Tuesday, March 21, 2017

From: EnglishClub.com

On this page you can find a few short lists of common collocations to give you more of an idea about them. Many good learner's dictionaries show collocations associated with specific words. There are also dictionaries of collocations, though these are more difficult to find.

Verb collocations

have	do	make
have a bath have a drink have a good time have a haircut have a holiday have a problem have a relationship have a rest have lunch have sympathy	do business do nothing do someone a favour do the cooking do the housework do the shopping do the washing up do your best do your hair do your homework	make a difference make a mess make a mistake make a noise make anlish effort make furniture make money make progress make room make trouble
take	break	catch
take a break take a chance take a look take a rest take a seat take a taxi take an exam take notes take someone's place take someone's temperature	break a habit break a leg break a promise break a record break a window break someone's heart break the ice break the law break the news to someone break the rules	catch a ball catch a bus catch a chill catch a cold catch a thief catch fire catch sight of catch someone's attention catch someone's eye catch the flu
pay	save	keep
pay a fine pay attention pay by credit card pay cash pay interest pay someone a compliment pay someone a visit pay the bill pay the price pay your respects	save electricity save energy save money save one's strength save someone a seat save someone's life save something to a disk save space save time save yourself the trouble	keep a diary keep a promise keep a secret keep an appointment keep calm keep control keep in touch keep quiet keep someone's place keep the change
come	go	get
come close come complete with come direct come early come first come into view come last come late come on time come prepared come right back come second come to a compromise come to a decision come to an agreement come to an end come to a standstill come to terms with come to a total of come under attack	go abroad go astray go bad go bald go bankrupt go blind go crazy go dark go deaf go fishing go mad go missing go on foot go online go out of business go overseas go quiet go sailing go to war go yellow	get a job get a shock get angry get divorced get drunk get frightened get home get lost get married get nowhere get permission get pregnant get ready get started get the impression get the message get the sack get upset get wet get worried

Miscellaneous collocations

Time	Business English	Classifiers
bang on time dead on time early 12th century free time from dawn till dusk great deal of time late 20th century make time for next few days past few weeks right on time run out of time save time spare time spend some time take your time tell someone the time time goes by time passes waste time	annual turnover bear in mind break off negotiations cease trading chair a meeting close a deal close a meeting come to the point dismiss an offer draw a conclusion draw your attention to launch a new product lay off staff go bankrupt go into partnership make a loss make a profit market forces sales figures take on staff	a ball of string a bar of chocolate a bottle of water a bunch of carrots a cube of sugar a pack of cards a pad of paper

A list of collocations

Collocations

A collocation is a combination of words that are commonly used together; the simplest way of describing collocations is to say that they ‘just sound right’ to native English speakers. Other combinations that may mean the same thing would seem ‘ unnatural’. Collocations include noun phrases like ‘ stiff wind’ and‘weapons of mass destruction’, phrasal verbs such as‘to get together’ and other stock phrases such as‘the rich and famous’

It is important to learn collocations, because they are important for the naturalisation of one’s speech. Besides, they broaden one’s scope for expression.

Here is a list of collocations to help you get started:

Collocations starting with the verb ‘do’

Do me a favour
Do the cooking
Do the housework
Do the shopping
Do the washing up
Do your best
Do your hair

Collocations with the verb ‘have’

Have a good time

Have a bath
Have a drink
Have a haircut
Have a holiday
Have a problem
Have a relationship
Have lunch
Have sympathy

Collocations with the verb ‘break’

Break the law
Break a leg
Break a promise
Break a record
Break someone's heart
Break the ice
Break the news to someone
Break the rules

Collocations with the verb ‘take’

Take a break
Take a chance
Take a look
Take a rest
Take a seat
Take a taxi
Take an exam
Take notes
Take someone's place

Collocations with the verb ‘make’

Make a difference
Make a mess
Make a mistake
Make a noise
Make an effort
Make money
Make progress
Make room
Make trouble

Collocations with the verb ‘catch’

Catch the bus
Catch a ball
Catch a cold
Catch a thief
Catch fire
Catch sight of
Catch someone's attention
Catch someone's eye
Catch the flu

Collocations with the verb ‘pay’

Pay respect
Pay a fine
Pay attention
Pay by credit card
Pay cash
Pay interest
Pay someone a visit
Pay the bill
Pay the price

Collocations with the verb ‘keep’

Keep the change

Keep a promise
Keep a secret
Keep an appointment
Keep calm
Keep in touch
Keep quiet
Keep someone's place

Collocations with the verb ‘save’

Save yourself the trouble
Save electricity
Save energy
Save money
Save someone a seat
Save someone's life
Save something to a disk
Save time

Collocations with the verb ‘go’

Go bald
Go abroad
Go astray
Go bad
Go bankrupt
Go blind
Go crazy
Go fishing
Go mad
Go missing
Go online
Go out of business
Go overseas
Go quiet
Go sailing
Go to war

Collocations with the verb ‘come’

Come under attack
Come close
Come direct
Come early
Come first
Come into view
Come last
Come late
Come on time
Come prepared
Come right back
Come to a decision
Come to an agreement
Come to an end
Come to a standstill
Come to terms with
Come to a total of

Collocations with the verb ‘get’

Get the sack
Get a life
Get a job
Get a shock
Get angry
Get divorced
Get drunk
Get frightened
Get home
Get lost
Get married

Get permission
Get ready
Get started
Get the impression
Get upset
Get wet
Get worried

Collocations related to time

Bang on time
Dead on time
Free time
From dawn till dusk
Great deal of time
Early/late 15th century
Make time for
Next few days
Past few weeks
Right on time
Run out of time
Time goes by
Time passes
Waste time

Collocations related to business English

Annual turnover
Keep in mind
Break off negotiations
Close a deal
Close a meeting
Come to the point
Dismiss an offer
Draw a conclusion
Draw your attention to
Launch a new product
Go bankrupt
Go into partnership
Make a profit/loss