Question: Write definition, meaning and types of 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”.
Ways of learning Collocations:
(1)
Read widely to find new vocabulary and collocations;
(2)
Practice using the collocations you have learnt;
(3)
When you learn a new word, think of other words that
collocate with it. For example, if the word is ‘take’, you may learn the words
that collocate with it: e.g. take a chance, take an exam, take action, etc.
Types of Collocations:
There are several types of collocation depending on the
categories.
(a) Verb + Noun
(b) adjective + noun
(c) noun + noun
(d) verb + preposition
(e) adverb + adjectives
(f) verb + adverb.
The types are further explained with
examples:
(a)
verb + noun
Examples:
o
make + choice – He made a right choice
o
do + business – He is interested in doing business.
o
get + headache – I got headache after watching the movie
(b)
adjective + noun
Examples:
o equal + rights – In india,
all the citizens have equal rights.
o
front + door – Could you please close the front door?
o
high + standards – The college maintains high standards.
(c)
noun + noun collocation
Examples:
o
departure + time – What is the departure time of the train?
o
debit + card – The bank issued my debit card.
o
window + seat – I want a window seat in the bus.
(d)
verb + preposition/ preposition phrase collocation
Examples:
o
work + for – My brother works for a bank.
o
fill + with – My childhood was filled with happy memories.
o
believe + in – I always believe in hard work.
(e)
Adverb + Adjective Collocation
Examples:
o
happily + married – They are happily married for 20 years
now.
o
deeply + worried – She was deeply worried about me.
o fully + aware – He is fully
aware of the problems.
(f)
Adverb + Verb Collocation
Examples:
o
fully + recovered – The patient has fully recovered from COVID.
o
completely + forgotten – He has completely forgotten about me.
o badly + damaged – The car
was badly damaged in the accident.
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NOOJILLA SRINIVAS
Lecturer in English
Govt. College (A), Rajahmundry
Ph: 7981862200
email: noojillasrinivas@gmail.com; noojillasrinivas@gcrjy.ac.in
