Definition / Explanation
Collocations are words that often go together in natural English. Some combinations are very strong and fixed, while others are more flexible and open to variation. Native-like language depends heavily on collocations, which is why grammatically correct sentences can still sound unnatural. For example, English says heavy rain, not strong rain or thick rain. At B2, learners should start noticing which combinations are normal, frequent, and expected. Learning vocabulary in chunks makes speech and writing more natural.
Key Rules
- A strong collocation is a combination that feels quite fixed: make a wish, commit a crime.
- A weak collocation allows more variation: big problem, important decision.
- Wrong collocations may be understandable but sound unnatural.
- Dictionaries and corpora are useful for checking common word partnerships.
- Learn collocations as chunks, not as isolated words.
Examples
- We had heavy rain all night.
- Please make a wish.
- She made a decision quickly.
- He committed a crime years ago.
- That was a strong argument.
Common Mistakes
- ❌ We had thick rain all night. -> ✅ We had heavy rain all night.
- ❌ Please do a wish. -> ✅ Please make a wish.
- ❌ He did a crime. -> ✅ He committed a crime.