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”.
A combination of words in a language than happens very often and more frequently than would happen by chance.
For example there is two adjectives with similar meaning if your dictionary doesn’t contain the adequate combination not easy to decide.
the fast train isn’t the quick train the fast food isn’t the quick food a quick shower isn’t a fast shower a quick meal isn’t a fast meal
So we have to learn these combinations as we learnt in our mother tongue.
We have to learn these collocations we learn them as single blocks of language. When you learn a new word, write down other words that collocate with it. For example:
-remember rightly,
remember distinctly,
remember vaguely,
-remember vividly.
You could learn them by topic:
-time, number, weather, money, family etc
-or by a particular word :take action, take a chance, take an exam.
I use collocations not consciously unfortunately but as “a blind man may perchance hit the mark”
So I think if we emphasize this is a collocation we will remember it vividly.
that is what I have been rabbiting on about for years - the importance of coming across a new word and remembering it in context. It’s interesting that I can say: rabbit on and not dog on but I can dog someone one or I can badger someone but I can’t cat anyone or mouse them. Similarly it’s possible to commit a crime/suicide/treason/a faux pas/ but I would be hard pressed to find an alternative verb with those nouns to convey th same meaning.
Adverb+ adjective
The adverb which can describe an adjective can be an adverb of manner.
I see 3 adverbs of manner: well, badly, fast.
WELL
-Well done! (expressing admiration for what sb. has done.
-How well able to take care of himself.
-This is a well done meat.
-She is always well dressed.
BADLY
-Everything went badly wrong.
Unfortunately she is badly injured.
None of the passengers were badly hurt
FAST
-Yesterday evening I was fast asleep.
-In this road there is a fast moving traffic.
-She finiish cleaning quickly because she is fast-moving.
"1. adverb + adjective
Invading that country was an utterly stupid thing to do.
We entered a richly decorated room.
Are you fully aware of the implications of your action?"
I was absorbed in this work that I didn’t notice you endorsing letter. If I had noticed it,it would have given me self -confidence. I wanted to begin the letter that I copied the alternatives with examples in which situations a collocation of two words can be.
I began my letter with the English Club’s 7 possibilities of collocations. I wrote about in the beginning because I thought it is a good introduction.
Unfortunately somebody thought that I wanted to copy this that’s why my writing had been deleted. "Write by yourself and not copy! " Not, I didn’t want to copy. My aim was that think about the collocations- that I am sure I know more - but not consciously.
After my last letter I had to turn off my laptop and I begin the chore but meantime I was thinking why nothing more didn’t occur to me when I wrote ‘very’+adjective.
I’ve just searched a few minutes ago and I found these:
-He is very fat man.
-This is a very interesting story.
And it was a warning:
Don’t use ‘very’ with delicious, perfect, excellent, terrible, enormous, unique etc instead of it use ‘quite’ or ‘absolutely’.
Do you agree with this warning. It was in a Hungarian dictionary revised by a native Englishwoman: Susan Doughty.
Your letter is very is highly articulated. For the first time I came across ‘rabbit’ ‘dog’ ‘badger’ ‘cat’ ‘mouse’ in a verb form. What they are mean? I have no idea. But I will look them up and try to riddle their meaning
rabbit- I have been rabbiting on about for years .= I have been talking continuously about it.
rabbit on (about sth/sb) phr.v.
Practice:
I say to my daughter:
-Why don’t you put your things on their place?
-What are you rabbiting on about?
Do you agree?
[b]dog/bI can’t dog someone. (a.) not to follow sb closely and persistently/ b.) (of a problem) cause continual trouble for sb
I think, You speak about you can’t follow us closely and persistently.
Practice :
I was dogged by an unknown person, it was very dreadful.
[
So your sentence : I can badger someone but I can’t cat anyone or mouse them. = I can ask them to do it but I can’t flog them with a cat-o’-nine tails or hunt them out.
(cat o’ nine tails = a whip, usually having nine knotted lines or cords fastened to a handle, used for flogging.)
My practice:
a.)I put a pressure on my neighbour by repeatedly asking them not to pour the dirty water in my garden.
b.)I try to tell him gently but it seemed to me that they don’t understand from the gently asking only from flogging with a cat-o’-nine-tails.
c.) I was mousing the meaning of this word on the Google.
Many thanks for commit a crime/suicide, treason, /a faux pas/
Practice:
Judas committed a treason when he betrayed Jesus Christ.
This is a faux-pas, I don’t want to commit.
I decided to clear up these collocations for myself and the others also because I revealed the importance that it is difficult to find the true verb with those knowns to convey the same meaning.
Excuse me, I am very sorry that I interpret wrongly your letter.
Your advice was: “that is what I have been rabbiting on about for years - the importance of coming across a new word and remembering it in context. It’s interesting that I can say: rabbit on and not dog on but I can dog someone one or I can badger someonebut I can’t cat anyone or mouse them.
Similarly it’s possible to commit a crime/suicide/treason/a faux pas but I would be hard pressed to find an alternative verb with those nouns to convey th same meaning.”
to rabbit on but NOT to dog on someone BUT dog someone I can badger someonebut I can’t cat on someone or mouse them.
Now I’ ve just understood it, now it is very clear by this morning. I console myself :All is not lost that is delayed. I am very sorry and I feel ashamed that I began to explain and put in your advice those verbs also which can’t replace to ‘rabbit on’ and ‘to badger sb.’
I would like a place to present the several kinds of the collocations. I spoke about the first earlier. But I didn’t present 7 kinds together. If we know how a collocation is built we will be able to consider the new collocations what kind of they are.
These collocations are built of two members, but there are collocations with more members.
1. adverb + adjective
Invading that country was an utterly stupid thing to do.
-We entered a richly decorated room.
-widely ,readily/freely/publicly/generally available
–Well done! (expressing admiration for what sb. has done.)
-well done
(of food, especially meat)
cooked thoroughly or for a long time
-He prefers his steak well done, he doesn’t like if it is rare or underdone well dressed ADJ.
wearing fashionable or expensive clothes
-This is what today’s well-dressed man is wearing.
2. adjective + noun
The doctor ordered him to take regular exercise.
The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage.
He was writhing on the ground in excruciating pain.
excruciating=extremely painful or bad -developing country -planning service -unsafe abortion -elderly people -unmet needs=not satisfied needs
3. noun + noun
Let’s give Mr Jones a round of applause.
I will stand a round of drinks.
The ceasefire agreement came into effect at 11am.
I’d like to buy two bars of soap please. -table cloth -table coockery -dish gravy -dish of the day -horse bus -horse chestnut
4. noun + verb
.The lion started to roar when it heard the dog barking.
-Snow was falling as our plane took off.
-The bomb went off when he started the car engine.
-the sun shines
-fluffy clouds drift across the sky
-reduce cost of care for sb.
-get birth control
5. verb + noun
The prisoner was hanged for committing murder.
I always try to do my homework in the morning, after making my bed.
He has been asked to give a presentation about his work.
-make a cake
-make a bargain
-make a bet
-do a deal with sy
-do a get=clear out /You’d better clear out!
-do a kindness to sy
6. verb + expression with preposition
We had to return home because we had run out of money.
At first her eyes filled with horror, and then she burst into tears.
-Their behaviour was enough to drive anybody to crime
–Are you fully aware ofthe implications of your action?
-Provide sb with reproductive information
-He took some keys out of his pocket.
-The scientists are taking water samples from the river.
-be thoroughly enlightened upon sg
-meet one’s doom at swhere
doom(U)= death or destruction;any terrible event what you can’t avoid
IDIOMS with doom
doom and gloom| gloom and doom
a general feeling of having lost all hope, and of pessimism (= expecting things to go badly)
Despite the obvious setbacks, it is not all doom and gloom for the England team.
prophet of doom| doom merchant=a person who predicts that things will go very badly
-The prophets of doom who said television would kill off the book were wrong.
7. verb + adverb
She placed her keys gently on the table and sat down.
Mary whispered softly in John’s ear.
I vaguely remember that it was growing dark when we left.
-kindly agree sb
-warmly dress
-give generously
-see sb. amourosly
1 What do you do for a living?
2 Have you done your homework yet?
3 Have you made a decision yet?
4 Amber did badly in her geography exam.
5 The children made a mess in the kitchen.
6 We are having guests tonight, so please make your bed.
7 I only made one mistake in my English test.
8 I’d like to ask you to do me a favour.
9 My husband does the grocery shopping.
10 Please excuse me while I make a phone-call.
11. She earns her living as a freelance journalist.
12, Their standard of living is very low.
13. The cost of living has risen sharply.
14. I have to write up the notes for homework.
15, How much homework do you get?
16. I still haven’t done my geography homework.
17. to make a decision (= to decide)
18. to take a decision (= to decide)
19. He is really bad at making decisions.
20. I finally reached a decision (= decided after some difficulty).
I admire your diligence in providing these examples of collocations. I think I would like to call them ‘happy pairs’ because they get along well with each other as in the words of the Sinatra song - Love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage. But to your point about surge and rush. Although these pairs get a reputation and tend to become fixed expressions, there is always leeway for variations. What I am getting at is that for me both ‘rush of anger’ and ‘surge of anger’ can be readily acceptable. The difference is that ‘rush’ happens in an instant and ‘surge’ builds up slowly. If you equate the colour red with anger. you could say that the cheeks of the angry Caucasian person go red suddenly in a ‘rush’ and change from pink to red in a ‘surge’.
Just read your other message. Please - no need for apologies. If I could manage Hungarian as well as you manage English throughout all your posts. I would be proud of myself indeed.
Tell the truth you can’t admire my diligence because it isn’t diligence when I learn English, it is an addiction, I bury my head in the sand, I did my best for not to be faced with something very terrible. When I begin to do it I am really interested in it and it absorbs me.
I am very happy with your explanation, it is very clear than always. I like to solve the riddles.
You helped me to solve this riddle. Many thanks.
Regards:
Kati Svaby
I would like to continue on how the collocations are gathering into groups. It hels us when we meet a collocation that we know in which group we would range it.
1. adverb + adjective
Invading that country was an utterly stupid thing to do.
We entered a richly decorated room.
Are you fully aware of the implications of your action?
I found lot of collocations with ‘well’ . I am very interested in them that they are really collocations? Because according the dictionary they are built:
but with well (adv) their meaning change. What are they if they are not collocations. Can I ask somebody ro tell the answer my question.
2. adjective + noun
The doctor ordered him to take regular exercise.
The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage.
He was writhing on the ground in excruciating pain.
3. noun + noun
Let’s give Mr Jones a round of applause.
The ceasefire agreement came into effect at 11am.
I’d like to buy two bars of soap please.
4. noun + verb
The lion started to roar when it heard the dog barking.
Snow was falling as our plane took off.
The bomb went off when he started the car engine.
5. verb + noun
The prisoner was hanged for committing murder.
I always try to do my homework in the morning, after making my bed.
He has been asked to give a presentation about his work.
6. verb + expression with preposition
We had to return home because we had run out of money.
At first her eyes filled with horror, and then she burst into tears.
Their behaviour was enough to drive anybody to crime.
7. verb + adverb
She placed her keys gently on the table and sat down.
Mary whispered softly in John’s ear.
I vaguely remember that it was growing dark when we left.
Many thanks for your proverb or saying.It is very true.
I try to find this saying the collocations:
-dead peson
-tell a tale
-tell a lie
collocation (n)
(linguistics)
1 [countable]
a combination of words in a language, that happens very often and more frequently than would happen by chance
‘Resounding success’ and ‘crying shame’ are English collocations.
2 [uncountable]
the fact of two or more words often being used together, in a way that happens more frequently than would happen by chance
-Advanced students need to be aware of the importance of collocation.
I can say these are frozen expressions they say these words (2-3 words) always together.
For example when you say ‘fast train’ you can call it ‘quick train.’ ETC
pivotal point= a great importance point because other things depend on it.
-1948 was a pivotal point in the history of education.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights
26.Article 26 of the Declaration stated that ‘everyone has the right to education’.
The people of the world united together to declare sth
-receive education
-no matter =used to say that sth not important.
-fairly similar = to some extent but not very
-fairly difficult = The exam was quite difficult. quite little stronger than fairly and rather is little stronger than quite. So in order of strength:
Fairly difficult
quite difficult
rather difficult
Size 1. (U.C.)
It’s an area of size of Wales.
It’s similar in size to a tomato.
There wasn’t dress in my size.
The kitchen is good size. (=not small)
It is the correct size.
I need a bigger size/ smaller size.
What size do you take?
I take (a) size 5 in shoes. Important: To ask about the size of sth you usually say:
-How big?
-What size? king sized (adj) = very large
-A king sized bed
-king sized headache
man sized= suitable or large enough for a man.
a man sized-breakfast
pint-sized =(of people) very small
-a pint-sized child star
queen size = (of beds, sheets etc) larger than a standard size but not as big as king-size.
IT = information technology
-printed sheet database
-The information is stored in a large database.
-The office network allows users to share files and software, and to use a central printer. operating system= a set of programs that controls the way a computer works and runs other program. data processing= a series of actions that computer performs on data to produce an output= the informations,results etc. produced by computer.
–data output
-an output device download (v) = to move data to a smaller computer system from a larger one upload (v) = to move data to a larger computer system from a smaller one download (n)= data that has been moved to a larger computer system from a smaller one scan sth =(of a program)to examine a computer program or document in order to look virus.
This software is designed to scan to all new files for viruses. scan sth = to pass light over a picture or document using a scanner in order to copy it the memory of computer. memory = the part of a computer where information is stored; the amount of space in a computer for storing information. Winchester of Computer = Winchester disk drive = hard disk drive = modern disk drives are faster and hold more data, the basic technology is the same, so Winchester has become synonymous with hard.
