical for us!
sealed container	container with a firm cover
tell him I said hi	to give greetings
out of reach	unreachable, inaccessible
consolation prize	a small prize given to someone who lost in a competition
take a loan	to borrow some amount of money
at stake	amount or value which can be won or lost
fall asleep	start sleeping
As you were!	Military command meaning that soldier may return to normal posture
The best is yet to come	the best experience is still to come
come as a surprise	to make someone feel surprised
full time	working full hours (not part-time)
get straight	to make things clear
middle of nowhere	far from a civilization
induction day	first day when somebody starts in an organization
brain damage	injury to brain
pay attention	to listen carefully and trying to understand the subject matter
to have a point	to be right about something, to provide a good description of a situation
to stay between us	keep a secret, not to tell to anybody else
senior year	final year in high school
self-esteem	feeling good about own personality
high tide	rise of a sea level
no offence	without intention to offend somebody
takeout food	food in plastic container for eating later

Back to vocabulary list »