What are collocations?
A collocation refers to a combination of words that frequently occur together in a predictable and habitual manner. These are words that English speakers use together more often than would be expected by chance.
Collocations can involve two or more words. They include various combinations such as verb + noun, adjective + noun, noun + noun, adverb + adjective, verb + adverb, and verb + preposition, among others.
For example, in the collocation “take a shower”, the verb “take” collocates with the noun “shower”. We wouldn’t typically say “do a shower” or “make a shower” in English, even though these verbs have similar meanings to “take”. This predictable pairing of “take” and “shower” is an example of a collocation.
Are all lexical chunks collocations?
Although they’re the type of chunk learners and teachers are most familiar with, they are only a subset of the much larger category of chunks.
Learning collocations is crucial for English language learners for several reasons:
Fluency and Comprehensibility: Familiarity with collocations aids in both language production and comprehension. When learners know common word pairs, they can speak and write more fluently because they don’t need to pause to think of the right word combination. Moreover, understanding collocations helps in the comprehension of texts and conversations, as they often appear in spoken and written English.
Accuracy: Many English learners make mistakes not with vocabulary or grammar in isolation, but with how words fit together. Learning collocations can significantly reduce such errors and enhance the accuracy of the language used.
Naturalness: Even if a sentence is grammatically correct, it may not sound “right” to a proficient speaker if the common collocations are not used. Mastery of collocations helps learners sound more natural and fluent in their speech and writing.
Idiomatic Language: A significant part of the English language is idiomatic, and collocations play a key role in this. To understand and use idiomatic language, a good grasp of collocations is necessary.
Examinations and Assessments: Many English proficiency exams assess learners’ knowledge of collocations. A prime example is the Use of English paper in Cambridge exams. In addition, studies have shown that candidates with better collocational competence (i.e. knowledge of and ability to use collocations) get higher scores in speaking and writing exams.
Specificity and Precision: Collocations can allow learners to be more specific in their descriptions and express subtle differences in meaning. For example, the collocations ‘bitterly disappointed’ and ‘deeply disappointed’ have similar meanings but carry different emotional intensities.
Reflecting on your learning
- Are any of these reasons for learning collocations new to you?
- Which do you think would be most compelling for your learners?
- How important do you think it is for us to give a clear rationale to them for why something is worth learning?
Types of Collocations
- Verb + Noun: Verbs often collocate with particular nouns. This means they are often used together.
- The police are conducting an investigation. Here, conduct is a verb that often collocates with the noun investigation.
- Acupuncture may alleviate migraine symptoms. Here, alleviate is a verb that often collocates with the noun symptoms.
- Adjective + Noun: Certain adjectives are typically used with specific nouns.
- She has an outgoing personality. In this case, outgoing is an adjective often used with the noun personality.
- It’s an unprecedented situation. Here, unprecedented is an adjective often used with situation.
- Noun + Noun: Sometimes two nouns are frequently used together.
- The software update resolved the issue. Here, software and update are nouns that often collocate.
- The peace treaty was finally signed. Peace and treaty are nouns that often collocate.
- Adverb + Adjective: An adverb can often collocate with a specific adjective.
- She was quite pleased with the results of her study. Here, quite is an adverb that often collocates with the adjective pleased.
- The concept was utterly incomprehensible. Here, utterly is an adverb that often collocates with the adjective incomprehensible.
- Verb + Adverb: Some verbs often go together with specific adverbs.
- She spoke softly, calming the room. Speak is a verb that often collocates with the adverb softly.
- The situation escalated rapidly. ‘Escalated’ is a verb that often collocates with the adverb ‘rapidly’.
- Verb + Preposition: Certain verbs are typically used with specific prepositions.
- She is proficient in Spanish. Here, proficient is a verb that often collocates with the preposition in.
- The soldier succumbed to his injuries. Here, succumbed is a verb that often collocates with the preposition ‘to’.
- Note: Collocations can be joined together to form more complex collocations.
- He regretted having set a poor example for his children. Here the noun example collocates with both the adjective poor and the verb set.