Grammar: 💡 Effective Word Choice & Style - Advanced (C1) - Lesson 1: Mastering Collocations (common and less common word partnerships)

💡 C1 Lesson 1: Mastering Collocations

Welcome to the C1 series on Effective Word Choice & Style! At this level, fluency is not just about knowing many individual words, but about understanding which words form natural partnerships¹. These partnerships are called collocations². Mastering them is the key to sounding truly natural and professional in English.

For example, we say "make a mistake," not "do a mistake." While grammatically understandable, "do a mistake" sounds strange to a native speaker. "Make a mistake" is the correct collocation.

Common Types of Collocations

Collocations exist in many patterns. Learning to recognize these patterns will improve your vocabulary and the naturalness³ of your speech. Here are some common types.

• Adjective + Noun: We drink strong coffee, not powerful coffee. We get stuck in heavy traffic, not big traffic.
• Verb + Noun: You make a decision, you don't do a decision. You take a risk and you pay attention.
• Adverb + Adjective: This combination strengthens an idea with great precision⁴. For example, we are fully aware of a situation or deeply concerned about an issue.

Strong vs. Weak Collocations

Some collocations are stronger than others. 'Strong' means the words are very closely linked and almost exclusive.

Weak Collocation: The adjective 'big' is weak. It can be used with many words: a big problem, a big house, a big city.

Strong Collocation: The words are a very fixed pair. You would not normally change them.

• Inclement weather: A formal and strong collocation for 'bad weather'.
• A resounding success: A strong collocation for 'a very big success'. "The charity event was a resounding⁵ success."

Learning strong collocations is a sign of a truly advanced English user.

🧠 Practice Quiz: Choose the Correct Partner

Choose the word that forms the best and most natural collocation.

1. After the bad news, the manager was _______ concerned about the company's future. (deeply / very)
   Answer: deeply ('deeply concerned' is a very strong and common collocation.)
2. To improve your English, you need to _______ attention in class. (give / pay)
   Answer: pay (The correct collocation is 'to pay attention'.)
3. It's a difficult choice, but you need to _______ a decision soon. (do / make)
   Answer: make (The correct collocation is 'to make a decision'.)
4. The fundraiser for the new school in Battambang was a _______ success. (resounding / high)
   Answer: resounding
5. When you drive in Phnom Penh, you often get stuck in _______ traffic. (heavy / large)
   Answer: heavy

📝 Homework: Use the Collocation

Complete the sentences with a word that forms a strong, natural collocation.

1. I didn't understand the problem at first, but after some thought, I finally _______ it out.
   Answer: figured
2. The government had to _______ a number of difficult decisions during the crisis.
   Answer: make
3. She has a _______ understanding of Cambodian history.
   Answer: deep
4. During the meeting, I would like to _______ the issue of our budget.
   Answer: raise

Vocabulary Glossary

1. Partnership: (Noun) - ភាពជាដៃគូ (phéap chéa day'kuu) - A relationship between two people, organizations, or in this case, words, that work together. ↩
2. Collocation: (Noun) - ឃ្លា​ដែល​ប្រើ​ជាមួយ​គ្នា (khlea dael prae chiə'muəy'knea) - Two or more words that often go together. ↩
3. Naturalness: (Noun) - ភាពធម្មជាតិ (phéap thoâm'mâ'chéat) - The quality of being like real life; not seeming artificial or strange. ↩
4. Precision: (Noun) - ភាពជាក់លាក់ (phéap cheăk'leăk) - The quality of being exact, accurate, and careful. ↩
5. Resounding: (Adjective) - ដ៏ធំធេង (dɑɑ thum'theng) - Very great or definite; used to describe a success or victory. ↩