Collocations examples

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:

Check Mark1 heavy rain -> correct
Check Mark2 strong rain -> incorrect

Check Mark1 run fast -> correct
Check Mark2 run quick -> incorrrect
Check Mark1 fast food -> correct
Check Mark2 speed food -> incorrect

Check Mark1 do the homework -> correct
Check Mark2 make the homework -> incorrrect
Check Mark1 fight hard -> correct
Check Mark2 fight tough -> incorrect

Check Mark1 well done -> correct
Check Mark2 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.
Collocations sample
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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.

Collocations | Idioms | Phrasal verbs | Words

LIST OF COLLOCATIONS WITH MEANINGS
(117 terms)
full timeworking full hours (not part-time)
take eye off somethingto look in the different direction
long-distance relationshiprelationship when partners are living far from each other
long-distance callphone call between two distant cities or countries
The best is yet to comethe best experience is still to come
snow-cappedcovered with snow
get to know each otherknow other person better
make fun of somebodymake jokes about somebody, to mock
to get something looked atto get something checked (by a doctor)
As you were!Military command meaning that soldier may return to normal posture
self-esteemfeeling good about own personality
sexual ardoursexual passion
on your ownto be solely responsible for something
pick pocketsto steal personal belongings of tourists from pockets
middle of nowherefar from a civilization
to be on salewhen something is for sale at a discount price
out of nowherewhen something appears suddenly and unexpectedly
chem analysischemical analysis
give a warm welcome (to someone)to welcome someone with applause
never mindit does not matter
snow squallheavy snow precipitation
put (something) in actionto turn theory into action
This is so us!This is typical for us!
take a loanto borrow some amount of money
get straightto make things clear
so to speakwhen you try to get an attention to a choice of words (if metaphoric phrase is used)
jumper cablescables to help start the car engine when an auto battery is low
tax evasion not paying taxes
do one’s bestto do the maximum
come as a surpriseto make someone feel surprised
time zonegeographical zone with specific time
no offensewithout intention to offend somebody
tell him I said hito give greetings
take turnswhen two or more people alternate in doing something
split x waysto divide into x parts
crooked as a politiciancorrupted as politician
at stakeamount or value which can be won or lost
cruise shiplarge ship for pleasure voyages
rib of beefmeat from a rib section of beef
all aroundall over the place
raise an objection (to someone or something)to disagree or to protest against someone or something
bring to the boilto reach the state when water boils
consolation prizea small prize given to someone who lost in a competition
tartar saucemayonnaise with chopped pickles
to have a pointto be right about something, to provide a good description of a situation
by the wayincidentally
take chancesto go into risk
keep a promiseto do what was promised
first matethe first officer on a ship after captain
cake recipestep by step process for preparing a cake
couple of weeks awayin a few weeks
file (tax) returnsto submit taxes to authorities
hard woodfloor made of wood
I am sorry about your lossphrase used at funerals to express condolences
to be better offto be in a better position than before
soul mateperson with strong emotional connection
straight updirectly
take a lookto have a look
take a napto have a quick, short sleep
human beinghuman (man or woman)
beat downsphysical attacks
nasty freakpervert person
go for somethingto start doing something
retread tires to replace worn out material on tires
freshly preparedrecently prepared fresh food
move forwardthe next step in a process
evade responsibilityto run away from responsibility
take it slowto do something slowly
happen to noticeto see accidentally
induction dayfirst day when somebody starts in an organization
do a favorto help with something
flat tirestires with no air
takeout foodfood in plastic container for eating later
for a whilecertain amount of time
fall asleepto start sleeping
to taste goodto have a good taste
seat is takenseat is not vacant, seat is unavailable
out of reachunreachable, inaccessible
high tiderise of a sea level
all of a suddensuddenly, unexpectedly
say hiform of greeting
best manfriend of the bridegroom at the wedding
sealed containercontainer with a firm cover
stay putstay where you are
unspoken agreementagreement without saying any words
cop-watchwatching whether police is not approaching
take a chanceto risk
in vainwithout sense, pointless
pay attentionto listen carefully and trying to understand the subject matter
well-groomedvery well maintained person with regard to dress and appearance
criminal chargesformal accusation that somebody has commited a crime
get goingto move, to start moving
meal to gotakeout food, food in plastic container
to stay between uskeep a secret, not to tell to anybody else
brain damageinjury to brain
senior yearfinal year in high school
fancy dinnerdinner in an expensive restaurant
jet lagconditions of sleep problem when travelling
without consentwithout agreement or approval from other person
flax seedsseeds of a flax plant
come easyhappen easily
take a whileto take some amount of time
make (something) happenaccomplish or achieve something, not just talking but actually doing it
find (someone) attractiveto think that someone is attractive
clam chowderthick soup with clams (seafood)
play somebody against somebodyto make someone to have a conflict with someone else
Behave yourselfto behave decently
in my timeduring my life
on purposeto do something deliberately with an intention to do it
side noteextra piece of information
needles to saywhen something is known and can be taken for granted, of course
to be of serviceto offer service
all overeverywhere
whipped creamcream mixed using a whisk or mixer
no offencewithout intention to offend somebody
take something the wrong wayto misunderstand or misinterpret something
fall asleepstart sleeping
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