Rici Ramadani: Collocation

Collocation

Definition of collocation

A collocation is two or more words that often go together. These combinations just sound "right" to native English speakers, who use them all the time. On the other hand, other combinations may be unnatural and just sound "wrong". Look at these examples:

natural English...	unnatural English...
the fast train fast food	the ~~quick~~ train ~~quick~~ food
a quick shower a quick meal	a ~~fast~~ shower a ~~fast~~ meal

Types of colocation

1) Adjective + noun

There are many adjective which can gather with noun, but I will write some adjectives to give you obvious example. Here are the examples of collocation adjective + noun:

· He has been a heavy smoker and drinker all his adult life.

· She speaks English quite well but with strong French accent.

· They have a hard life and worked through a hard time. We don’t have hard evidence that they had used hard drugs.

· The doctor ordered him to take regular exercise.

· The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage.

2) Noun + noun (such as collective noun)

· I would like to buy two bars of soaps

· There is a glass of water on the table.

· Would you like to have a cup of coffee?

· He will give a bar of chocolate to his girlfriend on Valentine ’s Day.

· Her bouquet of flower is the best of all

3) Verb + noun

· I always try to do my homework in the morning after making my bed

· Do you think the bank would forgive a debt?

· We are going to have lunch together, would you like to join??

· Every day, I take a shower at 6 o’clock

4) Adverb + adjective

· This test is ridiculously easy! I didn’t even study, but I will get high score.

· Janet is a highly successful businesswoman. She owns several restaurants and hotels around the country.

· That is utterly ridiculous. She didn’t steal your favorite book. She wasn’t even in the office yesterday.

· Roger is strongly opposed to anything bad for health. He doesn’t eat junk food at all.

· Are you okay? I am deeply concerned about you. You have been desperate since you lost your job.

5) Verbs+ prepositional phrase (phrasal verb)

· Their behavior was enough to drive anybody to crime

· We had to return home because we had run out of money

· I am going to look up the meaning in the dictionary

· She is going to dress up for her first date with him.

· You have to make up your mind before doing something.

6) Verb +adverb

· Mary whispered softly in John’s ear.

· The boy speaks politely, and is very well-behaved.

· The accident happened because he was driving dangerously.

· After 2 years in London, he speaks English fluently.

· I waited patiently, but she never came.

7) noun + verb

· The lion started to roar when it heard the dog barking.

· Snow was falling as our plane took off.

Conclusion

Collocation adalah dua atau lebih kata-kata yang sering digunakan bersama untuk membentuk satu kesatuan makna. Kombinasi ini bagi Native Speaker tidaklah begitu asing karena sering digunakan. Namun, kombinasi lain mungkin tidak biasa dan bisa jadi akan menjadi salah.

Ada beberapa Jenis Collocation dan cara pembentukannya, yaitu: