Lesson 6: Business Collocations

Learning business collocations is crucial for anyone aspiring to succeed in the business
world, as it facilitates effective communication, fosters professional relationships, and
supports career advancement.

Determine what is wrong with this email.

To: john.smith@megacorp.com
From:john.johnson@megacorp.com
Subject: bonusesUnfortunately, we weren’t able to make a consensus
about whether to provide a bonus at the end of the year. Three people
did presentations about various proposals but it seems like none of
them made much interest. Several people presented their concerns
about not having achieved a decision on this issue. As soon as the big
conference room gets available we’re going to meet again to discuss
about solutions. Most people are here already, but because of the
strong traffic some haven’t arrived yet. Let’s hope we can do an
agreement later today.

➢ The email contains incorrect collocations. Explain that a collocation is a pair

or group of words that normally go together.
➢ Here are the mistakes in the email:

1. "make a consensus" should be "reach a consensus."

2. "Three people did presentations" should be "Three people gave presentations."
3. "made much interest" should be "generated much interest."
4. "Several people presented their concerns about not having achieved a
decision" could be improved for clarity. It might be better to say "Several
people expressed concerns about the lack of a decision."
5. "As soon as the big conference room gets available" should be "As soon as the
large conference room becomes available."
6. "meet again to discuss about solutions" should be "meet again to discuss
solutions."
7. "Most people are here already" could be improved for formality. It might be
better to say "Most attendees have already arrived."
8. "Let’s hope we can do an agreement later today" should be "Let’s hope we can
reach an agreement later today."

You can use the Oxford Collocation Dictionary to find correct collocations. To use
the dictionary, you can follow these guidelines:

1. Look up a word to find the words which are commonly used with it, i.e. its
collocations.
 2. The collocations are listed with the word and are grouped by part of speech (e.g.
all the verbs that collocate with the entry are listed together).

You should end up with something like the following:

To: john.smith@megacorp.com
From: john.johnson@megacorp.com

Subject: bonuses

Unfortunately, we weren’t able to make reach a consensus about whether to

provide give/award a bonus at the end of the year. Three people did made
presentations about various proposals but it seems like none of them made
generated much interest. Several people presented voiced/expressed their
concerns about not having achieved reached/made a decision on this issue. As
soon as the big conference room gets becomes available we’re going to meet
again to discuss about solutions. Most people are here already, but because of
the strong heavy traffic some haven’t arrived yet. Let’s hope we can do reach an
agreement later today.

Formative Assessment
Activity 6.1.

Read the email and identify the incorrect collocations.

Dear Mr. Johnson,

I hope this email finds you good. I am writing to put your attention on the large
problem we encountered during yesterday's meeting. Unfortunately, there was a large
mistake in the financial report that was presented by our team. This has caused much
concern among the stakeholders.

I believe we need to make a test to identify the root cause of the problem and come up
with a suitable solution. Furthermore, we need to be very awake of the potential risks
associated with this issue.

I will enter the car to pick you up tomorrow morning so we can discuss this matter
further. Also, please bring along any relevant documents related to the investment
proposal.

Looking forward to meeting you.

Best regards, [Your Name]

Activity 6.2.
Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate collocations:

1. Our company is _______ a new marketing strategy to target younger

demographics.
2. The CEO has a _______ understanding of the market trends and how they
impact our business.
3. We need to _______ our efforts to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
4. The sales team is _______ to meet with potential clients next week.
5. The company's expansion plans have been _______ by recent economic
downturns.
6. We must _______ our focus on innovation to stay ahead of the competition.
7. The project manager has _______ responsibility for overseeing the
implementation of new policies.