Collocations

Collocations are likely combinations of words.  They have been variously defined as 'the company words keep',' the way words combine in predictable ways',' portable chunks of language', or even as 'used language'.  Although the term itself may be unfamiliar, collocations are central to the way we receive and produce texts. Idioms and phrasal verbs, which already receive some attention in the English syllabus, fall under the overarching category of collocations.  It has been claimed that collocations of between one and five words account for around 70% of all text, whether written or spoken.