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 do business make a difference
have a drink do nothing make a mess
have a good time do someone a favour make a mistake
have a haircut do the cooking make a noise
have a holiday do the housework make an effort
have a problem do the shopping make furniture
have a relationship do the washing up make money
have a rest do your best make progress
have lunch do your hair make room
have sympathy do your homework make trouble

take break catch

take a break break a habit catch a ball
take a chance break a leg catch a bus
take a look break a promise catch a chill
take a rest break a record catch a cold
take a seat break a window catch a thief
take a taxi break someone's heart catch fire
take an exam break the ice catch sight of
take notes break the law catch someone's attention
take someone's place break the news to someone catch someone's eye
take someone's temperature break the rules catch the flu
pay save keep
save electricity
pay a fine keep a diary
save energy
pay attention keep a promise
save money
pay by credit card keep a secret
save one's strength
pay cash keep an appointment
save someone a seat
pay interest keep calm
pay someone a compliment save someone's life keep control
save something to a disk
pay someone a visit keep in touch
save space
pay the bill keep quiet
save time
pay the price keep someone's place
save yourself the trouble
pay your respects keep the change
come go get
come close go abroad get a job
come complete with go astray get a shock
come direct go bad get angry
come early go bald get divorced
come first go bankrupt get drunk
come into view go blind get frightened
come last go crazy get home
come late go dark get lost
come on time go deaf get married
come prepared go fishing get nowhere
come right back go mad get permission
come second go missing get pregnant
come to a compromise go on foot get ready
come to a decision go online get started
come to an agreement go out of business get the impression
come to an end go overseas get the message
come to a standstill go quiet get the sack
come to terms with go sailing get upset
come to a total of go to war get wet
come under attack go yellow get worried

Miscellaneous
Time Business English Classifiers
bang on time annual turnover
dead on time bear in mind
early 12th century break off negotiations
free time cease trading
from dawn till dusk chair a meeting
great deal of time close a deal
late 20th century close a meeting
a ball of string
make time for come to the point
a bar of chocolate
next few days dismiss an offer
a bottle of water
past few weeks draw a conclusion
a bunch of carrots
right on time draw your attention to
a cube of sugar
run out of time launch a new product
a pack of cards
save time lay off staff
a pad of paper
spare time go bankrupt
spend some time go into partnership
take your time make a loss
tell someone the time make a profit
time goes by market forces
time passes sales figures
waste time take on staff

Collocation Quizzes »

ADVERB+ADJECTIVE
entirely convinced
consistently successful
utterly (amazed, successful)
completely useless
virtually impossible

ADVERB+VERB
absoluely adore
barely see
bitterly regret
distinctily remember
dramatically increase
eagerly await
fully investigate
heavily rely on
profusely apologize
seriously wonder
soundly sleep
strongly (suggest, recommend)
thoroughly investigate
Adverb+verb
Completely agree
Rightfully belong

Adverb+adjective
Fully aware
Properly used
Completely vague
Beautifully madeup.

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
+ fine
+ wisely
+ your best
Make
+ progress
+ a mess
+ furniture
+ trouble
+ war
+ peace
+ a change
+ plans
+ arrangements
+ a telephone call
+ a deal
+ a scene
+ an effort
+ an excuse
+ a mistake
+ a noise
+ trouble
+ a phone call
+ a journey
+ an offer
+ a suggestion
+ a speech
+ a decision
+ a choice
+ the bed
+ a dress
+ money
+ a fortune
+ a profit
+ friends
+ food
+ a meal
+ breakfast
+ lunch
+ dinner
+ a promise
+ a list
+ a cake
+ a sentence
+ an exception
+ a cup coffee
+ a glass of tea

Verb and Preposition Collocations

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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)
apologize 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)
explain (topic) to (someone)
excuse (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)
object 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)
suffer 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"

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be absent from be absolved of be accepted as/to

be according to be accused of be accustomed to
be acquainted with be adamant about be addicted to
be affected by be afraid of be after
be alarmed at be aligned with be (all) set for
be amazed at/by be an authority on be angry about/at/with
be annoyed at/with be anxious 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 carried away
be capable of be caught up in
about/with
be centered around be certain of be charged with
be classified 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 confident 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 crazy about be credited with be criticized for/as
be crowded with
be dedicated to be delighted with be dependent (up)on
be different be disappointed
be devoted to
from/than about/at/in/with
be discriminated
be discouraged about be disgusted with
against
be disillusioned with be disqualified 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
be encouraged by be entailed in
about/at
be engaged to/in be entrusted with be envious of
be equal/equivalent to be equipped with be estranged from
be evicted from be excited about be expelled 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 filled with be finished with
be fired 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 headed
be hard on be hired as/for
for/to/toward
be hitched to

be immersed in be imposed (up)on be impressed by/with

be in accordance
be in be in agreement with
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 conjunction
be in common with be in contact with
with
be in control of be in danger of be in exchange 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 proximity 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 jealous 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 next 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 off 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 off by

be qualified for be a question 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 satisfied 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 specialized 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 subject to be sufficient 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 terrified of/with be there for
be a threat to be through with be ticked off 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 fire for

be under investigation
be up against be up front with
for
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 zealous about