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Collocations: Word Pairs for Natural English
"Quick food"? "Do a test"? "White and black"?
Do these phrases sound strange to you? If they do, then you understand the importance of collocations.
We use collocations every day, even if we don't realize it. And whenever they're used incorrectly, native speakers notice.
So if you want to become a fluent English speaker, it's important for you to understand them. Let's take a look!
What Are Collocations?
There are two major parts to collocations:
1. Word choice
Collocations are groups of two or more words that are often used together. You can express the same ideas with other words, but the importance of collocations is that they sound natural together.
Take a look at the following examples:
- Quick food > Fast food
- Do a test > Take a test
There's nothing wrong with the grammar of the first examples — but they don’t sound quite “right” to a native speaker.
On the other hand, the collocations in the second examples are much more natural and would be understood by the listener right away.
2. Word order
In addition to choosing the best combination of words, the correct word order is also necessary for natural-sounding English.
For example, if a friend tells you their new job has a good "life-work balance," you'd probably understand, but "work-life balance" would sound better.
And what if someone asked you to pass the "pepper and salt"? Most native speakers would agree that "salt and pepper" is the better choice.
Why Are Collocations Important?
As we've shown above, the biggest benefit of collocations is natural-sounding English. This means they're important to learn for people studying for exams, giving presentations, and those who just want to enjoy casual chats with friends.
However, collocations can also help you improve your vocabulary.
How? Well, even if you mostly use basic English words now, learning collocations will introduce you to lots of vocabulary you can also use individually.
For example, the expressions "filthy rich" (meaning "very rich") and "soaking wet" (meaning "completely wet") are common collocations.
My friend's family is filthy rich, so they can afford to buy anything they want.
We didn't have umbrellas, so we got soaking wet while waiting for the bus.
If you didn't know the words "filthy" and "soaking" before learning these collocations, now you can use them on their own as well as with their natural pairs.
The kids were filthy after playing outside in the mud.
The fish is still soaking in the sauce; let's wait a bit before grilling it.
Types of Collocations
Here are examples of some different collocation types:
Adverb + adjective
Slightly late
I missed my train, so I'll be slightly late for the appointment.
Soaking wet
My shoes were soaking wet from stepping in the puddle.
Adverb + verb
Briefly mention
Jane briefly mentioned something about free food at the event…
Seriously consider
We need to seriously consider their proposal before we make a decision.
Adjective + noun
Bestselling book
The famous author has written several bestselling books.
Bright future
The young athlete has a bright future in professional sports.
Noun + noun
Trial lesson
She was a bit nervous before her trial lesson.
Pros and cons
What are the pros and cons of living in a big city?
Verb + adverb
Listen carefully
Please listen carefully, everyone.
Study hard
You have to study hard if you want to pass the test.
Adjective + preposition
Likely to
It's likely to rain today, so don't forget to take your umbrella.
Amazing at
My sister is amazing at tennis.
Wrap-up
Collocations are simple but important tools for natural-sounding English. Pay attention and you'll notice them in the books you read, the learning materials you study with, and the conversations you have every day.
If you'd like to practice using collocations, book a lesson on Engoo and try them out in a real conversation. Our tutors would be happy to help you!
