Collocations

Collocation meaning

Collocations are combinations of words in a sentence. Think of a collocation as a relationship between a pair (or small group) of words. Some collocations (such as 'take a look') are typical: this means that the words combine in a way that feels natural or “correct”. Other collocations (such as 'grab a peek') are untypical: this means that the words do not go together naturally and therefore often sound strange, or “incorrect”.

An easy way to understand what collocations are is to look at your list of household chores or the weather forecast:

If somebody used an untypical collocation such as 'strong showers', although in some cases you may understand what is meant, the word combinations are not as common or natural-sounding as typical collocations. See the table below for a direct comparison:

Typical collocations feel natural to native English speakers because they are common; we hear these combinations time and time again. There is often no logic as to why these words belong together - some collocations just feel right.

For people who are learning English, collocations can be confusing because they rely on familiarity. It's very hard to explain why, for example, a burger is known as 'fast food' rather than 'quick food' - 'fast food' just feels right simply because, to many of us, it is a familiar combination of words. Similarly, 'fork and knife' don't feel quite right, whereas 'knife and fork' do - the order of the words is more fixed in typical English use, and so it is a more typical collocation.

Fig. 1 - Quick food?

Collocation types and examples

In this section, we will cover 6 common types of collocation. Remember, collocations are not limited to these types, however, if we were to look at every possible word combination that could form a collocation, we'd be here all day! The examples we've picked are enough to give you a good idea of how different types of collocations work.

Adjective + noun collocations

In the above sentence, the adjectives 'high' and 'tall' often have similar meanings, so let's see what happens if we swap them around:

It just doesn't sound as natural as the previous example as these adjective + noun combinations are not common or familiar enough to be typical collocations. Therefore, 'tall temperature' and 'high glass of water' are untypical collocations.

Other typical adjective+noun collocations include:

• Strong coffee

• A hearty meal

• Drastic change

• A bright future

Adverb + adjective collocations

This phrase is a typical collocation as it sounds natural and familiar. However, let's say we were to change the adverb:

This is an untypical collocation, as although the meaning of the phrase may still be understandable, the words don't fit together quite as naturally.

Other typical averb+adjective collocations include:

• Slightly late

• Filthy rich

• Highly intelligent

• Ridiculously expensive

Noun + noun collocations

Below are some examples of typical noun + noun collocations. Note the connecting words (such as "and" and "of") that join the collocating nouns.

Collective nouns can also be classed as noun + noun collocations.

Many noun + noun collocations come in the form of compound nouns (a noun that is made up of two or more existing words that, when placed together, form a new meaning).

Verb + noun collocations

Certain verbs and nouns seem to belong together, whereas others don't. Although 'gain money' and 'make speed' can be understood, they are untypical collocations. 'Make money' and 'gain speed', on the other hand, are typical verb + noun collocations.

Other typical verb + noun collocations include:

• Break the silence

• Waste time

• Have a laugh

• Pay attention

Verb + prepositional phrase collocations

The title of this one may sound confusing, but don't worry, you use these types of collocations all the time in everyday language.

A preposition is just a word that indicates the relationship between a noun and something else, such as a time, place or location. A prepositional phrase is a phrase containing a preposition and its object noun.

Here are three prepositional phrases. The preposition is marked in bold:

• 'He's behind you''

• 'It came from outer space''

• 'I'll meet you at 7 pm.'

Typical verb + prepositional phrase collocations include:

• Listening to the radio

• Brimming with joy

• Falling in love

• Paying for shopping

Verb + adverb collocations

As with the other examples of collocations, some verbs and adverbs are natural fits for each other. 'Aimlessly wander', for example, is a stronger collocation than 'pointlessly wander'.

Other typical verb + adverb collocations include:

• Openly admit

• Deeply regret

• Strongly agree

• Softly whisper

Why are collocations in English important?

Collocations are important because certain word combinations (typical collocations) feel natural within the English language; these natural-sounding collocations are unlikely to distract the reader or listener as they should sound familiar. Untypical collocations, however, can feel awkward and clunky and can, therefore, interrupt the flow of speech or a piece of writing.

Of course, when it comes to creative writing, you might want a phrase to sound jarring or unnatural to create a certain effect. In this case, you could deliberately use untypical or unusual collocations - think of the bizarre phrasing in works from writers such as Lewis Carroll or William S. Burroughs for example. For more information on this, see our article on foregrounding. Here is an extract from the poem 'The Walrus and the Carpenter.' The poem is recited in chapter four, by Tweedledum and Tweedledee to Alice:

Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass, 1871

Fig. 2 - Lewis Carroll often used bizarre collocations in his novels!