Using Collocations to Learn English

What are collocations in English?

Collocation is words that are used regularly with a specific word.  For example, three collocation words for the word 'friend' are 'best, 'good,' and 'loyal.'  Here are some example sentences:

"She talks to her best friend every day."

(best)

"He lives with some good friends."

(good, close)

*The word 'close' is another collocation that can be used in the place of 'good' such as "He lives with some close friends."

"She has been a loyal friend for many years."

(loyal, real, trusted, true, faithful)

*All the words in the parenthesis can be used in the place of 'loyal.'  These are other examples of collocations for the word 'friend.'

Why is it important to study English collocation?

When we learn vocabulary, we might understand the meaning of the word using a dictionary, but many times, we do not know how to use the word in a sentence.

Already - still - always - yet

ALREADY

• Already is used to say that something has happened earlier than expected or
  earlier than it might have happened. :
  • Hurry up Susan. Breakfast is ready!
  • I've already had breakfast thanks. I woke up early.

STILL

• Still is used to refer to continuing situations.
  • They've been married for 40 years and they still love each other.
  • I moved to this town five years ago and I'm still living here.

ALWAYS

• Always is used to refer to something that happens regularly.
  • I always send cards at Christmas.
  • Sue always takes the 8 o'clock train to work.

YET

• Yet is used to ask if something expected has happened
  • Has the postman arrived yet?
• To say that something expected hasn't happened.
  • The book I ordered hasn't arrived yet.

A LOT OF - MUCH - MANY

• A lot of :
  
  
  • A lot of can be used in all sentences: affirmative, negative and interrogative.

• Much - many : 
  
  
  • Much and many are used in negative and interrogative sentences.
        They are rarely used in affirmative sentences, except if they begin
        the sentence . (see below)
  • Much is used with uncountable nouns (for example: 'much English')
  • Many is used with countable nouns (for example : 'many words').

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
We learn a lot of English.	I don't know a lot of English.	Do you learn a lot of English?
I make a lot of mistakes.	I don't know much English.	Do you know much English?
BUT :
Much of our food is exported.	I don't know a lot of words.	Do you make a lot of mistakes?
Many people drive too fast.	I don't know many words.	Do you make many mistakes?

---

Compare a lot of and a lot :

• Tom knows a lot of vocabulary.
• Charlie is talkative. He talks a lot.

AFFECT - EFFECT

Many people are confused about the difference between affect and effect.
Before going any further, remember that “affect” is almost always a verb, 
whereas “effect” is more commonly used as a noun.

Affect and effect are used as follows : 

• AFFECT :
  Affect is most often used as a verb meaning ‘to have an impact’, ‘to change’ or 'to alter'.
  
  • Nutrition affects our health.
  • His attitude affected the atmosphere in the office.
  • Severe flooding affected many regions.
  • The snow storm affected air traffic.
  • Public protests did not affect the government's decision.
  Affect also has another, less-used, meaning: ‘to put on a false show of’ or 'to pretend':
  • She affected indifference although she was very upset.
    (= she pretended that she did not care)

• EFFECT :
  Effect is most often used as a noun meaning ‘a result’, ‘a consequence’ or ‘an influence’.
  The expression ‘have an effect on’ is often used.
  
  • His words produced the desired effect.
  • Her warning had no effect on the children.
  • The effect on the economy was disastrous.
  • The medication will not have an immediate effect.
  • Music often has a soothing effect on people.
  Effect can also be used as a verb meaning ‘to bring about’, ‘to make something happen'
  or 'to put into operation'.  The use of effect as a verb is usually found in formal contexts.
  • The firm effected the transition to computerized accounting last month.
  • The bank was requested to effect the transfer of funds immediately.
  Effects [plural] can also mean 'personal property or possessions'.
  •  Personal effects should be packed separately.

In most everyday contexts it is safe to remember that 'to affect' =  'to have an effect on'.
Affect is related to action whereas effect is related to consequence or result.

Adverbs of Frequency

Frequency Adverbs

• Adverbs such as always, already, ever, never, often, rarely, seldom, sometimes,
  still, usually, are placed as follows in sentences :
  
  
  • after the verb BE :
    • Charlie is always late.
  • before other verbs :
    • Tom sometimes takes the bus.
  • between two verbs :
    or after the first verb if there are more than two :
    • Julie has never travelled on the Eurostar.
    • I would never have thought that.
  • Except if the second verb is an infinitive :
    • Charlie often needs to ask for directions.

Frequency Phrases 

• Frequency phrases such as every day, once in a while, etc. go at the beginning 
  or at the end of sentences.
  
  
  • I wash my hair every day.
  • Once a month I go to the hairdresser's to have it cut.

Adverbs

Adverbs are used to say how or in what manner we do something. • She danced very gracefully. • The children ran up the stairs noisily. • They were all chatting happily when we arrived. • He drove carefully along the icy road. • The technician explained the problem very clearly.
Formation of adverbs	Adjective	Adverb
Most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to the adjective :	slow careful	slowly carefully
For adjectives ending in -y, -e, -ic, the adverbs are formed as follows :	happy humble historic	happily humbly historically
Exceptions :	good hard fast	well hard fast
N.B.  Although they end in -ly, the following words are adjectives, NOT adverbs : friendly, lively, lonely, lovely, silly, ugly  for example : a friendly person, a silly remark, an ugly duckling, and so on ...

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives are used to compare two things or people to each other. •A bus is bigger than a car. •Bill is older than Harry. Superlative adjectives are used to compare one member of a group to the whole group. We use the with a superlative adjective. •The Nile is the longest river in the world. •In our class Maria is the oldest and Charlie is the youngest.
FORMATION
Form	Adjective	Comparative	Superlative
One syllable :	long	longer than	the longest
(add : -er / -est)	nice	nicer than	the nicest
	hot	hotter than	the hottest
Two or more syllables :	famous	more famous than	the most famous
(add: more-less/most-least before the adjective)	interesting	less interesting than	the least interesting
	practical	more practical than	the most practical
Two syllables ending in -y :	funny	funnier than	the funniest
(the 'y' becomes 'i' before -er/-est)	easy	easier than	the easiest
	happy	happier than	the happiest
Irregular Adjectives :	good	better than	the best
	bad	worse than	the worst
	much/many	more than	the most
	little	less than	the least
	far	farther/further than	the farthest/furthest
N.B. :   Adjectives ending with a vowel and a consonant double the consonant big  -  bigger  -  biggest except when the consonant is 'w' or 'y' :  new - newer - newest.

A - AN - THE

A - AN :

A and an are indefinite articles used to refer to a singular countable noun.

An indefinite article means that we do not know which one, or it is not important 

to know it. 

Which one to use:  'a' or 'an'?

The rule states that “a” should be used before words that begin with consonants

(b, c ,d etc.) while “an” should be used before words that begin with vowels (a,e,i, etc.).

It should be noted, however, that the usage is determined by the pronunciation and

not by the spelling, and this includes abbreviations and acronyms.

To simplify, one uses 'a' before a word that begins with a consonant SOUND,

and 'an' before a word that begins with a vowel SOUND. 

A is used before :

• a consonant (b, c, d, f, g, etc.)         a car/a hotel

• a vowel that is pronounced like "yu"            a European/a university

• the vowel 'o' when it has a "w" sounda one-way street

An is used before :

• a vowel  (a, e, i, etc.) :         an animal/an elevator 

• an unaspirated 'h':   an hour/an honest man

• abbreviations starting with a vowel sound:an MBA ('em' sound)

THE :

The is a definite article used to talk about something specific. 

• The town where Julie lives is very big.
• What book is Julie reading? She's reading the book Tom gave her.

The is also used to refer to:

• Rivers, seas, oceans :
  • the Mississippi river, the Mediterranean sea, the Atlantic ocean
• Nationalities :
  • the British, the Americans, the Japanese, the Chinese, etc.