Collocation Lists

On this page you can find a few short lists of collocations to give you more of an idea
about them. Many good learner's dictionaries show collocations associated with specific
words. There are also dictionaries of collocations, though these are more difficult to find.
Some common verbs
have do make
have a bath
have a drink
have a good time
have a haircut
have a holiday
have a problem
have a relationship
have a rest
have lunch
have sympathy
do business
do nothing
do someone a favour
do the cooking
do the housework
do the shopping
do the washing up
do your best
do your hair
do your homework
make a difference
make a mess
make a mistake
make a noise
make an effort
make furniture
make money
make progress
make room
make trouble
take break catch
take a break
take a chance
take a look
take a rest
take a seat
take a taxi
take an exam
take notes
take someone's place
take someone's temperature
break a habit
break a leg
break a promise
break a record
break a window
break someone's heart
break the ice
break the law
break the news to someone
break the rules
catch a ball
catch a bus
catch a chill
catch a cold
catch a thief
catch fire
catch sight of
catch someone's attention
catch someone's eye
catch the flu
pay save keep
pay a fine
pay attention
pay by credit card
pay cash
pay interest
pay someone a compliment
pay someone a visit
pay the bill
pay the price
pay your respects
save electricity
save energy
save money
save one's strength
save someone a seat
save someone's life
save something to a disk
save space
save time
save yourself the trouble
keep a diary
keep a promise
keep a secret
keep an appointment
keep calm
keep control
keep in touch
keep quiet
keep someone's place
keep the change
come go get
come close
come complete with
come direct
go abroad
go astray
go bad
get a ob
get a shock
get angry
come early
come first
come into view
come last
come late
come on time
come prepared
come right back
come second
come to a compromise
come to a decision
come to an agreement
come to an end
come to a standstill
come to terms with
come to a total of
come under attack
go bald
go bankrupt
go blind
go cra!y
go dark
go deaf
go fishing
go mad
go missing
go on foot
go online
go out of business
go overseas
go quiet
go sailing
go to war
go yellow
get divorced
get drunk
get frightened
get home
get lost
get married
get nowhere
get permission
get pregnant
get ready
get started
get the impression
get the message
get the sack
get upset
get wet
get worried
Miscellaneous
Time Business English Classifiers
bang on time
dead on time
early "#th century
free time
from dawn till dusk
great deal of time
late #$th century
make time for
next few days
past few weeks
right on time
run out of time
save time
spare time
spend some time
take your time
tell someone the time
time goes by
time passes
waste time
annual turnover
bear in mind
break off negotiations
cease trading
chair a meeting
close a deal
close a meeting
come to the point
dismiss an offer
draw a conclusion
draw your attention to
launch a new product
lay off staff
go bankrupt
go into partnership
make a loss
make a profit
market forces
sales figures
take on staff
a ball of string
a bar of chocolate
a bottle of water
a bunch of carrots
a cube of sugar
a pack of cards
a pad of paper
%ollocation &ui!!es '
ADVERB+ADJECTIVE
entirely convinced
consistently successful
utterly (amazed, successful
com!letely useless
virtually im!ossi"le
ADVERB+VERB
a"soluely adore
"arely see
"itterly re#ret
distinctily remem"er
dramatically increase
ea#erly a$ait
fully investi#ate
%eavily rely on
!rofusely a!olo#ize
seriously $onder
soundly slee!
stron#ly (su##est, recommend
t%orou#%ly investi#ate
Adverb+verb
Com!letely a#ree
Ri#%tfully "elon#
Adverb+adjective
&ully a$are
'ro!erly used
Com!letely va#ue
Beautifully madeu!(
Do+ the shopping
+ work
+ homework
+ housework
+ the cleaning
+ the cooking
+ the laundry
+ the salad
+ the dishes
+ gardening
+ something
+ nothing
+ a good job
+ business
+ errands
+ a favour
+ a puzzle
+ exercise
+ an exercise
+ science (at school)
+ the washing
+ the washing up
+ a quiz
+ a text
+ good
+ harm
+ well
+ fne
+ wisely
+ your best
Make
+ progress
+ a mess
+ furniture
+ trouble
+ war
+ peace
+ a change
+ plans
+ arrangements
+ a telephone call
+ a deal
+ a scene
+ an efort
+ an excuse
+ a mistake
+ a noise
+ trouble
+ a phone call
+ a journey
+ an ofer
+ a suggestion
+ a speech
+ a decision
+ a choice
+ the bed
+ a dress
+ money
+ a fortune
+ a proft
+ friends
+ food
+ a meal
+ breakfast
+ lunch
+ dinner
+ a promise
+ a list
+ a cake
+ a sentence
+ an exception
+ a cup cofee
+ a glass of tea
Verb and Preposition Collocations
Click for Audio
The following is a list of verbs and prepositions which commonly
appear together.
accuse (someone) of ([doing something)
add (something) to (something else)
admire (someone) for ([doing something)
agree on (topic)
agree with (someone)
apologi!e to (someone) for ([doing something)
apply to (a place) for (something)
approve of (something)
argue with (someone) about (topic)
arrive at (a building" room" site" event)
arrive in (a city" country)
ask (someone) about (someone#topic)
ask (someone) for (something)
believe in (something)
belong to (someone)
blame (someone) for ([doing something)
borrow (something) from (someone)
care about (someone#something#topic)
comment on (topic)
compare (something) to#with (something else)
complain to (someone) about (something)
concentrate on ([doing something)
congratulate (someone) for#on ([doing something)
consist of (some things)
consent to ([doing something)
contribute to (something)
count on (someone) to (do something)
cover (something) with (something else)
decide on (topic)
depend on (someone) for (something)
discuss (something) with (someone)
distinguish (something) from (something else)
dream about#of (someone#something)
escape from (somewhere)
e$plain (topic) to (someone)
e$cuse (someone) for ([doing something)
forgive (someone for ([doing something)
get rid of (something)
graduate from (a place)
happen to (someone)
help (someone) with (something)
hide (something) from (someone)
insist (up)on (something)
introduce (someone) to (someone else)
invite (someone) to (an event)
keep (something) for (someone)
matter to (someone)
ob%ect to (something)
participate in (something)
pay (price) for (something)
pray for (someone#something)
prefer (something) to (something else)
prevent (someone) from ([doing something)
prohibit (someone) from ([doing something)
protect (someone) from (something)
provide (someone) with (something)
recover from (something)
rely (up)on (someone#something)
remind (someone) of (something)
rescue (someone) from (something)
respond to (someone#something)
save (someone) from (something)
search for (something)
separate (something) from (something else)
scold (someone) for ([doing something)
smile at (someone) for ([doing something)
speak to#with (someone) about (topic) #br&stare at
(something#someone)
stop (someone) from ([doing something)
subscribe to (something)
substitute (something) for (something else#someone)
subtract (something) from (something else)
succeed in ([doing something)
su'er from (something)
take advantage of (someone#something# situation)
take care of (something#someone)
talk to#with (someone) about (topic)
thank (someone) for ([doing something)
travel to (somewhere)
vote for (someone)
vouch for (someone)
wait for (someone#something)
wish for (something)
work for (company#something#someone)
Preposition Collocations with "Be"
Click for Audio
be absent from be absolved of be accepted as#to
be according to be accused of be accustomed to
be ac(uainted with be adamant about be addicted to
be a'ected by be afraid of be after
be alarmed at be aligned with be (all) set for
be ama!ed at#by be an authority on be angry about#at#with
be annoyed at#with be an$ious about be appropriate for
be armed with be around be arrested for
be ashamed of be associated with be astonished at#by
be at it (again) be attached to be attracted to
be aware of be away from
be back (from) be bad at be bad for
be banned from be based (up)on be behind (schedule)
be bent on be biased about be big on
be blamed for be blessed with be bored with
be bound for
be capable of
be carried away
about#with
be caught up in
be centered around be certain of be charged with
be classi)ed as be clear about be clear to
be clever at be close to be cluttered (up) with
be a combination of be compared to be compensated for
be composed of be comprised of be concerned about#with
be con)dent of be confused about be congratulated for#on
be connected to#with be conned into be considerate of
be considered for be content with be contrary to
be convenient for#to be convinced of be convicted of#for
be coordinated with be covered with be crammed into
be cra!y about be credited with be critici!ed for#as
be crowded with
be dedicated to be delighted with be dependent (up)on
be devoted to
be di'erent
from#than
be disappointed
about#at#in#with
be discouraged about
be discriminated
against
be disgusted with
be disillusioned with be dis(uali)ed for be disposed of
be distinguished from be divided into be divorced (from)
be done with be down be down on#with
be dragged into be dressed (up) in be drunk with#on
be east of be elected as#to be eligible for
be embarrassed
about#at
be encouraged by be entailed in
be engaged to#in be entrusted with be envious of
be e(ual#e(uivalent to be e(uipped with be estranged from
be evicted from be e$cited about be e$pelled from
be faithful to be faced with be familiar with#to
be famous for be fanatic(al) about be fascinated with
be fed up with be )lled with be )nished with
be )red for#from be followed by be fond of
be for the sake of be fraught with be free from#of
be friendly to#with be frightened by#at be full of
be furnished with
be glad to be good at be good to
be gone to#with be grateful for#to be guilty of
be half*hearted about be hailed as be happy about#with
be hard on
be headed
for#to#toward
be hired as#for
be hitched to
be immersed in be imposed (up)on be impressed by#with
be in
be in accordance
with
be in agreement with
be an indication of be an issue of be in back of
be in bed with be in cahoots with be in charge of
be in common with
be in con%unction
with
be in contact with
be in control of be in danger of be in e$change for
be in favor of be in front of be in honor of
be in hope(s) of be in love with be in need of
be in on be in place of be in possession of
be in pro$imity to be in reference to be in regard to
be in response to be in return for be in search of
be in store for be in sync with be in tandem with
be in the habit of be in the middle of be in the midst of
be in the vicinity of be in time for be in touch with
be in trouble with#for be in tune with be incensed with
be inducted into be inferior to be infested with
be informed about be innocent of be insecure about
be insistent (up)on be interested in be into
be involved in be irritated at#with be isolated from
be %ealous of
be kind of be kind to be knowledgeable about
be known as#for
be labeled as be leery of be left of#with
be less than be limited to be located at#near
be lower than
be mad at#about be made of#from be married to
be a matter of be the matter with be mean to
be meant to be a measure of be mindful of
be more than
be named as#after be ne$t to be nice to
be notorious for be north of be nuts about
be obedient to be oblivious about#to be obsessed with
be obvious to be o' be okay with
be on be on behalf of be on the brink of
be on the edge of be on the verge of be on time for
be on to be on top of be open about#for#to
be opposed to be opposite from be oppressed by
be out be out of be out of concern for
be out of contact with be out of sync with be out of touch with
be outraged about be outspoken about be over with
be parallel to be partial to be patient with
be a pattern of be pegged as be perturbed at#about
be pleased with be polite to be popular with
be praised for#about be precious to be preoccupied with
be prepared for be prohibited from be promoted to
be provided with be proud of be psyched about
be punished for be put o' by
be (uali)ed for be a (uestion of
be ready for be regarded as be related to
be relevant to be relieved of be remembered for
be rescued from be reserved for be responsible for
be retired from be rid of be rife with
be right to be riled up (about) be roped into
be rude to
be satis)ed with be saved from be scared of
be selected as#for be sensible about be separated from
be set on be shocked at be short of
be sick of#about be a sign of be similar to
be soft on be sorry about#for be sort of
be south of be speciali!ed in be spoken for
be startled at be strange to be a stranger to
be stressed out about be stuck on#with be stunned at
be sub%ect to be su+cient for be suitable for
be superior to be sure of be surprised at#about
be suspected of be suspended from be a symbol of
be taken aback by#at be taken in by be tantamount to
be tapped as#by be terri)ed of#with be there for
be a threat to be through with be ticked o' about
be tired of be tuned (in)to be to the left of
be to the right of
be uncalled for be under arrest be under )re for
be under investigation
for
be up against be up front with
be up in arms about be up on be up to
be upset about#with be uptight about be used for
be used to be useful to
be valued as#at be vindicated of
be wary of#about be west of be whipped into
be wiped out be with it be with reference to
be with respect to be worked up about be worried about
be wrapped up in be wrong with
be !ealous about