PE-90: Collocations: Words That Live Together
Why you make a mistake but do your homework — the word partnerships that make the difference between correct English and natural English.
PE-90: Collocations: Words That Live Together
You can say "I did a mistake" and every listener will understand you. But no English speaker would ever say it — they say "I made a mistake". Nothing about the grammar is wrong; the partnership is wrong. These fixed word partnerships are called collocations, and they are the last big step from correct English to natural English.
In this lesson you will learn
- What a collocation is and why it matters more than grammar at this level
- The big pair: make or do?
- Collocations with have, take, get, give, pay
- Adjective + noun and adverb + adjective partnerships
1. make or do?
There is a rough logic. Make is for creating something; do is for activities and work. But the lists are what you actually need.
make — you produce something
- make a mistake · make a decision
- make progress · make an effort
- make friends · make a noise
- make money · make a plan
- make a phone call · make a mess
do — an activity or duty
- do homework · do exercise
- do the shopping · do the washing-up
- do your best · do a favour
- do research · do business
- do damage · do nothing
Afsona did her homework carefully, so she only made two mistakes. She is making good progress.
Afsona uy vazifasini sinchkovlik bilan bajardi, shuning uchun faqat ikkita xato qildi. U yaxshi natijaga erishyapti.
2. have, take, get, give, pay
| Verb | Common partners |
|---|---|
| have | have breakfast, have a shower, have a rest, have fun, have a problem, have a look |
| take | take a photo, take a taxi, take an exam, take medicine, take care, take a break |
| get | get a job, get married, get dressed, get angry, get better, get lost |
| give | give advice, give a lift, give a speech, give an example, give birth |
| pay | pay attention, pay a visit, pay a compliment, pay the bill |
| keep | keep a secret, keep calm, keep in touch, keep a promise |
Please pay attention! We're going to take an exam tomorrow, so take care and get some sleep.
Diqqat qilinglar! Ertaga imtihon topshiramiz, shuning uchun ehtiyot boʻling va yaxshi uxlang.
3. Adjective + noun partnerships
Adjectives have favourite nouns too. Using the expected one makes you sound fluent immediately.
1strong / heavy
strong coffee, strong accent · heavy rain, heavy traffic
2high / big
high price, high temperature · big mistake, big problem
3close / best
a close friend · your best friend
4fast / quick
a fast car · a quick answer
There was a strong rain and a big traffic.
There was heavy rain and heavy traffic.
4. Adverb + adjective partnerships
English does not use very with everything. Certain adverbs go with certain adjectives, and choosing the right one sounds noticeably better.
absolutely perfect · completely different · highly recommended · deeply sorry · fully aware · bitterly cold
butunlay mukammal · tamoman boshqacha · juda tavsiya etilgan · chuqur afsusda · toʻliq xabardor · qattiq sovuq
Note: very does not work with absolute adjectives —
very perfect ✗, absolutely perfect ✓.
5. How to learn collocations
- Never write single words in your notebook. Write make a decision, not decision.
- Copy whole phrases from things you read. If a phrase appears in a book, it is a real collocation.
- Learn by the verb: spend one session on make, one on take, one on get.
- When unsure, choose the simple option. "I had a problem" is safe; inventing a partnership rarely works.
6. Common mistakes
I must make my homework.
I must do my homework.
She did a big mistake.
She made a big mistake.
Please make attention to the board.
Please pay attention to the board.
We had a strong rain yesterday.
We had heavy rain yesterday.
He gave me a good advice.
He gave me some good advice. (uncountable — PE-2)
Practice
1 make or do: ___ your homework · ___ a decision · ___ the shopping · ___ progress
Show answer
do your homework · make a decision · do the shopping · make progress.
2 Complete: Can you ___ a photo of us?
Show answer
take — take a photo is the fixed partnership. make a
photo ✗
3 strong or heavy: ___ coffee · ___ traffic · ___ rain · ___ accent
Show answer
strong coffee · heavy traffic · heavy rain · strong accent.
4 Correct it: I want to make some exercise and take a decision about my future.
Show answer
I want to do some exercise and make a decision about my future.
5 Which adverb? The two brothers are ___ different. (very / completely)
Show answer
completely different — the natural partnership. Very different is possible but weaker.
Key words — Kalit soʻzlar
- Collocationsoʻz birikmasi (doimiy)
- Partnershipjuftlik
- To make a mistakexato qilmoq
- To make progressnatijaga erishmoq
- To pay attentiondiqqat qilmoq
- To take careehtiyot boʻlmoq
- To keep in touchaloqada boʻlmoq
- Heavy rainkuchli yomgʻir
- Highly recommendedjuda tavsiya etilgan
- Naturaltabiiy
🎯 Remember this
- Collocations are fixed partnerships — grammar can be right and the phrase still wrong.
- make = create (a mistake, a decision) · do = activity (homework, shopping).
- Learn the families of have, take, get, give, pay, keep.
- heavy rain, strong coffee, completely different — not very everything.
- Write phrases in your notebook, never single words.