A sequence of words or terms that co-occur more often than would be expected by chance (i.e., the statistically significant placement of particular words in a language).
Questions tagged [collocations]
377 questions
20
votes
2 answers
Big garden is incorrect?
I answered wrong the following question:
There is a nice house with a big/large garden.
I chose big. Is it incorrect indeed?
Gyonder
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16
votes
5 answers
Why "previously learned knowledge" is a natural phrase in English, although "learn knowledge" is not?
Learning transfer refers to the degree to which an individual applies
previously learned knowledge and skills to new situations. - source
I already know that the phrase "learn knowledge" is grammatically correct, but it is not commonly used in…
joy2020
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6
votes
3 answers
What is the difference between "go on" and "go for" vacation?
For example,
I will go Mexico for vacation next month.
Vs.
I will go on vacation to Mexico next month.
Is there any difference? If not, which one is more common In colloquial AmE?
Little_Grass
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4
votes
1 answer
Incorrect Collocation
Is this a collocation or an idiom? I found different answers online.
To the best of my knowledge
If we change one of the words, would it be considered incorrect collocation. For example: "Answer this ON the best of YOUR knowledge."
khaleesi
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4
votes
4 answers
Can I say 'I swam at the beach'?
I have come across the following sentence in New Round-Up 3 Pearson Education Limited 2010:
I swam at the beach last weekend.
I would have understood if it were 'at the seaside', but 'at the beach' strikes me as unusual.
Yukatan
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3
votes
1 answer
Cut off with indirect object
As far as I understand, when a line of communication or supply is interrupted, it can be said like this:
They cut off electricity yesterday.
Is it correct? At least Google shows this collocation is often used.
Now what if I want to give additional…
olegst
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3
votes
2 answers
Does "being harsh on someone" make sense?
Since the meanings of the words harsh and hard are similar but not the same, does "harsh on" make sense?
For example:
Calm down you shouldn't be too harsh on him.
coolguy
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3
votes
1 answer
Have a picnic vs make a picnic vs go on a picnic vs go for a picnic
I quite often come across the following phrases:
Have a picnic
Make a picnic
Go on a picnic
Go for a picnic
But I can't distinguish between them. Are they the same or do they have different meanings?
Abu Naim Muhammed Kalil
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3
votes
1 answer
Do native speakers use the collocation of “ in result of” or "in the result of"?
When I am looking some academic papers, there are some sentences like:
"In result of the Fukushima accident, a large-scale diffusion of radioactivity took place. "
"In the result of these operations, X n points are shrunk (become smaller) to the…
chandlerone
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3
votes
2 answers
Usage of "be a help, be of help, be (any, much,little) help, be of (any, much, little help)
I looked up the above-mentioned collocations in different dictionaries and still don't know how to use them properly. The question is not about the meaning "to be helpful", but when to use which.Can we use them interchangeably? Thank you.
Was he…
V.V.
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3
votes
1 answer
can slightly and too come together?
The hydrogen adsorption free energy on sulfided Mo edges for MoS2 (ΔGGH = 80 meV) is slightly too weak.
is the phrase "slightly too weak" ok here?
"Slightly" means 'to a small degree" while "too" means "to a higher degree". So I am not sure…
tosh
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2
votes
1 answer
at/in/on summer break
You know there are some breaks when students don't go to school for a while like Thanksgiving break, summer break, spring break, winter break, etc.
My questions are
what preposition is used before these breaks. What is the right collocation?
We…
Yuri
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2
votes
2 answers
May I call greetings between people who don't know each other well an "exchange of politeness"?
What can I call a situation when people don't know each other well, but just say hello to each other our of courtesy, so to speak? Can it be called exchange of politeness by analogy with exchange friendly visits?
EDIT Google Ngram shows exchange of…
olegst
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2
votes
1 answer
Is it idiomatic to say "ride subway lines"?
I hired a native speaker to improve my essay but she didn't change this sentence at all. I've only heard "ride the subway". Is it correct to say "ride subway lines"?
Also, I learned that "ride the subway" is American English. What verb do British…
newbie forever
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2
votes
3 answers
Should I say automatic memories or automatic tasks?
Here is a paragraph explaining Procedural Memory (from the TOEFL exam)
The memories people form when they learn names and facts are different
from the memories they form when they learn how to perform a
task.These memories of performing particular…
joy2020
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