Intervenant

Laurence Petoud
Executive Assistant
Formatrice en Entreprise
ECDL Expert
laurence.petoud@gmail.com
http://fce-cae.blog4ever.com/

This support has been developed as part of my

revisions for exams First Certificate in English.

ADVANCED COLLOCATIONS
The further information on this page may be of interest to advanced students and teachers.

You shall know a word by the company

it keeps
J R Firth (British linguist, 1890-1960)
The "father" of collocation is usually considered to be J.R. Firth, a British linguist who died in
1960. It was he that first used the term "collocation" in its linguistic sense.
Some definitions:

to collocate (verb): to appear with another word more frequently than by chance
- The word "white" collocates with "coffee".

collocation (noun): the combination of two or more words more frequently than
by chance - Learning about collocation helps us speak more fluent English.

a collocation (noun): an example of collocation - "White coffee" is a collocation.

An easy way to remember the meaning of collocation: think of "col-" or "co-" (together) and
"location" (place) = place together, locate together, go together
Note also (non-linguistic senses):

collocate (verb): place side by side or in relation

collocation (noun): the action of placing things side by side or in position

colocate/co-locate (verb): share a location or facility with someone or

something

STRONG AND WEAK COLLOCATION

If we look deeper into collocations, we find that not only do the words "go
together" but there is a degree of predictability in their association. Generally, in
any collocation, one word will "call up" another word in the mind of a native
speaker. In other words, if I give you one word, you can predict the other word,
with varying degrees of success. This predictability is not 100%, but it is always
much higher than with non-collocates.
The predictability may be strong: for example "auspicious" collocates with very
few words, as in:

auspicious occasion

auspicious moment

auspicious event

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Or the predictability may be weak: for example, "circuit" collocates with more than 20
words, as in:
circuit collocates left with...

CIRCUIT

circuit collocates right with...

racing

circuit

lecture

circuit

talk-show

circuit

short

circuit

closed

circuit

integrated

circuit

printed

circuit

printed

circuit

board

circuit

board

circuit

breaker

circuit

training

circuit

judge

LEXICAL AND GRAMMATICAL COLLOCATIONS

A distinction may, if wished, be made between lexical collocations and grammatical
collocations.
A lexical collocation is a type of construction where a verb, noun, adjective or
adverb forms a predictable connection with another word, as in:

Adverb + Adjective: completely satisfied (NOT downright satisfied)

Adjective + Noun: excruciating pain (NOT excruciating joy)

Noun + Verb: lions roar (NOT lions shout)

Verb + Noun: commit suicide (NOT undertake suicide)

A grammatical collocation is a type of construction where for example a verb or

adjective must be followed by a particular preposition, or a noun must be followed by
a particular form of the verb, as in:

Verb + Preposition: depend on (NOT depend of)

Adjective + Preposition: afraid of (NOT afraid at)

Noun + Particular form of verb: strength to lift it (not strength lifting it)

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 WHEN IS A COLLOCATION NOT A COLLOCATION?

The term "collocation" in its linguistic sense is relatively new (dating from the 1950s)
and not all linguists agree on its definition. In fact there is considerable disagreement
and even some confusion. Some linguists treat fixed phrases as extended
collocations (as far as I'm concerned, not on your life, rather you than me, under the
weather, if you've got the time). Others suggest that when a sequence of words is
100% predictable, and allows absolutely no change except possibly in tense, it is not
helpful to treat it as a collocation. Such sequences they generally treat as fixed
expressions ("prim and proper") or idioms ("kick the bucket").
A good dictionary of collocations is the Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of
English.

Tell me who you go with and I'll tell you

who you are

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