CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
It has been argued that a word is best learned from its context, showing the importance of learning various lexical combinations occurring in sentences. Several major variations of lexical combination can be identifies, each exhibiting varying degrees of cohesiveness. One of the famous lexical combinations is called collocations. Collocation is defined as the co-occurrence of words in a text. The term ‘collocation’ is generally used in discussing the nature of lexis and its relation to grammar (Nation, 2001). Even though lexis is usually contrasted with grammar, they sometimes have a close relationship with each other. This study investigates the pattern of collocation and other thing that is additional explanation to give more specific about collocation.
Materials that will be discussed in this paper is:
• Definition of collocation
• Criteria collocation
• Subclass of collocation
• Idioms
• Different collocation and idiom
CHAPTER II
Definition of collocation
Collocation is defined as the co-occurrence of words in a text (Sinclair, 1991: 170). The term ‘collocation’ is generally used in discussing the nature of lexis and its relation to grammar (Nation, 2001). Even though lexis is usually contrasted with grammar, they sometimes have a close relationship with each other. A word is meaningful whenever it is seen in connection with other words in a text. Certain words occur together significantly. This co-occurrence is called collocation. Take, for example, the phrase ‘low price’ which is used so frequently in an economics text that it springs readily to mind; it is psychologically salient as a fixed phrase in English. Thus, we call it a fixed combination, recurrent combination or collocation (Benson et al., 1986). Thank collocates with you as in thank you. The word lean collocates significantly with the word meat. ‘A significant collocation is one in which the two items co-occur more frequently and regularly than could be predicted on the basis of their respective frequency and the length of the text under consideration’ (Martin et al., 1983: 84). The word thank, in the above example, occurs with the word you more frequently than, for example, the word her or him as in thank her or thank him. Therefore, the latter is not considered a collocation.
Several collocational patterns occur as fixed combinations. The items may co-occur simply because the combination reflects a common real world state of affairs (Gairns and Redman, 1986). For example, pass and salt collocate significantly as in ‘Please pass the salt!’, because people often want other people to pass them salt. The following is an example of some fixed combinations in collocation:
• cats and dogs: as in It’s raining cats and dogs, but not dogs and cats;
• after all, but not before all
• mother tongue, but not father tongue
• the fast train, but not the quick train
• fast food, but not quick food
• A quick shower, but not a fast shower
• A quick meal, but not a fast meal
The examples above indicate that the words with their company are linked together quite closely. The words in these fixed pairs sometimes have a different meaning from their individual meaning. We can notice the word of and course as in of course have their own individual meaning. The word of and course in this context are different from the word of and course in other contexts, such as instead of, way of life, an English course, course work, etc.
Criteria of collocation
• Typical criteria for collocations:
–non-compositionality
–non-substitutability
–non-modifiability
• Collocations usually cannot be translated into other languages word by word.
• A phrase can be a collocation even if it is not consecutive (as in the example knock . . . door).
Non compositionality
• A phrase is compositional if the meaning can predicted from the meaning of the parts.
E.g. new companies
• A phrase is non-compositional if the meaning cannot be predicted from the meaning of the parts
E.g. hot dog
• Collocations are not necessarily fully compositional in that there is usually an element of meaning added to the combination. . Strong tea.
• Idioms are the most extreme examples of non-compositionality. E.g. to hear it through the grapevine.
non-substitutability
• We cannot substitute near-synonyms for the components of a collocation.
For example:
We can’t say yellow wine instead of white wine even though yellow is as good a description of the color of white wine as white is (it is kind of a yellowish white).
• Many collocations cannot be freely modified with additional lexical material or through grammatical transformations (Non-modifiability).
E.g. white wine, but not whiter wine
Mother in law, but not mother in laws.
Non-modifiability
• Many collocations cannot be freely modified with additional lexical material or through grammatical transformations.
Especially true for idioms, e.g. frog in ‘ to get a frog in ones throat’ cannot be modified into ‘green frog’.
Subclass collocation
1. Light verbs
a light verb is a verb that has little semantic content of its own and it therefore forms a predicate with some additional expression, which is usually a noun. Common verbs in English that can function as light verbs are do, give, have, make, take, etc. Other names for light verb includedelexical verb vector verb, explicator verb, thin verb or semantically weak verb (a semantically weak verb is not to be confused with a weak verb of theGermanic weak inflection, however). While light verbs are similar to auxiliary verbs regarding their meaning contribution to the clauses in which they appear, light verbs fail the diagnostics that identify auxiliary verbs and are therefore distinct from auxiliaries. Light verb constructions challenge theories of compositionality because the words that form such constructions do not together qualify as constituents.
Most light verb constructions in English include a noun and are sometimes called stretched verbs. Some light verb constructions also include a preposition, e.g
Example:
• They did the review of my paper first.
• Sam did the cleaning yesterday.
• Who got such intense criticism?
• Susan is getting much support from her family.
• I am going to have a nice nap.
• She had a smoke.
• We had a slow, boring conversation.
• Are you giving a presentation at the conference?
2. Phrasal verb
The term phrasal verb is commonly applied to two or three distinct but related constructions in English: a verb and a particle and/or a preposition co-occur forming a single semantic unit. This semantic unit cannot be understood based upon the meanings of the individual parts in isolation, but rather it can be taken as a whole. In other words, the meaning is non-compositional and thus unpredictable. Phrasal verbs that include a preposition are known as prepositional verbs and phrasal verbs that include a particle are also known as particle verbs. Additional alternative terms for phrasal verb are compound verb, verb-adverb combination, verb-particle construction, two-part word/verb, and three-part word/verb (depending on the number of particles), andmulti-word verb.
Example:
Verb + preposition (prepositional phrasal verbs)
• Who is looking after the kids? – after is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase after the kids.
• They pick on Joseph. – on is a preposition that introduces the prepositional phrase on Joseph.
Verb + particle (particle phrasal verbs)
• They brought that up twice. – up is a particle, not a preposition.
• You should think it over. – over is a particle, not a preposition.
• Why does he always dress down? – down is a particle, not a preposition.
Verb + particle + preposition (particle-prepositional phrasal verbs)
• Who can put up with that? – up is a particle and with is a preposition.
• She is looking forward to a rest. – forward is a particle and to is a preposition.
• The other tanks were bearing down on my panther. – down is a particle and on is a preposition.
The difference between these types of phrasal verbs lies with the status of the element(s) that appear in addition to the verb. When the element is a preposition, it is the head of a full prepositional phrase and the phrasal verb is a thus a prepositional phrasal verb. When the element is a particle, it can not (or no longer) be construed as a preposition, but rather it is a particle by virtue of the fact that it does not take a complement. Finally, many phrasal verbs are combined with both a preposition and a particle.
3. Proper nouns
A proper noun is a noun that in its primary application refers to a unique entity, such as London, Jupiter, Sarah, or Microsoft, as distinguished from a common noun, which usually refers to a class of entities (city, planet, person, corporation), or non-unique instances of a certain class (a city, another planet, these persons, our corporation).[1] Some proper nouns occur in plural form (optionally or exclusively), and then they refer to groups of entities considered as unique (theHendersons, the Everglades, the Azores, the Pleiades). Proper nouns can also occur in secondary applications, for example modifying nouns (the Mozartexperience; his Azores adventure), or in the role of common nouns (he’s no Pavarotti; a few would-be Napoleons). The detailed definition of the term is problematic and to an extent governed by convention.
Example:
• A rose grows on the third floor of the main building.
[common-noun senses throughout; main building is simply a description of the building]
• I believe Rose lives on Floor 3 of the Main Building.
[Main Building is the name of the building, Floor 3 names the third floor, and Rose names a person]
• The 16th robotic probe to land on the planet was assigned to study the north pole, and the 17th probe the south pole.
[common-noun senses throughout]
• When Probe 17 overflew the South Pole, it passed directly over the place where Captain Scott’s expedition ended.
[in this sentence, South Pole is a proper name referring to Earth’s south pole]
• Sanjay lives on the beach road.
[the road that runs along the beach]
• Sanjay lives on Beach Road.
[as a proper name, Beach Road may have nothing to do with the beach; it may be any distance from the waterfront]
4. Terminological expressions
It refer to concepts and objects in technical domains.
Example:
– Hydraulic oil filter
Idioms
a. Some definitions of idioms:
A peculiarity of phraseology approved by the usage of the language and often having a signification other than its grammatical or logical one.’
– Oxford English Dictionary
‘A group of words with a meaning of its own that is different from the meanings of each separate word put together’
– Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
‘an expression in the usage of a language that is peculiar to itself either grammatically (as no, it wasn’t me) or in having a meaning that cannot be derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements (as Monday week for “the Monday a week after next Monday”)
– WWWebster Dictionary
b. Characteristic of Idiom:
• Idioms are strictly non-compositional
Although the word that make up the idiom have their own literal meanings, in the idiom they have lost their individual identity. You canot predict the meaning of an idiom from the sum of its parts:
e.g. how do you do?
I’m under the weather
to wear your heart on your sleeve
red herring
• Structural stability (syntactic frozenness)
We cannot normally change the words, their order, or the grammatical forms in the same way as changing non-expression. In other words, idioms are basically fixed expression. (Micel Berman, 2000):
1. Constituents cannot be replaced
e.g. as good as gold / as good as play ?
2. Constituents cannot be deleted or added to
e.g. out of the question / out of question ?
c. collocation and Idiom
• Listing collocations will often reveal idioms and cliches
• Collocation
The term collocation defines words which frequently appear together. If we analyzed a long text for words which are often used together we will find out that some words are often used in the same form. Using collocation will improve your style of spoken and written English. You will sound more natural and will help you avoid common mistakes.
e.g Did you watch TV last Sunday? (NOT, look at TV)
• Idiom
Idioms are the most extreme examples of non-compositionality. In conjunction with collocations and compounds idioms are word groups with fixed word order and a specific meaning. The meaning of idiom cannot be guessed by knowing the meaning of the individual words. Learning idioms might be one of the most difficult tasks to master a foreign language.
e.g hold your tongue
collocations list
on this list you can find a few short list of collocations to give you more of an idea about them.
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 favor
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
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
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 abroad
go astray
go bad
go bald
go bankrupt
go blind
go crazy
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 a job
get a shock
get angry
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 12th century
free time
from dawn till dusk
great deal of time
late 20th century
make time for
next few days
past few weeks
right on time
run out of time
save time
spare time
spend some 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 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
List of idioms
This is a list, which contains the commonly used idioms and their meaning.
A penny for your thoughts
A way of asking what someone is thinking
Actions speak louder than words
People’s intentions can be judged better by what they do than what they say.
Barking up the wrong tree
Looking in the wrong place. Accusing the wrong person
Bite off more than you can chew
To take on a task that is way to big.
Can’t judge a book by its cover
Cannot judge something primarily on appearance.
Don’t count your chickens before the eggs have hatched
This idiom is used to express “Don’t make plans for something that might not happen”.
Every cloud has a silver lining
Be optimistic, even difficult times will lead to better days.
Feel a bit under the weather
Meaning: Feeling slightly ill.
Hit the nail on the head
Do or say something exactly right
Kill two birds with one stone
This idiom means, to accomplish two different things at the same time.
Make a long story short
Come to the point – leave out details
On the ball
When someone understands the situation well.
Once in a blue moon
Meaning: Happens very rarely.
Picture paints a thousand words
A visual presentation is far more descriptive than words.
Piece of cake
A job, task or other activity that is easy or simple.
Speak of the devil!
This expression is used when the person you have just been talking about arrives.
Take with a grain of salt
This means not to take what someone says too seriously.
Taste of your own medicine
Means that something happens to you, or is done to you, that you have done to someone else
To hear something straight from the horse’s mouth
To hear something from the authoritative source.
Wouldn’t be caught dead
Would never like to do something
Your guess is as good as mine
To have no idea, do not know the answer to a question
CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION
• A collocation is made up of two or more words that are commonly used together in English. Think of collocations as words that usually go together. Collocation is defined as the co-occurrence of words in a text (Sinclair, 1991: 170). The term ‘collocation’ is generally used in discussing the nature of lexis and its relation to grammar (Nation, 2001).
• Criteria of collocation
Typical criteria for collocations:
–non-compositionality
–non-substitutability
–non-modifiability
Collocations usually cannot be translated into other languages word by word.
A phrase can be a collocation even if it is not consecutive (as in the example knock . . . door).
• Different between collocation and idioms
A collocation is the way words combine in a language to produce natural speech and writing.
For example when you say “pay attention”, it could be “give attention, or put attention” but it is not, it is pay attention because it is the natural way in which native speakers express that
An idiom is a sequence of words which has different meaning as a group from the meaning they would have if you understood them separately. For example, when you say “it’s raining cats and dogs” you do not really mean that cats and dogs are falling down from the sky but that there is a heavy rain.
Akhmad Adri Muzaka 