Vocabulary: Word Choice & Style
C1 Lesson 1: Mastering Collocations
What are Collocations? 🤔
Collocations are words that form natural partnerships in English. Mastering them is the key to sounding truly fluent. Using the wrong partner word, while grammatically possible, sounds strange to a native speaker.
I did a mistake.
I made a mistake.
Common Collocation Patterns
1. Adjective + Noun
Certain adjectives naturally partner with certain nouns.
- We drink strong coffee (not powerful coffee).
- We get stuck in heavy traffic (not big traffic).
2. Verb + Noun
These are very common fixed phrases for actions.
- You make a decision (not do a decision).
- You take a risk.
- You pay attention.
3. Adverb + Adjective
This combination strengthens an idea with great precision.
- We are fully aware of the situation.
- They are deeply concerned about the issue.
Tips for Mastery 💡
Strong vs. Weak Collocations
Some collocations are stronger (more fixed) than others. Learning strong collocations is a sign of a truly advanced English user.
- Weak Collocation: The adjective 'big' 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. For example, "inclement weather" is a formal, strong collocation for "bad weather."
Example: "The charity event was a resounding success." (a strong collocation for "a very big success")
Practice Your Collocations 🎯
Quiz: Choose the Correct Partner
Choose the word that forms the best and most natural collocation.
- After the bad news, the manager was _______ concerned about the company's future. (deeply / very)
→ deeply - To improve your English, you need to _______ attention in class. (give / pay)
→ pay - It's a difficult choice, but you need to _______ a decision soon. (do / make)
→ make - The fundraiser for the new school was a _______ success. (resounding / high)
→ resounding - When you drive in Phnom Penh, you often get stuck in _______ traffic. (heavy / large)
→ heavy
Your Vocabulary Mission ⭐
Use the Collocation
Complete the sentences with a word that forms a strong, natural collocation.
- The government had to _______ a number of difficult decisions. (Answer: make)
- She has a _______ understanding of Cambodian history. (Answer: deep)
Key Vocabulary
- Collocation Two or more words that often go together naturally.
- Naturalness The quality of being like real, fluent speech; not seeming artificial.
- Precision The quality of being exact, accurate, and careful.
- Resounding Very great or definite; used to describe a success or victory.