Transcript Collocations: A Marriage Contract Between Words

Collocations: A Marriage
Contract Between Words
A collocation refers to…
The way words are combined with each
other.
They are a “marriage contract between
words.”
Let’s look at some different types…
Adjective + Noun
Combinations
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Big stomach
Long legs
Tough decision
Rich dessert
Red wine
Verb + Noun
Combinations
• Provide a
framework
• Maintain a car
• Throw a party
• Accept
responsibility
• Ask a question
Verb + Adverb
Combinations (Adverb
+Verb)
• Wait patiently
• Speak fluently
• Drive dangerously
• Successfully
complete
• Highly appreciate
• Really well
Phrasal Verbs
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Cut back
Depend on
Focus on
Point out
Take back
Dress up
Finish
Move in/out
Prepositional Phrases
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In any case
With regard to
In other words
Despite of
In spite of
On the whole
Why study collocations?
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Increase written and oral fluency
Increase lexicon (vocabulary)
Provide clarity in writing and speaking
Stress and intonation improve
How do we learn
collocations?
• You must start to notice them as you read.
Start to become more aware of the
environment of words.
• Notice patterns.
• Read chunks or groups of words not single
words.
• Use a dictionary or concordance (a program
that identifies patterns between words)
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