Back in the 1950s and ‘60s there was a group of performers who seemed to always be together. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford – They called themselves The Rat Pack. They performed together, made movies together, partied together, and each made the other better. In many ways, they were the physical embodiment of a collocation.

In English, a collocation is a group or pairing of words which commonly appear together. I like to think of a collocation as a typical response to a fill in the blank question. If I said, “Fill in the blank. Peace of _” you would typically reply, “Mind.”  Collocations are common expressions, and knowing them will broaden your understanding of the English language.

For native English speakers, collocations just seem natural. We understand them because the pairings or groupings of these words just seem logical when combined. Another way to express it is to say that we know one when we hear one.

There are several types of collocation pairings and groupings:

1. Verbs and expressions with prepositions

These are often idioms and colloquialisms.

Purrs like a kitten, running on fumes, put into words, filled with pride

2. Adjectives and nouns

Happy campers, harsh winter, calm seas, nasty cold

3. Adverbs and adjectives

Increasingly difficult, profoundly moving, incredibly easy, surprisingly affordable

4. Nouns and nouns

Antique auction, sofa cushion, blanket statement, picture window

5. Verbs and adverbs

Walk softly, drive safely, wash thoroughly, watch closely

6. Nouns and verbs

Doors slam, coin toss, mosquito buzzing, audience applauds

7. Verbs and nouns

Play ball, scratch the surface, wash windows, sing praise

Most of the time you cannot substitute another word in the pairing or group of words which make up a collocation and this is why they are so important to know. If you really want to pass yourself off as a knowledgeable English speaker, you want to know the proper collocation, and how to apply it.

Using some of the examples above, let’s look at correct and incorrect collocations.

 

Correct: His family was filled with pride when he won the award.

Incorrect: His family was crammed with pride when he won the award.

Correct: Because our team won the game, we all went home as happy campers.

Incorrect: Because our team won the game, we all went home as joyous campers.

Correct: We all agreed that the play was profoundly moving.

Incorrect: We all agreed that the play was thoughtfully moving.

Correct: My wife got a great bargain at the antique auction.

Incorrect: My wife got a great bargain at the old object auction.

Correct: Every time I leave on a long trip, my mother cautions me to drive safely.

Incorrect: Every time I leave on a long trip, my mother cautions me to drive guardedly.

Correct: In the event of a tie vote, the winner is determined by a coin toss.

Incorrect: In the event of a tie vote, the winner is determined by a coin throw.

Correct: The book is so complex that discussing the plot will only scratch the surface.

Incorrect: The book is so complex that discussing the plot will only scar the surface.

 

While you can easily find other words that will pair together, a collocation combines the best words to fit whatever meaning you want to convey, and we know that they’re the best, because they’ve been paired together for so long.

 

Photo by Joaquim Fonoll on Flickr