Collocations

Collocations: Words That Love to Be Together! 🤝

The Story of Word Best Friends

Imagine you have a best friend. You two just click. You finish each other’s sentences, you go everywhere together, and when people see one of you, they expect the other!

Words are just like that!

Some words are best friends. They always hang out together. When you use them together, everyone understands you perfectly. When you try to separate them or swap one friend for a stranger? Things get awkward!

These word friendships are called COLLOCATIONS.

What Are Collocations?

A collocation is when two or more words naturally go together because native speakers always say them that way.

Think of it like this:

You don’t “make” a photo. You TAKE a photo. You don’t “do” a mistake. You MAKE a mistake.

Why? Because that’s how the words became friends! There’s no grammar rule—it’s just habit.

graph TD
    A["COLLOCATION"] --> B["Words that naturally pair together"]
    B --> C["Like best friends"]
    C --> D["Native speakers just know them"]

Quick Examples

The Rule? There is no rule! You learn them by hearing and using them.

Verb Collocations: Action Word Friendships

Verbs are action words (run, make, take, do, have).

Some verbs have favorite nouns they always pair with!

Common Verb + Noun Pairs

Story Time: Tom’s Morning

Tom took a shower and had breakfast. He made his bed and did his homework. Then he took a photo of his cat.

See how the verbs found their best friend nouns? Tom didn’t do a shower or make homework. The right pairs make everything sound natural!

Adjective Collocations: Describing Word Friendships

Adjectives describe things (big, fast, heavy, strong).

Some adjectives have favorite nouns too!

Common Adjective + Noun Pairs

The Tricky Part

Look at these:

• Heavy rain (not strong rain)
• Strong coffee (not heavy coffee)

Both “heavy” and “strong” mean powerful. But rain chose “heavy” as its friend, and coffee chose “strong”!

graph TD
    A["Rain"] --> B["Heavy rain ✅"]
    A --> C["Strong rain ❌"]
    D["Coffee"] --> E["Strong coffee ✅"]
    D --> F["Heavy coffee ❌"]

Make vs Do: The Famous Battle

These two confuse EVERYONE! Let’s settle it forever.

MAKE = Create Something New

When you make something, you’re creating or producing it.

DO = Perform a Task

When you do something, you’re performing an action or completing a task.

The Memory Trick

MAKE = You can touch or see what you made (cake, bed, money) DO = You complete an action (homework, work, exercise)

Quick Quiz Yourself!

• _____ a decision → MAKE (you create a choice)
• _____ the laundry → DO (you complete a task)
• _____ a mistake → MAKE (you create an error)
• _____ your homework → DO (you complete schoolwork)

Say vs Tell: The Speaking Twins

Both mean “to speak,” but they have different friends!

SAY = Focus on the Words

SAY focuses on WHAT was spoken.

You SAY + words/sentences:

Pattern: SAY + (the actual words)

TELL = Focus on the Listener

TELL focuses on WHO receives the message.

You TELL + a person:

Pattern: TELL + (person) + (information)

Special TELL Phrases (No Person Needed!)

Some phrases always use TELL, even without naming a person:

• Tell the truth
• Tell a lie
• Tell a story
• Tell a joke
• Tell a secret
• Tell the time
• Tell the difference

The Visual Rule

graph TD
    A["Speaking"] --> B["SAY"]
    A --> C["TELL"]
    B --> D["Focus: THE WORDS"]
    B --> E["Say hello"]
    B --> F["Say sorry"]
    C --> G["Focus: THE LISTENER"]
    C --> H["Tell him the news"]
    C --> I["Tell her a story"]

Example Conversation

Mom said “Good morning!” She told me to eat breakfast. Dad said goodbye. I told him I loved him.

Notice:

• Said → followed by the actual words
• Told → followed by a person

Your Collocation Starter Pack

Here are the collocations every English learner needs:

Must-Know MAKE Collocations

• Make a mistake
• Make money
• Make a decision
• Make progress
• Make an effort
• Make sense
• Make sure

Must-Know DO Collocations

• Do homework
• Do business
• Do your best
• Do a favor
• Do the dishes
• Do exercise
• Do nothing

Must-Know SAY Collocations

• Say hello/goodbye
• Say sorry
• Say yes/no
• Say something
• Say a prayer

Must-Know TELL Collocations

• Tell the truth
• Tell a lie
• Tell a story
• Tell a joke
• Tell someone a secret
• Tell the time
• Tell the difference

Why Collocations Matter

Using the right collocations makes you sound natural and confident.

The second column sounds like a native speaker!

The Secret to Learning Collocations

Don’t memorize single words. Memorize word pairs!

Instead of learning:

“decision” = a choice you make

Learn:

“MAKE a decision” = to choose something

Words travel in groups. Learn them together, and you’ll speak like a native in no time!

Summary: Words Love Their Best Friends

1. Collocations = Words that naturally go together
2. Verb Collocations = Verbs with their favorite nouns (take a photo, do homework)
3. Adjective Collocations = Adjectives with their favorite nouns (heavy rain, strong coffee)
4. Make vs Do = Make creates, Do performs
5. Say vs Tell = Say focuses on words, Tell focuses on the listener

Now go out there and make friends with these collocations! (Not do friends—see, you’re already getting it! 😄)