Day 1: Collocations

Collocations Rules (Complete Guide)

1) What a collocation is

A collocation is a natural word partnership—words that commonly appear together in real English.

Examples: make a decision, heavy rain, interested in, because of, at any rate.

Core rule: Collocations are usage-based. Often you cannot guess them by logic—learn them as chunks.

2) Two main types of collocations

A) Lexical collocations (word + word)

These are combinations of content words (verb/noun/adjective/adverb).

B) Grammatical collocations (word + grammar)

These include prepositions, to-infinitive, that-clauses, etc.

3) The most important grammar patterns

3.1 Adjective + to (two meanings)

A) Adjective + to + verb (infinitive)

Used to show feelings, readiness, or judgement about an action.

Examples: happy to help, ready to start, wrong to assume, likely to happen.

B) Adjective + to + noun/pronoun (relationship / reaction)

Examples: kind to me, rude to customers, similar to, married to, allergic to.

✅ Rule: If to is followed by a verb, it’s usually infinitive (to do).

If to is followed by a noun/pronoun, it’s a preposition pattern (to someone/something).

3.2 Noun + preposition (fixed pairing)

Common patterns:

noun + to → access to, solution to, reaction to
noun + of → fear of, lack of, habit of

noun + for → reason for, demand for, admiration for
noun + in → interest in, increase in

noun + on → effect on, ban on
noun + with → problem with, relationship with
noun + about → information about, anxiety about

noun + between → difference between, connection between
noun + from → protection from

✅ Rule: The preposition is part of the collocation. Don’t swap it freely.

3.3 Verb + noun (very common)

Examples: make a decision, take responsibility, pay attention, commit a crime, raise funds.

✅ Rule: Many verbs have a “natural noun partner.”

Wrong-sounding combos often happen when learners replace the verb with a synonym (do a decision ❌).

3.4 Verb + preposition

Examples: depend on, belong to, approve of, suffer from, focus on.

✅ Rule: Treat “verb + preposition” like one unit (almost like one verb).

3.5 Adverb + adjective

Examples: deeply concerned, highly recommended, strongly opposed, fully aware.

✅ Rule: Not every adverb fits every adjective (very recommended sounds unnatural; highly recommended is natural).

3.6 Adjective + noun

Examples: heavy rain, strong coffee, major problem, great importance.

✅ Rule: Adjectives have preferred noun partners (English often chooses “heavy rain,” not “strong rain”).

3.7 Noun + noun

Examples: traffic jam, job interview, language barrier, data analysis.

✅ Rule: The first noun often works like an adjective (it “classifies” the second noun).

3.8 Fixed phrases (multi-word collocations)

These are ready-made chunks used for linking ideas:

because of, due to, in spite of
according to
rather than
with regard to / with respect to
as soon as, as far as
at any rate, in fact, on the other hand

✅ Rule: These behave like one grammatical unit.

Many are followed by a noun / -ing (because of + noun/gerund), and some are followed by a clause (as soon as + clause).

4) Usage rules (how to use collocations correctly)

4.1 Don’t replace one word with a “synonym” automatically

Collocations are not purely logical:

make a mistake ✅ (not do a mistake ❌)

strong tea ✅ (not powerful tea ❌ in normal English)

4.2 Collocations can change tense / number, but keep the partnership

make a decision → made a decision → making decisions
pay attention → paid attention

✅ Rule: Grammar changes (tense/plural) are fine—the main pairing stays.

4.3 Articles and countability matter

Some collocations use a/an, some don’t:

make a decision ✅ (countable)
give advice ✅ (uncountable; not an advice ❌)

4.4 Passive voice is allowed (common in formal writing)

They made a decision. → A decision was made.

4.5 Word order is usually fixed

Especially for fixed phrases:

in spite of ✅ (not in despite of ❌)
according to ✅ (not according with ❌)

5) Quick learning rules (best practice)

Learn collocations as chunks, not single words.
Record the pattern: (noun + to), (adj + to-infinitive), (verb + noun).
Notice the preposition and don’t change it.
Practice in sentences; collocations become automatic through repetition.

Grammar Rules / Notes