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thespanglishspeake

What are Collocations?

Updated: Feb 22

Collocations are the way we put words together. Knowing the right combinations makes your English more natural. Learning these combinations is an important part of the journey.

Collocations word cloud

If you think collocations sounds like “colocación” and are wondering if it’s related, then

you are correct! Collocations are words that go together.


For example, in Spanish if it rains a lot, the forecast will say:


Hoy se esperan fuertes lluvias. Fuertes + lluvias = collocation

Además, también se esperan fuertes vientos. Fuertes + vientos = collocation


This weather forecast in English is:


Today we can expect heavy rain. Heavy + rain = collocation

As well as strong winds. Strong + winds = collocation


Collocations are word combinations that native speakers put together which may not be the same combination of words from one language to another.

It’s very useful to learn these common word combinations as they make the language you speak sound more fluent and natural.


Collocations (word combinations) are infinite!!! We can find:


noun + noun

adverb + adjective

adjective + noun

noun + verb

verb + noun

verb + expression with preposition

verb + adverb


Be patient! They key is to learn your vocabulary in chunks (groups) instead of

individual words with no connections.

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