Riassunto esame Inglese ii, Prof. Vicentini Alessandra, libro consigliato English Collocations in Use (Intermediate), McCarthy M., O’Dell Felicity

INGLESE II th

14 September 2020, Monday

COLLOCATIONS

WHAT IS A COLLOCATION?

A collocation is a pair or group of words that are often used together. These combinations sound natural to native speakers, but

students of English have to make a special effort to learn them because they are often difficult to guess. Some combinations just

sound “wrong” to native speakers of English. For example, the adjective fast collocates with cars, but not with a glance.

Learning collocations is an important part of learning the vocabulary of a language. Some collocations are fixed, or very strong, for

example take a photo, where no word other than take collocates with photo to give the same meaning. Some collocations are

more open, where several different words may be used to give a similar meaning, for example keep to/stick to the rules. Here are

some more examples of collocations:

• You must make an effort and study for your exam (NOT do an effort);

• Did you watch TV last night? (NOT look at TV);

• This car has a very powerful engine. It can do 200 km an hour (NOT strong engine;

• There are some ancient monuments nearby (NOT antique monuments).

Sometimes, a pair of words may not be absolutely wrong, and people will understand what is meant, but it may not be the natural,

normal collocation. If someone says I did a few mistakes, they will be understood, but a fluent speaker of English would probably

say I made a few mistakes.

COMPOUNDS AND IDIOMS

Compounds are units of meaning formed with two or more words. Sometimes the words are written as one word. Usually the

meaning of the compound can be guessed by knowing the meaning of the individual words. Some examples of compounds are car

park, post office, narrow-minded, shoelaces, teapot.

It’s not always easy to separate collocations and compounds.

Idioms are groups of words in a fixed order that have a meaning that cannot be guessed by knowing the meaning of the individual

words. For example, pass the buck is an idiom meaning “to pass responsibility for a problem to another person to avoid dealing

with it oneself”.

WHY LEARN COLLOCATIONS?

Learning collocations is a good idea because they can:

a) Give you the most natural way to say something;

b) Give you alternative ways of saying something, which may be more colourful/expressive or more precise;

c) Improve your style in writing; you may not need or want to use these in informal conversations, but in writing they can give

your text more variety and make it read better; the collocations are especially formal or informal. st

21 September 2020, Monday

FINDING, RECORDING AND LEARNING COLLOCATIONS

LEARNING COLLOCATIONS

Learning collocations is not so different from learning any vocabulary item. The key things are to:

• Regularly revise what you want to learn;

• Practice using what you want to learn in contexts that are meaningful for you personally;

• Learn collocations in groups to help you fix them in your memory; you might group together collocations relating to the

same topic, or you might group collocations based on the same word, for example:

I must find a way to help him;

- Can you find your way back to my house?

- I learnt the hard way that Jack can’t be trusted;

- Please tell me if I’m getting in your way;

- You must give way to traffic from the left;

- I’ve tried every possible way to get him to change his mind.

-

TYPES OF COLLOCATIONS

There are many different types of collocation.

ADJECTIVE AND NOUNS

Notice adjectives that are typically used with particular nouns.

• Emma always wears red or yellow or some other bright colour.

• We had a brief chat about the exams but didn’t have time to discuss them properly.

• Unemployment is a major problem for the government at the moment.

• Improving the health service is another key issue for government.

1

INGLESE II

NOUNS AND VERBS

Notice how nouns and verbs often go together. The examples below are all to do with economics and business.

• The economy boomed in the 1990s. [the economy was very strong]

• The company has grown and now employs 50 more people than last year.

• The company has expanded and now has branches in most major cities.

• The two companies merged in 2013 and now form one very large corporation.

The company launched the product in 2012

• [introduced the product]

The price increase poses a problem for us.

• [is a problem]

The internet has created opportunities for our business.

• [brought new opportunities]

NOUN + NOUN

There are a lot of collocations with the patter a… of…

As Max read the lies about him, he felt a surge of anger.

• [literary: a sudden angry feeling]

• Every parent feels a sense of pride when their child does well or wins something.

• I felt a pang of nostalgia when I saw the old photos of the village where I grew up.

VERBS AND EXPRESSIONS WITH PREPOSITIONS

Some verbs collocate with particular prepositional expressions.

• As Jack went on stage to receive his gold medal for the judo competition you could see his parents swelling with pride.

[looking extremely proud]

• I was filled with horror when I read the newspaper report of the explosion.

When she split juice on her new skirt the little girl burst into tears.

• [suddenly started crying]

VERBS AND VERBS

Some verbs have particular adverbs which regularly collocate with them.

• She pulled steadily on the rope and helped him to safety. [pulled firmly and evenly]

• He placed the beautiful vase gently on the window ledge.

• “I love you and want to marry you,” Dylan whispered softly to Madison.

• She smiled proudly as she looked at the photos of her new grandson.

ADVERBS AND ADJECTIVES

Adjectives often have particular adverbs which regularly collocate with them.

• They are happily married.

• I am fully aware that there are serious problems. [I know well]

• Harry was blissfully unaware that he was in danger. [Harry had no idea at all, often used about something unpleasant]

REGISTER

Often, collocations rather than individual words suggest a particular register. For example, phrases using pretty meaning fairly

sound informal when used with negative adjectives (pretty awful, pretty dreadful, pretty dull), and are typical of spoken English.

SPOKEN ENGLISH

Here are some more collocations which are almost exclusively found in spoken English.

2

INGLESE II

FORMAL ENGLISH

Some collocations are typical of formal English and are most likely to be found in an official, often legal, context, such as in notices.

Dispose = to throw away

Traspassers = who walk on the grass, but not allowed to

NEWSPAPER ENGLISH

Some collocations – particularly ones that use short, dramatic words – are found mainly in newspapers. In most cases they would

not normally be used in everyday conversations.

BUSINESS ENGLISH

Some collocations are characteristics of business English.

• To submit a tender ;

[present a document offering to do a job and stating the price]

• To raise capital ;

[get money to put into a business]

• To go into partnership with someone ;

[agree to start or run a business with someone]

• To start up a business.

INTENSIFYING ADVERBS

In English there are lots of other ways of saying very or very much. For example, we can use words such as highly, utterly, bitterly,

deeply. These alternatives collocate strongly with specific words, and other combinations often sound unnatural.

HIGHLY

• It is highly unlikely that I’ll finish my work on time.

• Julia’s highly unusual behaviour began to worry her parents.

3

INGLESE II

ABSOLUTELY, UTTERLY

• It was an absolutely stupid comment to make.

• The shole area was utterly devastated after the earthquake.

BITTERLY, DEEPLY, RIDICULOUS, STRONGLY

• I was bitterly disappointed when I failed the exam.

• Professor McDellvit was always deeply committed to her students.

• The restaurant was ridiculously expensive. I don’t think we’ll go there again.

• I would strongly recommend that you learn a foreign language.

EVERYDAY VERBS

The basic meaning of make is about producing something and the basic meaning of do is about performing an action.

MAKE 4

INGLESE II

DO

TIP

Notice all the patterns that you can see in these tables. For example, make a comment, make an excuse and make a contribution

to a discussion are all connected with saying things.

Noticing connections like this may help you to remember the correct collocation.

Get is a very common verb in English, but it is not always appropriate for talking about changes. Note also alternatives to get which

can improve your style.

GO, NOT GET

Go used for changes in people’s personality, appearance and physical abilities:

• People go mad/bald/grey/blind/deaf.

Go is often used for sudden, usually negative, changes:

• He was very embarrassed and his face went red.

• Suddenly the sky went very dark and it started to rain.

TURN, NOT GET

Turn often collocates with colours:

• The sky turned gold as the sun set.

• When the tomatoes turn red, the farmers pick them and sell them.

• The news gave his mother such a shock that her hair turned white overnight.

GET AND BECOME

Get and become can often be used with the same collocations, but become is more formal and is therefore more appropriate in

essays:

• She gave un smoking when she became pregnant.

• I would like to become involved in raising money for charity.

The same is true for collocations with adjectives such as angry, bored, excited, depressed, upset, impatient, violent:

• He became depressed after his wife’s death.

Become, not get, is used with the following: extinct, (un)popular, homeless, famous:

• Our local baker’s has become famous for its apple tarts.

ALTERNATIVES TO GET AND BECOME

• She fell ill and was taken to hospital.

• Everyone fell silent when they heard the shocking news.

• As my father grew older, he spent less time working.

• The noise grew louder and soon we realized it was a plane approaching.

5

INGLESE II

OVERUSING AND MISUSING GET

Here are some sentences form students’ essays where get is wrongly used.

HAVE

Note that these verbs collocate with have rather than any other verb (e.g. get or make).

TAKE

PAY TIP

There are other common

verbs in English which have

strong and possibly surprising

collocations.

Notice any that you find with,

for example, break, fall, run

and take.

6

INGLESE II

SYNONYMUS AND CONFUSABLE WORDS

COMMON SYNONYM PAIRS

The (a) and (b) words in each pair in the table have similar meanings. Sometimes either word can be used in a sentence to give the

same meaning, but in the collocations below only one word is possible.

GROUPS OF WORDS WITH SIMILAR MEANINGS •

Words meaning “old” She collects antique jewellery. [old and valuable]

• •

I met an old friend the other day. I helped an elderly person who was trying to cross

• It’s a very old building. the road. [elderly is more polite than old]

• She studied ancient history.

• In ancient times, life was very hard.

• This shop sells antique furniture. •

Words meaning “with no one or nothing else or with There was just one solitary figure on the otherwise

nothing similar” deserted beach. [one person on their own]

• •

Donna is a single parent; it’s difficult for her to She was the sole survivor of the cash. Everyone

work full time. else died. [only survivor]

• •

He lives in a very lonely place/spot up in the I am an only child; I sometimes wonder what it

mountains. would be like to have a brother or sister.

• •

At first I felt desperately lonely when I moved from This is a unique occasion, with three past prime

London to the countryside. Ministers all together in one room.

• I live alone, but I don’t like travelling alone; it’s

nice to be with someone.

OTHER SYNONYM PAIRS 7

INGLESE II

VERBS CONNECTED WITH GAINING, WINNING AND ACHIEVING

Note these typical collocations connected with “gaining” or achieving”.

OTHER WORDS THAT ARE OFTEN CONFUSED

COMMON MISTAKES

Notice how spend is used when talking about time and money.

• We spent three days in the mountains. It was wonderful. (NOT passed)

• If you buy a big car you’ll have to spend more money on petrol. (NOT use)

• Last night I spent two hours watching TV. (NOT stayed)

• I spent an hour looking for the keys before I found them in my bag. (NOT passed)

8

INGLESE II th

28 September 2020, Monday

METAPHOR

If someone uses a metaphor, they use a word in a way that is slightly different from its basic meaning. For example, the first

meaning of sunny is connected with the weather, so we talk about a sunny day. However, sunny can also be used in expressions

like a sunny smile, the children’s sunny faces to mean happy; in these collocations sunny is used in a metaphorical way.

Metaphors are more common in written than spoken English and often have the effect of sounding quite poetic.

LIGHT AND DARK

Light in English is associated with happiness. So a face shines with pleasure and eyes shine with excitement or delight. If

someone’s face lights up or their eyes light up, they show that they suddenly feel happy. If an atmosphere lightens or a mood

lightens, it becomes more relaxed or cheerful than it was.

Darkness is associated with unhappiness and negative feelings. Dark thoughts are gloomy or sinister ones and dark days or dark

times are unpleasant times to live through. If someone’s face darkens or their eyes darken or someone’s expression darkens,

then we know that that person is unhappy, often because they are feeling angry.

WATER

FIRE AND HEAT

Words associated with fire and heat often suggest anger in English, a heated debate, a heated discussion or a heated

conversation is one in which people disagree in an angry way with each other. If you say that someone has a fiery temper, you

mean that they often get suddenly angry. The word flare means show a bright light in the dark. If you say tempers flared, you

mean that people became angry with each other. Similarly violence flares up and troubles flare up. These all mean that

problems which existed in the past suddenly become serious again.