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Collocation

A collocation is the combination of words formed when two or more words are often used together in a way that sounds correct.

It is the expected combination of words commonly used by native speakers of that language. There are no rules for collocation that can be followed by a speaker for whom the language in question is a second language. It is a matter of usage and can be learnt by talking to native speakers or reading what is written by native speakers.

This is something I come across very often in my work as a translator. Especially when translating from Asian languages to English, it is often difficult to make the speakers understand why a word that sounds correct to them as a translation from their language to English is not the one that they should use, which brings us back to the fact that a language is dynamic and has a depth to it that cannot be fully understood by the rule-book alone. It has to be absorbed and experienced.

Did you know that you can use Google Books Ngrams to check which word or word combination is more popular over a given period? And not just for collocation, but for anything at all!
Use your own word combinations or check out the examples given below by clicking on the links.

For example, a mountain is high but a tree is tall.
You catch a cold (not get a cold) but you get sick.
I can make a big mistake, (not a large mistake) but a large part (not a big part) of the state is a desert.
You can be very active but not very awake. You are wide awake.

Check out more examples of collocation here.

Now you know how to check your word usage and get it right. When you do so, post the links in the comments. Inspire us with your creativity!

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