Collocations


Collocations
In order to master the language we must be aware of many sorts of vocabulary learning, so we must learn a large number of collocating words in a particular manner in order to sound like a native. In English there are groupings of words that are used frequently by native speakers and other way of mixture is considered odd or inadequate.
According with the strength of the link between the words they can be classified also as strong (fixed link) or weak (words can collocate with more other words).  Two main factors can influence the collocational range of an item: the first is its level of specificity, thus the more general a word is, the broader its collocational range and the more specific it may be the more restricted its collocational range. Also as many senses has the word it is bigger its collocational range and most words have several senses so they can have different set of collocates for each meaning.
Different sorts of collocations may be formed by these clusters:

Sample Collocations
-Verb + verb: Keep: keep a secret, keep a promise, keep in touch, keep quiet
Have: have a bath, have a drink, have a good time, have a holiday, have a relationship, have lunch…
Make: make a difference, make a mess, make a mistake, make an effort, make progress, make trouble…
Break: break a habit, break a leg, break a window, break the law, break the ice
Pay: pay a fine, pay attention, pay cash, pay the price, pay the bill
Catch: catch a ball, catch a bus, catch a cold, catch someone’s attention
Save: save electricity, save money, save time, save someone a seat, save someone’s life…
Do: do business, do nothing, do someone a favour, do the housework or the cooking, do your best, do your hair…
-Verb + noun: take offence, breach of agreement, reach an agreement, make changes, draw/come to/ reach an agreement, take a course/ test, make decisions, take/sit an exam, attain/ achieve a goal, spread information, arouse/awaken interest, miss an opportunity, meet/ fulfil/satisfy requirement, matter of fact, commit suicide, -etc.
-Noun + preposition + noun: a surge of anger, sense of pride, a pang of nostalgia, matter of fact, once upon a time, two peas in a pod…
-Adverb + adjective: completely satisfied, happily married, serious problems, blissfully unaware.
-Adjective + noun: excruciating pain, bright colour, brief chat, major problem, health service…
-Noun + noun: ceasefire agreement, phone card, milk chocolate…
-Noun + verb: lions roar, economy boomed, company merge, price increase…
-Verb + preposition + noun: burst into tears, gone with the wind
-Verb + adverb: wave frantically, speak softly, love dearly, complain bitterly, fail miserably, treat well, act naturally, pull steadily, whisper softly, smile proudly, etc.
You can practise further examples of collocations in the websites below:
www.better-english.com/strongcoll.htm
www.english-in-chester.co.uk/e-learning/lesson/collocations/
www.ieltsbuddy.com/collocation-quiz.html

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