Adjective + noun collocations
Nouns often have typical adjectives which go with them. Here are some examples. Compare thing and article:
| We say | We don’t usually say |
|---|---|
| the real thing | the genuine thing |
| the genuine article | the real article |
Examples
I don’t like five-a-side football; I prefer the real thing. [i.e. real football, with 11 players in each team]
These trainers are the genuine article. Those others are just cheap imported copies.
You can give a broad summary of something (NOT a wide summary).
You can describe something in great detail (NOT in big detail).
Verb + adverb collocations
Often, verbs have typical adverbs that collocate with them. The lines here show which collocations are normal:
She always walks too fast. / She always walks too quickly.
Let’s move fast. / Let’s move quickly. / Let’s move swiftly on to the next point.
If I remember rightly, it happened at about 6.30 (NOT if I remember perfectly).
It’s something I feel strongly about (NOT I feel powerfully about).
Adverb + adjective collocations
It is useful to learn which adverbs most typically modify particular types of adjectives. For example, the adverb utterly, which means totally or completely, very frequently occurs before adjectives with negative connotations, although it can also be used with neutral or positive words. Typical examples are: appalling, dismal, depressed, disgusting, distasteful, exhausted, false, fatuous, impossible, lost, ludicrous, naive, pointless, ridiculous, unacceptable, useless, wrong.
Verb + object collocations
Verbs and their objects often form collocations.
You can raise a family. [bring yu children] (NOT lift a family)
You raise your hand to ask a question (NOT lift a hand).
You can visit/go to/click on/check out a website.
Collocation is concerned with the way words regularly occur together, often in unpredictable ways. It is a very good idea when learning new words to learn any typical collocations that go with them.
A. Make collocations by finding the adjectives which go with these nouns.
| 1. ___________ rain, frost | 6. ___________ areas |
| 2. ___________ winds | 7. ___________ skies |
| 3. ___________ intervals | 8. ___________ chance |
| 4. ___________ conditions | 9. ___________ ground |
| 5. ___________ showers | 10. ___________ news |
B. Is the correct word real or genuine in these sentences? Choose the more normal collocation. If both are acceptable, choose them both.
- The photos of the pyramids are wonderful. One day I’d love to see the real/genuine thing.___________________________________________________________
- He just doesn’t live in the real/genuine world. He lives in a fantasy world all the time.______________________________________________________________________
- This handbag is made of real/genuine leather._______________________________
- She is a very real/genuine person. If she promises something, she’ll do it. _______________________________________________________________________________
- This home-made champagne is nice, but it’s not good as the real/genuine article._______________________________________________________________________
C. Complete the collocations in the following sentences.
- It was a ________ conclusion that they would get lost without a map.
- They looked everywhere but could find neither hide nor ________ of him.
- I hope I have made myself ________ clear.
- You can’t expect to have the best of ________.
- When all is said ________ ________, the sooner ________ ________.
- This assignment is long overdue, but better late _________ ________.
- I look forward to receiving a reply at your ________.
- They spent ages trying to get to the ________ of the matter.
- Once ________ a ________, there was a tall, dark and ________ Prince.
- Don’t worry, it isn’t the be-all and ________.
- You ________ my words, there will be rain before sunset.
- The police have adopted a policy of ________ tolerance towards crime, and they are taking ________ measures to combat graffiti.
- Look at the photograph; seeing is ________.
- There is no evidence that the cure works; it is just an old ________.
- Failing to prepare is preparing to fail; don’t leave everything till the ________ ________.
D. Express these collocations in your own words.
- He was always one for cutting off his nose to spite his face. _______________________________________________________________________________
- A stitch in time saves nine. _______________________________________________________________________________
- The choice was between the devil and the deep blue sea. _______________________________________________________________________________
- A miss is as good as a mile. _______________________________________________________________________________
- It’s a broad as it’s along. _______________________________________________________________________________