Collocations are collections of words that "fit together"; i.e. they are predictable patterns and phrases or groups of words that we typically use together. They include what have traditionally been considered vocabulary items, as well as structural patterns which may seem closer to traditional grammar and combinations of words that simply "go together". So idioms like "take a break", structures like "If I had the chance, I would ..." and word combinations like "get on a bus /get in a car" are all considered collocations.
Collocations can be described in a number of ways. One way of thinking about them is in terms of "fixedness" - in other words, the degree to which you can vary the basic pattern and still have a collocation. We can only define the fixedness or unfixedness of collocations in terms of a continuum - all we can say is that some are more fixed than others but we can't make a neat dividing line between "fixed" and "unfixed". A very fixed collocation is one in which the pattern has very few expected variations. So, for example, the phrase "kick the bucket" is an idiom, a relatively fixed collocation meaning "to die". While we could substitute nouns and verbs in this sentence and get other meaningful sentences (e.g. "kick the door", "lift the bucket"), the word combinations in these other sentences are no longer cohesive patterns in the way that "kick the bucket" is. Like "kick the bucket", most collocations which are very fixed form a particular expected meaning rather than a structure.
Less fixed collocations are often more structural - common patterns that help structure a sentence but don't carry as much specific meaning by themselves. For example a less fixed collocation might be something like:
Let's + verb which directs an audience's attention + preposition + noun which describes an idea. This is a commonly used structural pattern into which you can insert a variety of words and still have commonly used patterns:
- Let's move on to the next point.
- Let's go back to the last chapter.
- Let's move away from this paragraph
- Let's look at tomorrow's homework.
- Let's go on to the main point.
However, there are still a limited number of words which will "fit" into this pattern. So, for example, we don't typically say "Let's go out of this paragraph".
On the other hand, there are some less fixed collocations which are not as clearly structural. Words that are commonly used with other words are examples of less fixed collocations which are not as structural in nature. So for example, we use "bus" and "car" with only certain sets of other words:
We say "Get on a bus"/"climb on a bus" but usually not "enter a bus" or "get in a bus". However, we say "get in a car".
We say "take the bus"/"ride the bus"/"go there on the bus" but usually not "We can drive there on the bus". However we say "We can drive there in her car."
It's not important to be able to classify collocations according to their exact degree of fixedness. However, it probably is helpful to know that some collocations are more fixed than others: if you recognize a collocation as very fixed, you can learn it as one item; if you recognize it as less fixed, you understand that there's a pattern there that you can use to build a collection of useful related phrases.
It's also helpful to pay attention to how collocations relate to the context around them. In some cases, especially with structures and longer phrases, the use of a collocation depends very heavily on the situation in which it's used. So for example, you probably shouldn't greet the president of the company you work for by saying, "What's up?". On the other hand, other collocations, like "get in a car" you can use almost anywhere.
Our brain tends to store language in chunks, rather than individual words. Thus, when we speak or write, it is more efficient for us to remember and use phrases as chunks rather than constructing them one word at a time. This increased efficiency promotes fluency.
Native English speakers will unconsciously predict what is going to be said based on their own use of these phrases. This increases the efficiency with which they are able to listen or read. Thus, if a speaker or writer uses uncommon phrasing patterns, a native English speaker may find him or her harder to understand. Conversely, if a non-native speaker of English uses frequently used phrasing patterns, this may make it easier for native speakers to guess what the non-native speaker is saying and may help compensate for other language issues such as pronunciation.
Familiarity with collocations and the resulting ability to make guesses about a speaker/writer's speech should increase a non-native speaker's efficiency as a listener or reader.
Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with words that you think might belong there. The blanks represent one part of a collocation. Some of these collocations are more fixed than others, so in some cases, there might be several words that could be used in the blanks.
Example
He only sees his sister once in a _______________.
Almost every native speaker in the U.S. would almost immediately write either "while" or "blue moon" in the blank. The phrases "once in a while" and "once in a blue moon" are collocations, learned as chunks of language.
Now see what you can do with the following sentences:
- His angry ex-wife claims he has never ________________ his responsibilities to his children because he has not paid enough child support.
- She was excused for being late due to extenuating _________________.
- "Can you give me directions to the freeway from here?"
"45th Street is the next left. If you follow 45th for about a mile, you can __________________ the freeway there."
- "Can you give me a _________________ with this?"
- "I'm so hungry, I _____________________."
Answers: 1) fulfilled, honored, carried out, met 2) circumstances 3) get on 4) hand 5) could eat a horse
