Collocations
Natural word partnerships: verb–noun, adjective–noun, adverb–adjective, and prepositional patterns.
What is a collocation?
A collocation is a pair or group of words that sound natural together to native speakers. We make a decision (not *do* a decision), heavy rain (not *strong* rain), highly unlikely (not *strongly* unlikely).
| Pattern | Natural | Unnatural / Less common | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| verb + noun | make progress, do homework, take notes | *do progress, *make homework, *write notes (generic) | make with results; do with tasks; take with quick actions. |
| adjective + noun | strong coffee, heavy rain, keen interest | *powerful coffee, *strong rain | Intensity words pair idiosyncratically. |
| adverb + adjective | highly unlikely, deeply concerned, fully aware | *strongly unlikely, *very aware (ok but weaker) | Amplifiers often fixed: highly, deeply, utterly. |
| noun + noun | traffic jam, data breach, decision maker | *traffic block, *data break | Lexicalized compounds; memorize. |
| verb + preposition | depend on, consist of, focus on | *depend of, *consist in (different meaning) | Prepositions are sticky partners. |
“Fluent writing is built from fluent collocations.”
Key points
- Learn words in chunks.
- Some partners are fixed (strong coffee).
- Prepositions often decide correctness.
- Register matters (e.g., launch an inquiry).
Types & Strength of Collocation
Common pairings and how “strong” they are (fixed → flexible):
Strong (fixed)
Rarely replaced
- utter disaster
- bitterly disappointed
- fast asleep
Medium
Some variation possible
- make a mistake / error
- raise / pose a question
- reach / arrive at a decision
Weak
Many options
- good idea / plan / point
- important decision / issue
- small change / amount
Register-bound
Context specific
- file a lawsuit (legal)
- hold talks (diplomacy)
- scale up (business/tech)
Mini Banks
do: do homework, do research, do the dishes
Remember them as ready-to-use chunks.
Practice
A) Multiple Choice
-
Choose the best collocation:
We must ________ a decision by Friday.
do make create perform
-
Pick the natural phrase:
It’s ________ unlikely that the event will be canceled.
strongly highly greatly strong
-
Best collocation for weather:
Expect ________ rain this evening.
powerful strong heavy hard
B) Fill in the Blanks
- She has a ________ interest in neuroscience. (keen / sharp / intense)
- Please ________ your homework before class. (do / make / take)
- The CEO will ________ a statement later today. (give / do / make)
- We need to ________ a deadline for Phase 2. (set / fix / decide)
C) Micro-rewrite
Improve the collocations without changing the meaning:
We did a decision to start the project. The team is very aware of the risks
and will create a statement soon. We met the time limit by doing strong efforts.Short Reading
To improve fluency quickly, keep a notebook of collocation families. For the verb take: take a break, take a chance, take responsibility, take shape, take effect. Review five families a week and use each collocation in a sentence.
Task: Add two more natural partners for take and use them in sentences.
Show Suggested Answers
MCQ
- make
- highly
- heavy
Fill in the Blanks
- keen
- do
- make (also “issue a statement” in formal contexts)
- set
Micro-rewrite
We made a decision to start the project. The team is fully aware of the risks and will issue/make a statement soon. We met the deadline by making great/considerable efforts.
Exam tips
- Study verbs in families (take/give/make/do).
- Learn strong intensifiers (utterly, deeply, highly).
- Memorize prepositions with the verb.
- Keep a personal collocation bank.
