collocation

collocation — noun

1. a particular word that commonly appears alongside another specific word, forming

1.名詞B2
釋義

a particular word that commonly appears alongside another specific word, forming a natural pair that native speakers accept as correct

例句

The teacher explained that 'strong' is a common collocation of 'coffee' in everyday English.

adjective + collocation + of

Ravi checked his dictionary to find the correct collocation for 'heavy rain'.

adjective + collocation + for

同義詞
  • word pairing

    less technical, describes the general concept

  • set phrase

    broader — includes idioms and fixed expressions

文法句型

collocation + of + noun

用法筆記

This is the countable sense — you can say 'a collocation' or 'several collocations'. It focuses on one particular word in the pair, asking which word pairs with a given other word.

常見錯誤

❌Strong rain' is a correct collocation because both words make sense together.
✅Heavy rain' is the correct collocation; native speakers do not say 'strong rain'.
💡Collocations are based on what native speakers actually use, not on logical word matching.

2. a standard phrase or expression formed by several words that commonly occur toge

2.名詞B2
釋義

a standard phrase or expression formed by several words that commonly occur together as a fixed unit

例句

The librarian told the student that 'make a decision' is a common collocation in news writing.

librarian demonstrating collocation in authentic texts

After his shower, Tomás wrote 'take a shower' in his notebook as a fixed collocation.

self-study: writing a collocation in a notebook

同義詞

文法句型

the + collocation + 'quote' + verb

a + adjective + collocation

用法筆記

Like sense 1, this is also countable. The key difference: sense 1 names one word that pairs with another (e.g. 'collocation of coffee'), while this sense treats the whole multi-word sequence as the unit (e.g. 'the collocation "strong coffee"').

常見錯誤

❌Do a mistake' is a reasonable collocation because 'do' and 'mistake' both involve actions.
✅Make a mistake' is the standard collocation in English.
💡The verb 'make' pairs with 'mistake', not 'do', even though both verbs are broadly about performing actions.

3. the general way in which particular words regularly and naturally occur together

3.名詞
釋義

the general way in which particular words regularly and naturally occur together in a language, often following patterns that are not obvious from the individual word meanings

例句

Every Tuesday afternoon, Yara meets her tutor to practice English collocation using news articles.

uncountable: practicing collocation as a skill with a tutor

Professor Okafor has written several articles about collocation in academic English.

同義詞

文法句型

collocation + verb (singular)

studying / learning / teaching + collocation

用法筆記

This is the uncountable sense — do not use 'a' or 'an' with it. Treat it as a singular concept that takes a singular verb. It refers to the whole phenomenon of word partnerships in a language, not to any specific pair.

常見錯誤

❌Collocation are important for natural English.
✅Collocation is important for natural English.
💡In the uncountable sense, 'collocation' is a singular concept and requires a singular verb.