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Anastasia Koltai
A collocation is two or more words that tend to be used together by native speakers
of a language. The best way to understand a collocation is to see one in action:
This is, of course, what makes collocations difficult for non-native speakers. You
have to know which words go together, and the best way to do that is to learn them
together.
There are a number of different word combinations that can make up a collocation.
For example, there are verb + adverb collocations (agree completely) and adverb +
adjective (fully aware). Strong coffee is an example of an adjective + noun
collocation, which is what we shall be looking at in this lesson.
5 Most Common Adjective Noun Collocations
Lets start with some adjectives and see which nouns they are commonly used with:
1. express (adjective)
an express bus / coach / train (travelling very fast; operating very quickly)
Susan took the express train to the airport in order to save time.
I came here with the express purpose of speaking with the manager.
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2. chilly (adjective)
a chilly day / night / wind chilly weather (too cold to be comfortable)
3. rich (adjective)
a rich sauce / cake (containing a lot of fat, butter, eggs, etc. and making you feel full
quickly)
rich colors / sounds / smells / tastes (strong or deep; very beautiful or pleasing)
The artist is famous for the use of rich reds in her paintings.
4. heavy (adjective)
a heavy book / bag / suitcase / load (weighing a lot)
He put on his heavy coat and walked out into the snow.
5. strong (adjective)
a strong person / animal / wind / current (having great physical or natural power)
a strong smell / taste / colour / accent (easy to see, hear, feel or smell)
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