Questions tagged [collocation]
Collocation refers to the appearance or occurrence of groups or pairs of words, particularly when more frequent than random chance would suggest.
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Powerful / Strong car?
If a car can handle steep climbs or rocky paths, do we say it's a strong or a powerful car? What's the right collocation?
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1answer
35 views
To reach my aims vs To achieve my aims
I'm doing an exercise from an ESL book where I need to choose the correct collocation. Here's the bit I'm confused about:
Since I decided to become an architect, I've put a lot of effort into ...
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1answer
24 views
bitter intensity
What is the meaning of bitter intensity? For example:
Here and there we find a slight suggestion of the bitter intensity of
the poet X.
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0answers
23 views
“the highest good” vs “the greatest good”
In a strictly philosophical context, which is better: the highest good or the greatest good?
Is any of them a better collocation?
Should I follow Wiki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summum_bonum) ...
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0answers
22 views
Realization and problem, noun-object relationship
One does realize that there is a problem but does one have a realization of an existing problem or does that sound a bit awkward and ambiguous?
...suggests that realization of an existing problem ...
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0answers
56 views
The meaning of 'to initiate a bonfire of something' in this context
In fact in the general election of 1950, but particularly in
that of 1951, the male working class voted in more substantial
numbers for the Labour Party than they had ever done ...
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92 views
Why is it a “garland of sonnets”? [closed]
William Shakespeare is famous for his ________ of sonnets.
A) garland
B) collection
C) anthology
D) couplets
My future and life is depend on this question, it is not about just to tell my teacher. ...
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0answers
30 views
the usage of fixed phrases
Is it possible to say to draw in pencils when you actually use, for example, coloured pencils not just 1 pencil. Or is it used as a fixed phrase to indicate that you use a pencil not a pen to draw?
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5answers
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Nobel prize in literature 2018 - what is “encyclopedic passion”?
The question is inspired by the today's announcement of the Nobel prize awards in Literature for 2018 and 2019.
The short description for Olga Tokarczuk has been worded as follows:
The Nobel Prize ...
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8answers
6k views
'Cheddar goes “good” with burgers?' Can “go” be seen as a verb of the senses?
I know that the adverb modifies a verb except for in some limited cases such as verbs of the senses or copula.
"It tastes good.", not "It tastes well."
"It looks good.", not "It looks well."
...
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1answer
462 views
“The same with” or “The same as”
My housemate just showed me how to switch off the fire alarm in the kitchen in case that it sounds for no reason. Then I asked him “Can I do the same with the one in my room?”
Is it correct to use “...
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1answer
47 views
Is it correct to say “I associate my ringtone with a headache”
The idea is that it is very annoying and I'm tired to hear the same tune over and over again. Please see the full sentence where the phrase is used.
Aren’t you tired of your old boring ringtone that ...
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1answer
29 views
suitable collocation
Do you have any idea for better collocation?
So I chose decided to study chemical engineering at the university to pursue my passion since at high school we just studied basic concepts.
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2answers
36 views
Is “stabilize into” a valid collocation? [closed]
Here is the full sentence:
"Despite the fluidity of this trope, in the middle of the twentieth century, it briefly stabilized into a distinct shape".
Thanks for the help!
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1answer
60 views
How would you describe the movement of a lever?
The story is that I was describing an action happens in the car park in class, and I got stuck, I said something like: "after putting a coin in the slot of the parking meter, then the lever would be ...
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2answers
139 views
Is “All MEEMIES are SCREAMING” a Strong Collocation?
Stormy Petrels:
According to this article Elliott Moreton categorize particular group of words as "Stormy Petrels".
A stormy petrel, also known as a storm petrel, is an Atlantic seabird (also ...
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2answers
180 views
Bring is standard and good verb and collocation for “Excuse”?
Do you think "bring" verb is a suitable and correct verb and collocation for using with "Excuse"? I didn't see it in any famous dictionaries, including Oxford Collocations Dictionary and I guess it's ...
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1answer
47 views
“A servile propaganda operation”: is the “propaganda operation” collocation leveraged proper in this context?
[...] has ever had at his disposal—a servile propaganda operation.1
I was looking at some ngram for collocations with propaganda and there are many more results with campaign and machine for instance ...
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0answers
51 views
Odd sounding phrasal verb splits with specific pronouns. Are there rules? [duplicate]
Give the examples...
A:
Did you check it out?
Did you check the book out?
Did you check Netflix out?
Did you check the recommendation out?
Did you clean it out?
Did you wipe it off?
Did you log it ...
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1answer
77 views
“have a refined bearing” OR “have a bearing with/of refinement”
thank you for answering my question.
I was learning "bearing" with all its collocations, and there I learned that it can be used to describe the way in which someone move/stand/behave.
I recalled ...
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1answer
310 views
Why is 'have difficulties' incorrect? [closed]
But it is far enough away that early explorers had difficulty/difficulties finding it.
What should I choose completing the exam task?
There is the answer 'difficulty' in the keys but the authors do ...
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3answers
160 views
What words go together with savvy? Business-savvy? Technology-savvy? [closed]
Are there rules to matching words with savvy?
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1answer
555 views
Undergo vs Suffer an accident
I was doing a CAE Practice Test on Use of English (It is a multiple choice exercise) when I came across the following example:
Her life was cut tragically short. She ______ a horrific accident at
...
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1answer
33 views
what is the sentence pattern in following sentence, specificcally what is the function of 'consistent with'?
Consistent with maximizing the impact of rewards, managers should look for ways to increase their visibility.
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2answers
86 views
Repeat/repeated offender
In legal talk, specifically regarding criminals, it is standard usage to call someone who has broken the law several times a "repeat offender." However, I don't understand why such a person wouldn't ...
0
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1answer
90 views
What is the correct way to say “have a shot (of a drink) in praise of your youth days”?
What is the correct, usual way in English to say "have a shot (of a drink) in praise of your youth days"?
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3answers
692 views
What's the difference between 'left out' and 'missed out'?
There is a sentence:
Negative comments were left out.
Can I say:
Negative comments were missed out. ?
What is general different between miss out and left out ?
I'm not sure which tags I should ...
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1answer
31 views
“A comment is in place”
Does the following collocation exist in English?
a comment is in place
If not, do you recognize it as an improper loan from another language? It is used by a writer to communicate that, before ...
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2answers
134 views
'The phrase “cute puppy,”is not considered a collocation.' Is this correct?
I am a data scientist who has a question about collocations based on a book I am reading. The book is "Feature Engineering for Machine Learning: Principles and Techniques for Data Scientists" by ...
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3answers
129 views
Relieve feelings
When we want to mean
" lessen the intensity of the feelings"
，we often use the phase
"calm someone down".
However,a few days ago, I heard somebody say something like this
‘‘Ever after my ...
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1answer
304 views
Collocation: Rates are large/small or high/low?
What is the proper adjective for rates?
"..the learning rate is low/high.."
or
"..the learning rate is small/large.."
It seems that there are different opinions:
Numbers can be described using ...
0
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1answer
31 views
What are tax-derived finances?
Maybe this is not a question relating to the usage of the English language. I struggle to find the explanation of "tax-derived finances".
Here is the context:
"The principal reasons for this are ...
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2answers
59 views
achieve (at least some) reduction
In an article I am writing, I use the following sentence:
"Despite our hypothesis, the time-based switching strategy performs the best and achieves at least 29% reduction in falls."
I am confused ...
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1answer
456 views
Which is idiomatic: “kite is flying” or “kite is floating”? [closed]
Is it idiomatic to say "A kite is floating in the sky"?
Most of the time I see "A kite is flying in the sky".
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3answers
410 views
How to use the word “ripped”?
My heart was ripped, you sewed it with your thread of love.
And when you saw other ripped heart you asked me for your thread and unsewed my heart and left it ripped again, I saw you as a stitcher ...
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1answer
421 views
Can we “give kind cooperation”?
Is it correct to write the sentence below?
All participants gave good cooperation in the workshop.
Please suggest.
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2answers
495 views
can one say “he is my biggest example”?
can one say "he is my biggest example" (if one wants to say someone serves as a shining/inspiring/great example for oneself)? Or in other words does example collocate with big(gest)? (Non-native ...
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1answer
3k views
“Apply to” vs “apply for”
Do I need to be registered before I can apply for university
Do I need to be registered before I can apply to university
Do I need to be registered before I can apply for my Bachelor of ...
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2answers
225 views
Can the word “go” be used as a helping verb?
For instance:
“Go eat your dinner.”
It appears that the word “go” is being used as a helping verb. Is it being used a helping verb? If so, can “go” only be used as a helping verb in imperative ...
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0answers
35 views
What is the correct way to collocate something average and a period of time? [duplicate]
I want to translate "average monthly salary" into English, in relation to a specific period which is "from September to April" (non-inclusive).
Will it be correct to just concatenate these two ...
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0answers
26 views
Giant slayer, witch hunter: why the singular form? [duplicate]
It is clear that the meaning of the collocations is:
slayer of giants
hunter of witches
But, why do they stay in singular when they are in a juxtaposition?
What is their grammatical funticion? Which ...
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1answer
79 views
what does the word “comprised” mean in this context? + a question about collocation
1- I found this on the CNN web page:
"We request the FBI open an immediate investigation to determine if these reports are accurate and to explore the extent to which information and sources may ...
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1answer
39k views
What is the meaning of “power dynamics”?
I've seen this words in news article and books but have no idea what it means.
I've googled everywhere but couldn't find any answers.
Can someone elaborate what it means?
I'm guessing maybe it's ...
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0answers
64 views
complicated / complex and possible modifiers
A text I wrote (well, translated actually) contained the phrase:
"the question is highly complex".
After more than a year (!) it's been returned to me with some corrections, and the phrase above ...
1
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1answer
112 views
How best to describe poor communication in terms of low-rate of exchanged messages
I had a communication problem with a customer via an instant messenger.
Please advice on how to say formally that I had to wait long for his responses and we exchanged just a few phrases per day.
I ...
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vote
4answers
594 views
What is the opposite of bored stiff?
I'm reading "Cambridge Collocation in use" and find this sentence
( I’m bored stiff in this lesson!) so can I use Stiff with another word to make the sentence opposite?
Thanks
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1answer
106 views
Is the phrase “Shape outlines of something” correct? [closed]
Is the phrase "shaped the outlines" grammatically correct in this sentence? I want it to indicate that this subject played a key role in shaping my interests:
By introducing leading approaches to ...
2
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1answer
180 views
Why and how did “Shinto shrine” largely replace “Shinto temple”?
According to ngrams, "Shinto shrine" and "Shinto temple" were roughly equal in popularity until the 1930s, but nowadays, "Shinto shrine" is roughly 9 or 10 times more common than "Shinto temple", ...
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3answers
519 views
”…you think of (or) about tomato ketchup”? [closed]
Please help me find the correct answer
When you think about Heinz, you may probably think ______ tomato ketchup.
In the blank space, is the correct preposition about or of?
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1answer
983 views
What does “black voice” mean?
What does "black voice" mean? I've seen it in the Peter Pan book:
'Captain, let go,' he cried, writhing. Now for the first time we hear the voice of Hook. It was a black voice. 'Put back that ...
