Grammar Study - Collocation

     
This week's grammar study provides a run through on - Collocation


A collocation is a union of two or more words that are used together or combined regularly.
In a way, the words are more suitably used side by side than apart from each other.

To understand what we actually mean by collocation

Consider two words, 'thick' and 'dense'

We might form phrases like, 

• Thick forest or Dense forest
• Thick fog or Dense fog
• Thick smoke or Dense smoke

On the other hand, we can never say 'dense hair" rather we say 'thick hair'

Therefore 'thick' collocates or combines perfectly with hair rather than 'dense'

Also consider

Two other words 'sharp' and 'acute'

We might form phrases like

'sharp' pain or 'acute' pain

But we cannot say
'acute knife' rather we make use of 'sharp knife'

This means that 'sharp' collocates with 'knife'  more than 'acute'

         

EXAMPLES OF COLLOCATION

Verb Collocations

This is usually the most common form of collocation used in everyday situations.
It's a combo of a verb + noun

Examples of  Verb Collocations

1.Feel free to take a seat and enjoy the event.
2.Turn (off/on) the computer after use.
3.We are making rapid progress on the project.

Adjective Collocations

This collocation form is seen in sentences where an adjective precedes a noun.

Examples Of Adjective Collocation

1.He fell in a deep sleep after the party.

2.John is a heavy smoker

3. I bet you will get into deep trouble by following his advice.

Expression Collocations

This refers to the use of collocates to express how a person feels about an ongoing situation.

Examples of Expression Collocation

1.I deeply regret the loss of my most priceless asset.

2.I was positively encouraged by his remarks.

3.I did that in utter fury.

Business Collocations

These are collocates used more frequently in during business engagements.

Examples Of Business Collocations

1.We just sealed a contract worth millions of Naira.

2.I wouldn't spend my hard earned money on a fruitless mission.

3.He paid us with counterfeit money.

So we are done!

Test your abilities on collocations

Identify collocations in the following sentences

1.His poor performances resulted in strong criticism.

2.He is being held in high esteem by the fans

3. No one loves someone with low self esteem.

4.The teacher has an awe-inspiring personality.

5.Mark was greatly disappointed by his fiancee.


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