Вам знаком термин collocation (коллокация) в английском? Collocations — устойчивые словосочетания в английском языке. В этой статье мы расскажем, какие бывают коллокации, зачем их нужно учить и какими ресурсами при этом пользоваться.
Что такое collocations в английском языке и зачем их учить
Collocations или коллокации — это грамматически и лексически правильные словосочетания. Причем такие выражения есть во всех языках. Например, русский язык: пирожок лежит на столе, но кувшин стоит на столе, зато мы можем принять душ и в то же время принять лекарство и т. д. В английском языке словосочетания «работают» так же: мы говорим high temperature (высокая температура), а не tall temperature; take a photo (сфотографировать), а не make/do a photo; tell the truth, а не say/speak the truth.
Мы должны учить collocations, чтобы:
- Говорить естественно
Вы учитесь говорить правильно и естественно, изучая устойчивые словосочетания в английском. Так, например, словосочетания do a mistake (делать ошибку) и make exercises (делать упражнения) грамматически правильные, однако для носителей языка они будут звучать неестественно, ведь нужно говорить make a mistake и do exercises.
- Легче запоминать слова
Учить слова в отрыве от контекста сложнее, чем в устойчивых словосочетаниях. Наш мозг гораздо быстрее запоминает связанные блоки информации, а не разрозненные отрывочные знания. К тому же, когда вы учите отдельные слова, вы не знаете, как их в итоге использовать. То есть вы получаете набор материала, из которого непросто бывает собрать устойчивую конструкцию. Заучивая collocations, вы получаете шаблоны, по сути, целые отрывки предложений, из которых легче построить фразу.
- Точнее выражать свои мысли и быть понятым
Знание устойчивых выражений позволит вам лучше выражать свои мысли на английском языке и при этом быть понятым собеседником. Так, носителю языка будет понятно, что кто-то нарушает закон, если вы скажете break the law, а не destroy the law. В некоторых случаях употребление несочетающихся друг с другом слов может привести к непониманию между собеседниками.
Какими бывают коллокации в английском языке
В английском есть несколько видов collocations. Знать их нужно для того, чтобы при изучении новых слов понимать, на что нужно обращать внимание: с какими частями речи могут быть сочетания с этими словами. Выделяют следующие основные типы collocations:
- Наречие + прилагательное (adverb + adjective)
- Прилагательное + существительное (adjective + noun)
- Существительное + существительное (noun + noun)
- Глагол + существительное (verb + noun)
- Глагол + выражение с предлогом (verb + expression with preposition)
- Существительное + глагол (noun + verb)
- Глагол + наречие (verb + adverb) и наречие + глагол (adverb + verb)
Оба слова в коллокации характеризуют предмет.
Примеры словосочетаний: utterly stupid — крайне глупый, easily available — легкодоступный, bitterly cold — ужасно холодный, сильный мороз. А еще много сочетаний наречий и прилагательных мы собрали в статье «Intensifying adverbs, или Особенности употребления усилительных наречий в английском языке».
Это сочетание используется, чтобы назвать предмет (существительное) и дать ему характеристику (прилагательное).
Примеры словосочетаний: a powerful engine — мощный двигатель, strong smell — сильный запах, a heavy smoker — заядлый курильщик.
Такие словосочетания часто употребляются с предлогом of, но бывают и без предлогов. В коллокациях типа «существительное + существительное» важно запомнить порядок слов и не менять их местами.
Примеры словосочетаний: a bar of soap — брусок мыла, round of applause — аплодисменты, взрыв аплодисментов, river bank — берег реки.
Пожалуй, самые важные collocations в английском языке — сочетание глагола и существительного. Они выражают действие и называют предмет, над которым это действие производится. Глагол — одна из самых важных частей речи, поэтому от правильного его выбора зависит, поймет ли вас собеседник.
Примеры словосочетаний: to receive education — получить образование, to commit a crime — совершить преступление, to drive a bargain — заключить сделку.
На эти выражения тоже следует обратить особое внимание: они аналогичны предыдущим. Только между глаголом и существительным будет предлог (не всегда логичный для русскоговорящих).
Примеры словосочетаний: to burst into tears — разрыдаться, to drive anybody to crime — довести кого-то до преступления, to fill with joy — наполниться радостью.
Эта группа отличается от предыдущих двух порядком слов: сначала идет существительное, потом глагол. Словосочетания называют предмет (существительное) и указывают, какое действие он выполняет (глагол). Менять части речи местами нельзя, так как в этом случае полностью теряется смысл предложения.
Примеры словосочетаний: a plane takes off — самолет взлетает, a dog barks — собака лает, priсes fall— цены падают.
Эта группа слов называет действие (глагол) и описывает его (наречие).
Примеры словосочетаний: to rain heavily — сильно льет (дождь), to place gently — аккуратно положить, distinctly remember — отчетливо помнить, flatly refuse — категорически отказаться.
Как учить collocations в английском языке
Если мы вспомним, что в английском языке более 500 тысяч слов, и посчитаем, сколько с ними может быть словосочетаний, получится огромная цифра. К счастью, для общения на английском языке вам не нужно знать абсолютно все слова и коллокации с ними. К тому же даже слона можно съесть по кусочкам, а английский и подавно поддастся вам, если разбить изучение collocations на небольшие удобоваримые порции. Мы предлагаем несколько приемов, которые облегчат вашу работу по изучению collocations.
1. Использовать словарь устойчивых английских словосочетаний
Чтобы узнать, с какими словами «сотрудничает» слово, посмотрите в специальный словарь, например, на сайте englishcollocation.com. Ресурс хорош тем, что указаны не просто словосочетания, а примеры предложений с ними. При этом все коллокации разбиты на группы по частям речи, употребляемым с указанным вами словом.
Оксфордский онлайн-словарь коллокаций английского языка — еще один надежный источник информации. Тут также приведены разные части речи, которые могут употребляться с введенным вами словом, а также указаны примеры употребления.
Можно также использовать сайт prowritingaid.com. Введите слово, с которым хотите получить collocations. В открывшемся окне вы увидите список слов, с которыми оно сочетается, разбитых на группы по принадлежности к частям речи.
Еще один проверенный ресурс englishclub.com. Здесь собраны словосочетания в алфавитном порядке. Это не так удобно, как на предыдущих сайтах, но все равно пригодится для обучения. Настоятельно рекомендуем заглянуть и на другую страницу этого сайта, где вы найдете наиболее часто употребляемые collocations. Этот список лучше выучить наизусть, словосочетания пригодятся вам для повседневного общения.
Если вы собираетесь использовать английский в научных целях, вам пригодится Academic Collocation List, который можно совершенно бесплатно скачать по указанной ссылке. А если вам нужны коллокации для повседневного общения, возьмите на вооружение этот список.
2. Учить коллокации при изучении новых слов
Запомнить любое слово будет легче, если вы будете учить его в сочетании с другими словами. При изучении новой лексики загляните на указанные выше сервисы и выпишите себе несколько словосочетаний.
3. Слушать материалы на английском языке
Чем больше аудиоматериалов вы слушаете, тем больше полезных collocations будете запоминать. Вспомните, ведь словосочетание fast food мы слышим настолько часто, что никому в голову не придет сказать quick food. Вы можете слушать аудиоматериалы на одном из 6 сайтов с подкастами на английском языке или смотреть видео на одном из ресурсов из нашей подборки сайтов с видеоматериалами.
4. Читать материалы на английском
Текст на английском — лучший источник коллокаций. При чтении текста срабатывает зрительная память, а именно она лучше всего развита у многих людей. Вы видите словосочетания в «естественной среде обитания», поэтому они будут легко запоминаться. Наш совет: даже если вы читаете для удовольствия, а не для обучения, старайтесь иногда делать паузы, обращать внимание на то, как используются слова.
5. Составлять интеллект-карты
Проще всего будет учить collocations, взаимосвязанные между собой. Вы можете сгруппировать слова по теме или по слову, которое используется в словосочетаниях. Так, например, можно составить список коллокаций со словом take и нарисовать mind-map от руки, пока вы будете это делать, словосочетания будут запоминаться.
6. Учить словосочетания, как слова
Вы можете воспользоваться одним из 15 предложенных нами приемов изучения английских слов для изучения collocations. Выберите наиболее удобный для вас, и дерзайте!
7. Выполнять тесты
Тесты покажут, насколько хорошо вы знаете коллокации. Например, можно воспользоваться следующим ресурсом better-english.com. На нем приведен небольшой сборник тестов на collocations. Кроме того, почти на каждом обучающем ресурсе найдется парочка тестов на эту тему, поэтому можно просто ввести в поисковик запрос «collocations quiz» и воспользоваться результатами поиска.
Как вы успели убедиться из нашей статьи, изучать collocations или устойчивые словосочетания в английском языке очень полезно и несложно. Пользуйтесь предложенными нами приемами и ресурсами регулярно, и у вас не возникнет никаких проблем с изучением коллокаций. Если же вы хотите изучать язык под руководством опытного наставника, приглашаем учить английский язык по Скайпу в нашей школе.
© 2023 englex.ru, копирование материалов возможно только при указании прямой активной ссылки на первоисточник.
Let’s face it: English is difficult. One word can have many different meanings, but limited collocations. You can play squash, you can eat squash, or you can squash a bug. Someone might bug you, bugs might bite you, a stomach bug might make you sick, the FBI might install bugs to listen in on you, you might get bitten by the love bug, or your computer might get a bug. One thing is clear, steer clear of bugs of all kinds if you’re bugged by bugs.
Phew, see my point?
What are collocations?
Collocations are words that usually go together. To make it easy to remember, look at it this way:
Co (together) + location (place)
Collocations are everywhere! Take easy to remember for example. While there are many ways to say easy (plain, uncomplicated, simple.), it is far less common to use those words with to remember. It is possible to say something is simple to remember, but it is not nearly as common as easy to remember. As of this writing, a quick Google search returned approximately 8 times more results for easy to remember than simple to remember.
Google Results
- easy to remember: 170,000,000 (Update: 182,000,000)
- simple to remember: 17,500,00 (Update: 10,600,00)
- uncomplicated to remember: 47,100 (Update: 38,600)
- plain to remember: 5 (Update: 11)
These results provide a window into (insight into) word usage. If you look at the results for plain to remember, you’ll see that they are not used in the same context as easy to remember. The results use the words separately and not as a group of collocated words. For example, “There are several monuments around the plain to remember these events.” In this example, plain means a large area of flat area with few trees.
Why are collocations important to learn?
Learning words in isolation limits your knowledge of how to use words correctly. If you learn a word, but not its collocations, there is a good chance that you will use it in an unusual or strange way. Most of the time, people will still understand what you are trying to say, so don’t be afraid to use the words you are learning. Just be aware that like people, many words have friends that they hang out with (spend time with) regularly.
By learning words in groups, you expand your vocabulary and your accuracy.
Avoid Collocation Mistakes: You can’t make a girlfriend.
Do you hesitate to speak English because you worry about using a word incorrectly? One of the main reasons for the misuse of words is a lack of knowledge about collocations. For example, many of my students say that they want to make a boyfriend or girlfriend. What’s wrong with that? We make friends, don’t we? There English goes again, being difficult. While make and friend collocate, make and boyfriend and girlfriend do not. You’re going to need some pretty advanced technology to make a girlfriend.
While it would seem to make perfect sense, a native speaker will picture you creating a robot or some other artificial creation if you say you want to make a girlfriend. Grouping these words together sounds strange because native speakers do not use these words together.
Express Yourself More Clearly and Naturally
What can you say instead of I want to make a boyfriend/girlfriend?
Here are some ways to express it more naturally:
- I want a girlfriend.
- He wishes he had a girlfriend.
- She wants to find a boyfriend.
- How can I find a boyfriend?
Related post: Dating and Love Vocabulary and Expressions
How can you learn collocations?
Authentic Input
Native speakers learn collocations naturally by hearing them over and over and over again, and you can learn them this way too! You can employ the same methods as native speakers by immersing yourself. How? Expose yourself to lots and lots of English. Read in English every day. If you are reading this, you are already off to a great start! You can also watch TV shows or other videos online or listen to podcasts in English. Pay attention to the ways words go together. It is important to expose yourself to authentic language materials created for and by native speakers (or fluent non-native speakers of course!) so that you can hear the way words are used and combined.
Related post: Word of the Day: Authentic
Be an Active Learner
The other way to learn collocations is by actively looking for them. There are many online resources to help you do this. Remember, you can do your own research using Google, like I did in the example above. By searching using quotation marks, you can see whether or not words collocate and the correct context to use them in. Keep in mind that not every result will be from a reliable source, so use your judgement.
Related post: Why learn words in context?
In Summary, Learning Collocations Will Help You:
- sound more natural
- make fewer mistakes
- be more easily understood
- build your vocabulary more quickly
- increase your ability to express yourself
- help you use the words you already know more effectively
Continue Your Collocations Journey
Access definitions to the vocabulary in this post by supporting me on Patreon.
If you want to keep learning about collocations, check out the material provided by EnglishClub. There, you’ll find more information about how to learn collocations, types of collocations, sample collocations, a collocation quiz, and links to advanced collocations and more.
If an E-book is more your style, you might like 1000 English Collocations in 10 Minutes a Day by my affiliate, Shayna, over at Espresso English. Click on the image below to check it out.
Recommended E-Book with Audio
Collocations are an integral part of written and spoken speech in every language. They can be easily identified by native speakers and it is this recognisability, in fact, that makes a collocation a collocation.
In this article, we’re going to grab a peek … erm, I mean … take a look at collocations, including how we can identify and use them.
Collocation meaning
Collocations are combinations of words in a sentence. Think of a collocation as a relationship between a pair (or small group) of words. Some collocations (such as ‘take a look’) are typical: this means that the words combine in a way that feels natural or “correct”. Other collocations (such as ‘grab a peek’) are untypical: this means that the words do not go together naturally and therefore often sound strange, or “incorrect”.
An easy way to understand what collocations are is to look at your list of household chores or the weather forecast:
When doing household chores you ‘make the bed’ and ‘do the dishes’; you don’t ‘do the bed’ or ‘make the dishes’. So, ‘make the bed’ and ‘do the dishes’ are typical collocations, and ‘do the bed’ and ‘make the dishes’ are untypical collocations.
The weather forecast might predict ‘heavy showers’ and ‘strong winds’, but very rarely would the report warn of ‘strong showers’ or ‘heavy winds’. So, ‘heavy showers’ and ‘strong winds’ are typical collocations, and ‘strong showers’ and ‘heavy winds’ are untypical collocations.
If somebody used an untypical collocation such as ‘strong showers’, although in some cases you may understand what is meant, the word combinations are not as common or natural-sounding as typical collocations. See the table below for a direct comparison:
|
Typical collocations |
Untypical collocations |
|
Make the bed |
Do the bed |
|
Do the dishes |
Make the dishes |
|
Heavy showers |
Strong showers |
|
Strong wind |
Heavy wind |
Typical collocations feel natural to native English speakers because they are common; we hear these combinations time and time again. There is often no logic as to why these words belong together — some collocations just feel right.
For people who are learning English, collocations can be confusing because they rely on familiarity. It’s very hard to explain why, for example, a burger is known as ‘fast food’ rather than ‘quick food’ — ‘fast food’ just feels right simply because, to many of us, it is a familiar combination of words. Similarly, ‘fork and knife’ don’t feel quite right, whereas ‘knife and fork’ do — the order of the words is more fixed in typical English use, and so it is a more typical collocation.
Fig. 1 — Quick food?
Tip: Although we’ve classified collocations as ‘typical’, and ‘untypical’, some people refer to them as ‘natural’ or ‘unnatural’. People sometimes rate collocations on a scale between ‘fluid’ and ‘fixed’, depending on how commonly used they are in the English language. The important thing to remember is that some collocations are more familiar, and therefore more natural-sounding than others.
Collocation types and examples
In this section, we will cover 6 common types of collocation. Remember, collocations are not limited to these types, however, if we were to look at every possible word combination that could form a collocation, we’d be here all day! The examples we’ve picked are enough to give you a good idea of how different types of collocations work.
Adjective + noun collocations
‘I had a high temperature so I sat down with a tall glass of water.’
In the above sentence, the adjectives ‘high’ and ‘tall’ often have similar meanings, so let’s see what happens if we swap them around:
‘I had a tall temperature so I sat down with a high glass of water.’
It just doesn’t sound as natural as the previous example as these adjective + noun combinations are not common or familiar enough to be typical collocations. Therefore, ‘tall temperature’ and ‘high glass of water’ are untypical collocations.
Other typical adjective+noun collocations include:
-
Strong coffee
-
A hearty meal
-
Drastic change
-
A bright future
Adverb + adjective collocations
‘After cycling through the rain, I arrived soaking wet.’
This phrase is a typical collocation as it sounds natural and familiar. However, let’s say we were to change the adverb:
‘After cycling through the rain, I arrived soggy wet.’
This is an untypical collocation, as although the meaning of the phrase may still be understandable, the words don’t fit together quite as naturally.
Other typical averb+adjective collocations include:
-
Slightly late
-
Filthy rich
-
Highly intelligent
-
Ridiculously expensive
Noun + noun collocations
Below are some examples of typical noun + noun collocations. Note the connecting words (such as «and» and «of») that join the collocating nouns.
- Flash of lightning
- A sense of achievement
- Safe and sound
- Pros and cons
Collective nouns can also be classed as noun + noun collocations.
- A bunch of flowers
- A pride of lions
- A troupe of actors
- A murder of crows
Many noun + noun collocations come in the form of compound nouns (a noun that is made up of two or more existing words that, when placed together, form a new meaning).
- Board game
- Hunger pangs
- Comfort food
- Carpet burn
Verb + noun collocations
Certain verbs and nouns seem to belong together, whereas others don’t. Although ‘gain money’ and ‘make speed’ can be understood, they are untypical collocations. ‘Make money’ and ‘gain speed’, on the other hand, are typical verb + noun collocations.
Other typical verb + noun collocations include:
-
Break the silence
-
Waste time
-
Have a laugh
-
Pay attention
Verb + prepositional phrase collocations
The title of this one may sound confusing, but don’t worry, you use these types of collocations all the time in everyday language.
A preposition is just a word that indicates the relationship between a noun and something else, such as a time, place or location. A prepositional phrase is a phrase containing a preposition and its object noun.
Here are three prepositional phrases. The preposition is marked in bold:
-
‘He’s behind you»
-
‘It came from outer space»
-
‘I’ll meet you at 7 pm.’
Typical verb + prepositional phrase collocations include:
-
Listening to the radio
-
Brimming with joy
-
Falling in love
-
Paying for shopping
Verb + adverb collocations
As with the other examples of collocations, some verbs and adverbs are natural fits for each other. ‘Aimlessly wander’, for example, is a stronger collocation than ‘pointlessly wander’.
Other typical verb + adverb collocations include:
-
Openly admit
-
Deeply regret
-
Strongly agree
-
Softly whisper
Why are collocations in English important?
Collocations are important because certain word combinations (typical collocations) feel natural within the English language; these natural-sounding collocations are unlikely to distract the reader or listener as they should sound familiar. Untypical collocations, however, can feel awkward and clunky and can, therefore, interrupt the flow of speech or a piece of writing.
Of course, when it comes to creative writing, you might want a phrase to sound jarring or unnatural to create a certain effect. In this case, you could deliberately use untypical or unusual collocations — think of the bizarre phrasing in works from writers such as Lewis Carroll or William S. Burroughs for example. For more information on this, see our article on foregrounding. Here is an extract from the poem ‘The Walrus and the Carpenter.’ The poem is recited in chapter four, by Tweedledum and Tweedledee to Alice:
‘The time has come,’ the walrus said, ‘to talk of many things: Of shoes and ships — and sealing wax — of cabbages and kings’
Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass, 1871
Fig. 2 — Lewis Carroll often used bizarre collocations in his novels!
Collocations — key takeaways
- Collocations are combinations of words in a sentence. In other words, a collocation is a relationship between a pair (or a small group) of words.
- There are two types of collocations; typical and untypical.
- Typical collocations are commonly-used; they are familiar and ‘feel’ natural to speakers of the English language. Untypical collocations ‘feel’ less natural — they often sound strange, or ‘incorrect’.
- In many typical collocations, the order of the words is fixed. Examples of fixed phrases include ‘knife and fork’, and ‘to and fro’. You do not often hear the term, ‘fork and knife’, and you would practically never hear the term ‘fro and to’ in natural English, as it sounds completely ‘wrong’.
- Untypical collocations can sound unnatural or jarring. Many creative writers use untypical collocations deliberately to create a certain effect.
In this lesson, we will show you common English collocations with “have”, “do”, “make”, “take”, “break”, “catch”, “pay”, “save”, “keep”, “come”, “go” and “get”. In this 100+ collocations list that will enrich your vocabulary and help you to speak natural and fluent English.
You can also download collocations free PDF down below. Collocations are the word combinations, we use together in English. Word partnership or words that are commonly used together in English called collocations.
word + word = collocation
For example you can say “take a nap” but you can’t say “do a nap” or “make a nap“. “A quick shower” is a meaningful word pair in English but we can’t use “a fast shower” instead of that.
When you don’t use these word pairs properly and make mistakes, people will still understand you but you won’t sound fluent or natural at all. I recommend writing your own sentences with these collocations and take your time and don’t rush..!
Check also:
Commonly Used Collocations and Expressions (PDF)
Collocation & Expressions with MAKE and DO (PDF)
Types of Collocations in English & Examples
Common verb collocation lists 👇
Collocations with HAVE & DO & MAKE
| Have | Do | Make |
|---|---|---|
| a conversation | a job | a decision |
| a look | business | a mistake |
| a meal | damage | a change |
| a nap | research | an effort |
| a party | sports | a difference |
| a bath | homework | a cake |
| fun | something | a fortune |
| a good time | justice | a living |
| a sense of | harm | a point |
| an impact | well | a difference |
Collocations with TAKE & BREAK & CATCH
| Take | Break | Catch |
|---|---|---|
| a bath | a break | a cold |
| a nap | a rest | a flight |
| a walk | a vacation | a glimpse |
| a trip | a chance | a meal |
| a photo | a dance | a thief |
| a shower | a breath | a ride |
| a test | a lunch | a fish |
| a risk | a nap | a ball |
| a sip | a leave | a game |
| a stand | a pause | a fever |
Collocations with PAY & SAVE & KEEP
| Pay | Save | Keep |
|---|---|---|
| attention | money | a secret |
| a bill | time | a distance |
| a compliment | energy | a promise |
| a fine | a life | a balance |
| a visit | a seat | a record |
| a visit | the peace | a job |
| a price | a fortune | a low profile |
| a salary | the environment | a lookout |
| respect | a distance | a secret |
| a debt | water | a memory |
Collocations with COME & GO & GET
| Come | Go | Get |
|---|---|---|
| along | ahead | along |
| back | away | around |
| down | back | at |
| in | by | away |
| out | down | back |
| over | for | behind |
| through | in | up |
| up | off | down |
| with | on | over |
| without | out | rid |
Collocations PDF for English Learners👇
Prepositions in English PDF – download
Collocations List PDF – download
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Семинар 6 Combinability. Word Groups
KEY TERMS
Syntagmatics — linear (simultaneous) relationship of words in speech as distinct from associative (non-simultaneous) relationship of words in language (paradigmatics). Syntagmatic relations specify the combination of elements into complex forms and sentences.
Distribution — The set of elements with which an item can cooccur
Combinability — the ability of linguistic elements to combine in speech.
Valency — the potential ability of words to occur with other words
Context — the semantically complete passage of written speech sufficient to establish the meaning of a given word (phrase).
Clichе´ — an overused expression that is considered trite, boring
Word combination — a combination of two or more notional words serving to express one concept. It is produced, not reproduced in speech.
Collocation — such a combination of words which conditions the realization of a certain meaning
TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION AND EXERCISES
1. Syntagmatic relations and the concept of combinability of words. Define combinability.
Syntagmatic relation defines the relationship between words that co-occur in the same sentence. It focuses on two main parts: how the position and the word order affect the meaning of a sentence.
The syntagmatic relation explains:
• The word position and order.
• The relationship between words gives a particular meaning to the sentence.
The syntagmatic relation can also explain why specific words are often paired together (collocations)
Syntagmatic relations are linear relations between words
The adjective yellow:
1. color: a yellow dress;
2. envious, suspicious: a yellow look;
3. corrupt: the yellow press
TYPES OF SEMANTIC RELATIONS
Because syntagmatic relations have to do with the relationship between words, the syntagms can result in collocations and idioms.
Collocations
Collocations are word combinations that frequently occur together.
Some examples of collocations:
- Verb + noun: do homework, take a risk, catch a cold.
- Noun + noun: office hours, interest group, kitchen cabinet.
- Adjective + adverb: good enough, close together, crystal clear.
- Verb + preposition: protect from, angry at, advantage of.
- Adverb + verb: strongly suggest, deeply sorry, highly successful.
- Adjective + noun: handsome man, quick shower, fast food.
Idioms
Idioms are expressions that have a meaning other than their literal one.
Idioms are distinct from collocations:
- The word combination is not interchangeable (fixed expressions).
- The meaning of each component is not equal to the meaning of the idiom
It is difficult to find the meaning of an idiom based on the definition of the words alone. For example, red herring. If you define the idiom word by word, it means ‘red fish’, not ‘something that misleads’, which is the real meaning.
Because of this, idioms can’t be translated to or from another language because the word definition isn’t equivalent to the idiom interpretation.
Some examples of popular idioms:
- Break a leg.
- Miss the boat.
- Call it a day.
- It’s raining cats and dogs.
- Kill two birds with one stone.
Combinability (occurrence-range) — the ability of linguistic elements to combine in speech.
The combinability of words is as a rule determined by their meanings, not their forms. Therefore not every sequence of words may be regarded as a combination of words.
In the sentence Frankly, father, I have been a fool neither frankly, father nor father, I … are combinations of words since their meanings are detached and do not unite them, which is marked orally by intonation and often graphically by punctuation marks.
On the other hand, some words may be inserted between the components of a word-combination without breaking it.
Compare,
a) read books
b) read many books
c) read very many books.
In case (a) the combination read books is uninterrupted.In cases (b) and (c) it is interrupted, or discontinuous(read… books).
The combinability of words depends on their lexical, grammatical and lexico-grammatical meanings. It is owing to the lexical meanings of the corresponding lexemes that the word wise can be combined with the words man, act, saying and is hardly combinable with the words milk, area, outline.
The lexico-grammatical meanings of -er in singer (a noun) and -ly in beautifully (an adverb) do not go together and prevent these words from forming a combination, whereas beautiful singer and sing beautifully are regular word-combinations.
The combination * students sings is impossible owing to the grammatical meanings of the corresponding grammemes.
Thus one may speak of lexical, grammatical and lexico-grammatical combinability, or the combinability of lexemes, grammemes and parts of speech.
The mechanism of combinability is very complicated. One has to take into consideration not only the combinability of homogeneous units, e. g. the words of one lexeme with those of another lexeme. A lexeme is often not combinable with a whole class of lexemes or with certain grammemes.
For instance, the lexeme few, fewer, fewest is not combinable with a class of nouns called uncountables, such as milk, information, hatred, etc., or with members of ‘singular’ grammemes (i. e. grammemes containing the meaning of ‘singularity’, such as book, table, man, boy, etc.).
The ‘possessive case’ grammemes are rarely combined with verbs, barring the gerund. Some words are regularly combined with sentences, others are not.
It is convenient to distinguish right-hand and left-hand connections. In the combination my hand (when written down) the word my has a right-hand connection with the word hand and the latter has a left-hand connection with the word my.
With analytical forms inside and outside connections are also possible. In the combination has often written the verb has an inside connection with the adverb and the latter has an outside connection with the verb.
It will also be expedient to distinguish unilateral, bilateral and multilateral connections. By way of illustration we may say that the articles in English have unilateral right-hand connections with nouns: a book, the child. Such linking words as prepositions, conjunctions, link-verbs, and modal verbs are characterized by bilateral connections: love of life, John and Mary, this is John, he must come. Most verbs may have zero
(Come!), unilateral (birds fly), bilateral (I saw him) and multilateral (Yesterday I saw him there) connections. In other words, the combinability of verbs is variable.
One should also distinguish direct and indirect connections. In the combination Look at John the connection between look and at, between at and John are direct, whereas the connection between look and John is indirect, through the preposition at.
2. Lexical and grammatical valency. Valency and collocability. Relationships between valency and collocability. Distribution.
The appearance of words in a certain syntagmatic succession with particular logical, semantic, morphological and syntactic relations is called collocability or valency.
Valency is viewed as an aptness or potential of a word to have relations with other words in language. Valency can be grammatical and lexical.
Collocability is an actual use of words in particular word-groups in communication.
The range of the Lexical valency of words is linguistically restricted by the inner structure of the English word-stock. Though the verbs ‘lift’ and ‘raise’ are synonyms, only ‘to raise’ is collocated with the noun ‘question’.
The lexical valency of correlated words in different languages is different, cf. English ‘pot plants’ vs. Russian ‘комнатные цветы’.
The interrelation of lexical valency and polysemy:
• the restrictions of lexical valency of words may manifest themselves in the lexical meanings of the polysemantic members of word-groups, e.g. heavy, adj. in the meaning ‘rich and difficult to digest’ is combined with the words food, meals, supper, etc., but one cannot say *heavy cheese or *heavy sausage;
• different meanings of a word may be described through its lexical valency, e.g. the different meanings of heavy, adj. may be described through the word-groups heavy weight / book / table; heavy snow / storm / rain; heavy drinker / eater; heavy sleep / disappointment / sorrow; heavy industry / tanks, and so on.
From this point of view word-groups may be regarded as the characteristic minimal lexical sets that operate as distinguishing clues for each of the multiple meanings of the word.
Grammatical valency is the aptness of a word to appear in specific grammatical (or rather syntactic) structures. Its range is delimited by the part of speech the word belongs to. This is not to imply that grammatical valency of words belonging to the same part of speech is necessarily identical, e.g.:
• the verbs suggest and propose can be followed by a noun (to propose or suggest a plan / a resolution); however, it is only propose that can be followed by the infinitive of a verb (to propose to do smth.);
• the adjectives clever and intelligent are seen to possess different grammatical valency as clever can be used in word-groups having the pattern: Adj. + Prep. at +Noun(clever at mathematics), whereas intelligent can never be found in exactly the same word-group pattern.
• The individual meanings of a polysemantic word may be described through its grammatical valency, e.g. keen + Nas in keen sight ‘sharp’; keen + on + Nas in keen on sports ‘fond of’; keen + V(inf)as in keen to know ‘eager’.
Lexical context determines lexically bound meaning; collocations with the polysemantic words are of primary importance, e.g. a dramatic change / increase / fall / improvement; dramatic events / scenery; dramatic society; a dramatic gesture.
In grammatical context the grammatical (syntactic) structure of the context serves to determine the meanings of a polysemantic word, e.g. 1) She will make a good teacher. 2) She will make some tea. 3) She will make him obey.
Distribution is understood as the whole complex of contexts in which the given lexical unit(word) can be used. Есть даже словари, по которым можно найти валентные слова для нужного нам слова — так и называются дистрибьюшн дикшенери
3. What is a word combination? Types of word combinations. Classifications of word-groups.
Word combination — a combination of two or more notional words serving to express one concept. It is produced, not reproduced in speech.
Types of word combinations:
- Semantically:
- free word groups (collocations) — a year ago, a girl of beauty, take lessons;
- set expressions (at last, point of view, take part).
- Morphologically (L.S. Barkhudarov):
- noun word combinations, e.g.: nice apples (BBC London Course);
- verb word combinations, e.g.: saw him (E. Blyton);
- adjective word combinations, e.g.: perfectly delightful (O. Wilde);
- adverb word combinations, e.g.: perfectly well (O, Wilde);
- pronoun word combinations, e.g.: something nice (BBC London Course).
- According to the number of the components:
- simple — the head and an adjunct, e.g.: told me (A. Ayckbourn)
- Complex, e.g.: terribly cold weather (O. Jespersen), where the adjunct cold is expanded by means of terribly.
Classifications of word-groups:
- through the order and arrangement of the components:
• a verbal — nominal group (to sew a dress);
• a verbal — prepositional — nominal group (look at something);
- by the criterion of distribution, which is the sum of contexts of the language unit usage:
• endocentric, i.e. having one central member functionally equivalent to the whole word-group (blue sky);
• exocentric, i.e. having no central member (become older, side by side);
- according to the headword:
• nominal (beautiful garden);
• verbal (to fly high);
• adjectival (lucky from birth);
- according to the syntactic pattern:
• predicative (Russian linguists do not consider them to be word-groups);
• non-predicative — according to the type of syntactic relations between the components:
(a) subordinative (modern technology);
(b) coordinative (husband and wife).
4. What is “a free word combination”? To what extent is what we call a free word combination actually free? What are the restrictions imposed on it?
A free word combination is a combination in which any element can be substituted by another.
The general meaning of an ordinary free word combination is derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements
Ex. To come to one’s sense –to change one’s mind;
To fall into a rage – to get angry.
Free word-combinations are word-groups that have a greater semantic and structural independence and freely composed by the speaker in his speech according to his purpose.
A free word combination or a free phrase permits substitution of any of its elements without any semantic change in the other components.
5. Clichе´s (traditional word combinations).
A cliché is an expression that is trite, worn-out, and overused. As a result, clichés have lost their original vitality, freshness, and significance in expressing meaning. A cliché is a phrase or idea that has become a “universal” device to describe abstract concepts such as time (Better Late Than Never), anger (madder than a wet hen), love (love is blind), and even hope (Tomorrow is Another Day). However, such expressions are too commonplace and unoriginal to leave any significant impression.
Of course, any expression that has become a cliché was original and innovative at one time. However, overuse of such an expression results in a loss of novelty, significance, and even original meaning. For example, the proverbial phrase “when it rains it pours” indicates the idea that difficult or inconvenient circumstances closely follow each other or take place all at the same time. This phrase originally referred to a weather pattern in which a dry spell would be followed by heavy, prolonged rain. However, the original meaning is distanced from the overuse of the phrase, making it a cliché.
Some common examples of cliché in everyday speech:
- My dog is dumb as a doorknob. (тупой как пробка)
- The laundry came out as fresh as a daisy.
- If you hide the toy it will be out of sight, out of mind. (с глаз долой, из сердца вон)
Examples of Movie Lines that Have Become Cliché:
- Luke, I am your father. (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back)
- i am Groot. (Guardians of the Galaxy)
- I’ll be back. (The Terminator)
- Houston, we have a problem. (Apollo 13)
Some famous examples of cliché in creative writing:
- It was a dark and stormy night
- Once upon a time
- There I was
- All’s well that ends well
- They lived happily ever after
6. The sociolinguistic aspect of word combinations.
Lexical valency is the possibility of lexicosemantic connections of a word with other word
Some researchers suggested that the functioning of a word in speech is determined by the environment in which it occurs, by its grammatical peculiarities (part of speech it belongs to, categories, functions in the sentence, etc.), and by the type and character of meaning included into the semantic structure of a word.
Words are used in certain lexical contexts, i.e. in combinations with other words. The words that surround a particular word in a sentence or paragraph are called the verbal context of that word.
7. Norms of lexical valency and collocability in different languages.
The aptness of a word to appear in various combinations is described as its lexical valency or collocability. The lexical valency of correlated words in different languages is not identical. This is only natural since every language has its syntagmatic norms and patterns of lexical valency. Words, habitually collocated, tend to constitute a cliché, e.g. bad mistake, high hopes, heavy sea (rain, snow), etc. The translator is obliged to seek similar cliches, traditional collocations in the target-language: грубая ошибка, большие надежды, бурное море, сильный дождь /снег/.
The key word in such collocations is usually preserved but the collocated one is rendered by a word of a somewhat different referential meaning in accordance with the valency norms of the target-language:
- trains run — поезда ходят;
- a fly stands on the ceiling — на потолке сидит муха;
- It was the worst earthquake on the African continent (D.W.) — Это было самое сильное землетрясение в Африке.
- Labour Party pretest followed sharply on the Tory deal with Spain (M.S.1973) — За сообщением о сделке консервативного правительства с Испанией немедленно последовал протест лейбористской партии.
Different collocability often calls for lexical and grammatical transformations in translation though each component of the collocation may have its equivalent in Russian, e.g. the collocation «the most controversial Prime Minister» cannot be translated as «самый противоречивый премьер-министр».
«Britain will tomorrow be welcoming on an official visit one of the most controversial and youngest Prime Ministers in Europe» (The Times, 1970). «Завтра в Англию прибывает с официальным визитом один из самых молодых премьер-министров Европы, который вызывает самые противоречивые мнения».
«Sweden’s neutral faith ought not to be in doubt» (Ib.) «Верность Швеции нейтралитету не подлежит сомнению».
The collocation «documentary bombshell» is rather uncommon and individual, but evidently it does not violate English collocational patterns, while the corresponding Russian collocation — документальная бомба — impossible. Therefore its translation requires a number of transformations:
«A teacher who leaves a documentary bombshell lying around by negligence is as culpable as the top civil servant who leaves his classified secrets in a taxi» (The Daily Mirror, 1950) «Преподаватель, по небрежности оставивший на столе бумаги, которые могут вызвать большой скандал, не менее виновен, чем ответственный государственный служащий, забывший секретные документы в такси».
8. Using the data of various dictionaries compare the grammatical valency of the words worth and worthy; ensure, insure, assure; observance and observation; go and walk; influence and влияние; hold and держать.
| Worth & Worthy | |
| Worth is used to say that something has a value:
• Something that is worth a certain amount of money has that value; • Something that is worth doing or worth an effort, a visit, etc. is so attractive or rewarding that the effort etc. should be made. Valency:
|
Worthy:
• If someone or something is worthv of something, they deserve it because they have the qualities required; • If you say that a person is worthy of another person you are saying that you approve of them as a partner for that person. Valency:
|
| Ensure, insure, assure | ||
| Ensure means ‘make certain that something happens’.
Valency:
|
Insure — make sure
Valency:
|
Assure:
• to tell someone confidently that something is true, especially so that they do not worry; • to cause something to be certain. Valency:
|
| Observance & Observation | |
| Observance:
• the act of obeying a law or following a religious custom: religious observances such as fasting • a ceremony or action to celebrate a holiday or a religious or other important event: [ C ] Memorial Day observances [ U ] Financial markets will be closed Monday in observance of Labor Day. |
Observation:
• the act of observing something or someone; • the fact that you notice or see something; • a remark about something that you have noticed. Valency:
|
| Go & Walk | |
|
Walk can mean ‘move along on foot’:
• A person can walk an animal, i.e. exercise them by walking. • A person can walk another person somewhere , i.e. take them there, • A person can walk a particular distance or walk the streets. Valency:
|
| Influence & Влияние | |
| Influence:
• A person can have influence (a) over another person or a group, i.e. be able to directly guide the way they behave, (b) with a person, i.e. be able to influence them because they know them well. • Someone or something can have or be an influence on or upon something or someone, i.e. be able to affect their character or behaviour in some way Valency:
|
Влияние — Действие, оказываемое кем-, чем-либо на кого-, что-либо.
Сочетаемость:
|
| Hold & Держать | |
| Hold:
• to take and keep something in your hand or arms; • to support something; • to contain or be able to contain something; • to keep someone in a place so that they cannot leave. Valency:
|
Держать — взять в руки/рот/зубы и т.д. и не давать выпасть
Сочетаемость:
|
- Contrastive Analysis. Give words of the same root in Russian; compare their valency:
| Chance | Шанс |
|
|
| Situation | Ситуация |
|
|
| Partner | Партнёр |
|
|
| Surprise | Сюрприз |
|
|
| Risk | Риск |
|
|
| Instruction | Инструкция |
|
|
| Satisfaction | Сатисфакция |
|
|
| Business | Бизнес |
|
|
| Manager | Менеджер |
|
|
| Challenge | Челлендж |
|
|
10. From the lexemes in brackets choose the correct one to go with each of the synonyms given below:
- acute, keen, sharp (knife, mind, sight):
• acute mind;
• keen sight;
• sharp knife;
- abysmal, deep, profound (ignorance, river, sleep);
• abysmal ignorance;
• deep river;
• profound sleep;
- unconditional, unqualified (success, surrender):
• unconditional surrender;
• unqualified success;
- diminutive, miniature, petite, petty, small, tiny (camera, house, speck, spite, suffix, woman):
• diminutive suffix;
• miniature camera/house;
• petite woman;
• petty spite;
• small speck/camera/house;
• tiny house/camera/speck;
- brisk, nimble, quick, swift (mind, revenge, train, walk):
• brisk walk;
• nimble mind;
• quick train;
• swift revenge.
11. Collocate deletion: One word in each group does not make a strong word partnership with the word on Capitals. Which one is Odd One Out?
1) BRIGHT idea green
smell
child day room
2) CLEAR
attitude
need instruction alternative day conscience
3) LIGHT traffic
work
day entertainment suitcase rain green lunch
4) NEW experience job
food
potatoes baby situation year
5) HIGH season price opinion spirits
house
time priority
6) MAIN point reason effect entrance
speed
road meal course
7) STRONG possibility doubt smell influence
views
coffee language
SERIOUS
advantage
situation relationship illness crime matter
- Write a short definition based on the clues you find in context for the italicized words in the sentence. Check your definitions with the dictionary.
| Sentence | Meaning |
| The method of reasoning from the particular to the general — the inductive method — has played an important role in science since the time of Francis Bacon. | The way of learning or investigating from the particular to the general that played an important role in the time of Francis Bacon |
| Most snakes are meat eaters, or carnivores. | Animals whose main diet is meat |
| A person on a reducing diet is expected to eschew most fatty or greasy foods. | deliberately avoid |
| After a hectic year in the city, he was glad to return to the peace and quiet of the country. | full of incessant or frantic activity. |
| Darius was speaking so quickly and waving his arms around so wildly, it was impossible to comprehend what he was trying to say. | grasp mentally; understand.to perceive |
| The babysitter tried rocking, feeding, chanting, and burping the crying baby, but nothing would appease him. | to calm down someone |
| It behooves young ladies and gentlemen not to use bad language unless they are very, very angry. | necessary |
| The Academy Award is an honor coveted by most Hollywood actors. | The dream about some achievements |
| In the George Orwell book 1984, the people’s lives are ruled by an omnipotent dictator named “Big Brother.” | The person who have a lot of power |
| After a good deal of coaxing, the father finally acceded to his children’s request. | to Agree with some request |
| He is devoid of human feelings. | Someone have the lack of something |
| This year, my garden yielded several baskets full of tomatoes. | produce or provide |
| It is important for a teacher to develop a rapport with his or her students. | good relationship |