Collocations

Not all words go together:

go swimming        do swimming       play swimming

study hard       study strong

do exercise    have exercise

wash my hair      clean my hair

clean my teeth    brush  my teeth     wash my teeth

speak English (a language)         talk English  (a language)         say English (a language)

tall building       high building  

high-rise building      tall-rise building 

second-hand car        second-user car

hand-in a car          trade-in  a car

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Examples of Common Collocations:

make a mistake         make time        make up      make do       make a  fuss

have a shower        have time      have a good time      have dinner

take a shower        take a break        take five      take your time        take risks

do homework       do exercise       do housework       do judo       do karate     do the dishes       do time

go swimming         go shopping        go for a walk       go camping       go hiking      go jogging   go running           go bowling       go crazy/bananas      go for a check up        go for it

play football        play tennis         play cards      play games        play the game      play truant

have breakfast       skip breakfast       continental breakfast      (full) English breakfast

heavy traffic        light traffic        traffic jam        traffic light

road works        road block      the road is up

delicious food         fast food       health food

full-time job         part-time job

raise an issue           raise a query          raise a flag         raise awareness

 

Tutorials:

 

https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/collocations.htm

 

Quizzes:

do / have / make

https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/collocations-quiz-do-make.htm

http://www.ieltsbuddy.com/collocation-quiz.html

All

http://a4esl.org/q/f/z/zy37mjp.htm

http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=collocation-quiz

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Advanced

https://www.usingenglish.com/quizzes/292.html

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Collocations Dictionary

This dictionary will help you learn collocations. It is most useful fo helping you with your writing.

Imaging you are writing about you car or driving. Your writing will be more natural and more correct if you use words that go together. Which collocations are correct?

car park      car stop

car cleaning station     car wash

manufacturer of car        make of car

car dealer   car seller

used car      second-hand car       pre-owned car        second-user car

support a car        sustain a car        run a car       maintain a car (formal)

hand-in a car          trade-in  a car         part-excange a car.

get petrol (gas)      buy petrol (gas)     fill up      tank up     fuel    fuel up (not common)

You can find any words that go together here: http://www.ozdic.com/ .  Just type in “car” to find words an phrases that go together with car. If you type in “drive” (or driving) you find words and phrases that go with drive (or driving).