Common Collocations with Nouns in English

In this lesson, you’ll learn useful common collocations with nouns in English with clear meanings and simple examples to help you use English more confidently.

One of the best ways to sound natural and fluent in English is by learning collocations—words that naturally go together.

Native speakers don’t usually choose words randomly.

Instead, they say make a decision, strong coffee, or heavy traffic, not do a decision or powerful coffee.

Learning common collocations with nouns helps you improve spoken English, writing accuracy, and vocabulary range.

These collocations are widely used in daily conversations, professional communication, essays, and English exams like IELTS.

This topic is part of our English Collocations for English learners.

Table of Contents

What are Collocations?

Before we dive into the specific collocations, let’s briefly discuss what they are. A collocation is a pair or group of words that are often used together.

For example, in English, we say “make a decision” instead of “do a decision.” These combinations of words sound more natural to native speakers.

Some collocations are easy to guess, while others may seem unusual if you translate them directly from another language.

Learning common collocations will help you sound more fluent and help you understand spoken and written English better.

Types of Noun Collocations

Noun collocations can be grouped into different types, such as:

Adjective + Noun: The adjective describes the noun.
Verb + Noun: The verb commonly occurs with the noun.
Noun + Noun: Two nouns often appear together in a natural way.
Preposition + Noun: Certain prepositions commonly go with nouns.

Now, let’s look at some common noun collocations in English.

1. Adjective + Noun Collocations

In this type of collocation, an adjective is used to describe the noun.

Here are some common examples:

Big mistake: It’s a big mistake to skip your homework.
Strong coffee: I like to drink strong coffee in the morning.
Deep sleep: After a long day, I need a deep sleep to feel rested.
Heavy rain: The weather forecast predicts heavy rain for tomorrow.
Clear explanation: The teacher gave a clear explanation of the topic.
High quality: This brand is known for its high-quality products.
Loud noise: The loud noise from the construction site woke me up.
Bright light: The bright light in the room made it hard to concentrate.

2. Verb + Noun Collocations

Some verbs are commonly used with certain nouns. These collocations can be a little tricky for learners because the verb-noun combination might not always translate well into other languages.

Here are some common examples:

Make a decision: You need to make a decision by tomorrow.
Take a break: I’ll take a break after finishing this task.
Do your homework: Don’t forget to do your homework before going out.
Give a speech: She will give a speech at the conference next week.
Catch a cold: Be careful not to catch a cold in this weather.
Take a photo: I want to take a photo of the beautiful sunset.
Make a mistake: Everyone makes a mistake sometimes.
Do the laundry: I need to do the laundry before I go to bed.
Give advice: He always gives great advice about health.

3. Noun + Noun Collocations

In this type of collocation, two nouns are combined to create a common phrase. Often, one noun describes a specific kind of something or a type of activity.

Here are some examples:

Business meeting: I have a business meeting this afternoon.
Birthday party: I’m planning a birthday party for my friend this weekend.
Phone call: I missed your phone call earlier today.
Car park: There are no empty spaces in the car park.
Football match: The football match ended in a draw.
School bus: The school bus arrives at 8 AM every day.
Coffee break: Let’s take a coffee break in 10 minutes.
Job interview: She has a job interview tomorrow morning.
Traffic jam: I was late because of a traffic jam.

4. Preposition + Noun Collocations

Certain prepositions are often used with specific nouns. These collocations are important to learn because using the wrong preposition can change the meaning of the sentence or make it sound unnatural.

Here are some examples:

In trouble: He’s in trouble because he didn’t finish his work.
At risk: The company is at risk of losing its customers.
On purpose: She spilled the water on purpose to get attention.
In charge: He is in charge of the marketing department.
At the moment: I can’t talk right now; I’m busy at the moment.
In the future: In the future, we hope to travel more.
At the end: At the end of the day, everything will be okay.
On time: He always arrives at work on time.
In addition: In addition to his regular job, he teaches English at night.

Why Are Noun Collocations Important?

Learning and using noun collocations is important for several reasons:

Sound more natural: Native speakers use specific word combinations regularly. By learning these, you will sound more like a native speaker.
Avoid mistakes: Using the wrong noun collocation can confuse your listener or reader. For example, saying “do a mistake” instead of “make a mistake” can sound incorrect.
Understand English better: Knowing common noun collocations helps you understand both spoken and written English more easily.
Improve fluency: By using collocations, you can express yourself more easily without needing to pause and think of the right words.

How to Learn Noun Collocations?

Here are some tips to help you learn noun collocations:

Read a lot: The more you read, the more you will encounter noun collocations. Books, articles, and websites are great sources for learning natural collocations.
Practice speaking: Use collocations in your daily conversations. The more you practice, the more you will get used to using them correctly.
Listen to native speakers: Pay attention to how native speakers use nouns in their conversations. You can listen to podcasts, watch TV shows, or follow online video content.
Use a dictionary: Many dictionaries provide information about common collocations. Look for examples to see how words are often paired together.
Keep a collocation notebook: Write down new collocations you come across and review them regularly. This will help you remember them better.

Conclusion

In conclusion, noun collocations are an important part of mastering English.

They can help you sound more natural, understand the language better, and express yourself more clearly.

Whether you’re speaking or writing, using common noun collocations will improve your fluency and make you sound more like a native speaker.

To get started, focus on learning and using the collocations in this blog post.

Practice using them in sentences, and soon you will notice a big improvement in your English language skills.

Keep reading, speaking, and listening, and remember to pay attention to how native speakers use collocations in everyday conversation.

Happy learning!