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What is a collocation?
A collocation is two or more words that often go together. These combinations
just sound "right" to native English speakers, who use them all the time. On the
other hand, other combinations may be unnatural and just sound "wrong". Look
at these examples:
natural English...
unnatural English...
a quick shower
a quick meal
a fast shower
a fast meal
a collocation.
An easy way to remember the meaning of collocation: think of "co-" (together)
and "location" (place) = place together, locate together, go together
Note also (non-linguistic senses):
collocate (verb): place side by side or in relation
Tell me who you go with and I'll tell you who you are.
When you learn a new word, write down other words that collocate with it
(remember rightly,remember distinctly, remember vaguely, remember
vividly).
Revise what you learn regularly. Practise using new collocations in context
as soon as possible after learning them.
Learn collocations in groups that work for you. You could learn them
by topic (time, number, weather, money, family) or by a
particular word (take action, take a chance, take an exam).
Types of collocation
There are several different types of collocation made from combinations of verb,
noun, adjective etc. Some of the most common types are:
auspicious moment
auspicious event
Or the predictability may be weak: for example, "circuit" collocates with more
than 20 words, as in:
"circuit" collocates left with
racing
circuit
lecture
circuit
talk-show
circuit
short
circuit
closed
circuit
integrated
circuit
printed
circuit
printed
circuit
board
circuit
board
circuit
breaker
circuit
training
circuit
judge
me, under the weather, if you've got the time). Others suggest that when a
sequence of words is 100% predictable, and allows absolutely no change except
possibly in tense, it is not helpful to treat it as a collocation. Such sequences
they generally treat as fixed expressions ("prim and proper") or idioms ("kick
the bucket").
A good dictionary of collocations is the Oxford Collocations Dictionary for
Students of English.
Tell me who you go with and I'll tell you who you are.