English Collocations - Part 1 (Intermediate)
What is a collocation?
A collocation is a group of words that are often used together. They sound natural to native speakers but are difficult for English language learners to guess.
Examples of collocations include:
- heavy rain
- quick glance
- sharp pain
- final decision
- long time
Compounds and Idioms
Compounds are units of meaning formed with two or more words. Usually, their meaning can be guessed by knowing the meaning of the individual words. Collocations and compounds can be difficult to separate. Examples of compounds include:
- coffee shop
- swimming pool
- football field
- computer desk
- bookshelf
Idioms are groups of words in a fixed order that have a meaning that cannot be guessed by knowing the meaning of the individual words. An example of an idiom is "pass the buck" (to pass responsibility of a problem to another person).
In a separate post, we will cover idioms.
Why learn collocations?
- They give you the most natural way to say something. For example, "casual conversation" instead of "normal conversation".
- They give you alternative ways of saying something. For example, "chilly weather" instead of "very cold", or "pitch dark" instead of "very dark".
- They improve your writing style. For example, a cutting-edge technology instead of a new technology, or a stellar performance instead of a great performance, or a grueling workout instead of a hard workout.
Learning collocations
A good dictionary will provide information on collocations and tell you if they are formal or informal. To learn collocations:
- Regularly revise what you want to learn.
- Practice using them in context.
- Learn collocations in groups.
Types of collocation
Adjectives and nouns
- beautiful day | a day that is clear and sunny
- dark night | a night that is without moonlight
- easy job | a job that is not difficult
- great meal | a meal that is delicious and satisfying
- hot weather | weather that is warm and humid
Nouns and verbs
- sales increased | to become greater in number or amount
- profits soared | to increase rapidly
- investments declined | to become less in number or amount
- inflation rose | to increase in value
- unemployment fell | to decrease in number
- economy boomed : to experience a period of rapid economic growth
- company grown : to increase in size or number
- industry thrived : to be successful and profitable
- market crashed : to experience a sudden and significant decline in value
- stock prices plummeted : to fall sharply in value
Noun and noun
- Flicker of doubt | a small amount of doubt
- Blip of recognition | a brief moment of recognition
- Streak of genius | a moment of great creativity
- Whisper of fear | a small amount of fear
- Tear of joy | a tear that is shed out of happiness
Verbs and adverbs
- Screaming in pain | to cry out loudly because of pain
- Sobbing uncontrollably | to cry very hard and uncontrollably
- Staring in disbelief | to look at something with a feeling of shock or disbelief
- Speechless with amazement | to be so amazed that you cannot speak
- Raging with anger | to be very angry
Adverbs and adjectives
- Completely exhausted | to be very tired
- Really excited | to be very enthusiastic about something
- Totally lost | to be unable to find your way
- Absolutely certain | to be completely sure of something
- Quite surprised | to be somewhat surprised
- Slightly worried | to be somewhat concerned
- Deeply in love | to be very much in love with someone
Read these books to improve your English
I strongly recommend reading the following books, this post consists of my own notes and inspirations after I read these books:
