Download English learning skills and lexical Studies and parts of speech etc. and more Study notes English Language in PDF only on Docsity! Lecture No. 14 Vocabulary and collocation
Definition
Collocation
Definition
Here are examples of collocation:
Natural English Unnatural English
The fast train The quiek train
Fast food Quick food
A quick shower A fast shower
A quick meal A fast meal
Not a strong smoker
A heavy smoker
Or a big smoker
A serious illness Not a strong or big
Ulness
Miss the bus Not lost the bus
Made a mistake Not did a mistake
i Why should we learn it?
Types of collocation
Lexical and Grammatical Collocations
Lexical Collocation is a type of construction where a verb,
noun, adjective or adverb forms a predictable connection with
another word, as in:
- Adverb + Adjective =: completely satisfied (NOT downright satisfied)
v Adjective + Noun : excruciating pain (NOT excruciating joy)
» Noun + Verb : lions roar (NOT lions shout)
» Verb + Noun : commit suicide (NOT undertake suicide)
Types of collocation
e.g. : launch the product, pose a problem, etc.
* The increase in oil prices certainly poses a problem for us.
We are going to launch a new automatic motor in June 2012.
e.g. : smiled happily, whispered softly, etc.
* Nadia smiled happily as she watched the children playing in the garden.
My mother whispered softly in my ear that she would always love me.
Types of collocation
Noun + Verb 7
e.g. :lionsroar, economy booms, etc.
* The lion roars in the zoo.
The economy boomed in 1990s.
te de 4s) (-2 48)!
See e.g. : burst into tears, swelling with pride, etc.
: When he saw his exam results, Rooney burst into tears.
Swelling with pride, Stanley watched his daughter pick up her violin and play.
Differential
How collocations differ from Compound
words and Idiom?
Collocations should not be confused with idioms although
both are similar in that there is a degree of meaning present in
the collocation or idiom that is not entirely compositional. With
idioms, the meaning is completely non-compositional whereas
collocations are mostly compositional.
It is also not always easy to separate collocation and
compounds and where they are useful for learners or an
ii important part of the vocabulary of a topic. s
Exercise
Put the following expressions into the correct
category in the table below.
Ensure safety - heavy rain - teapot - break a leg - pitch dark —
passport - by the way — hat trick
ieee] ES. TE
Ensure safety break aleg feapot ra
heavy rain by the way passport
pitch dark hat tick
Sort Text
You can train yourselves to notice them whenever you read or
listen to anything in English. Loot at the collocations that are
worth learning from this short text in English.
