599. B. Ph TEXT II – 1 Collocation

II – 1  Collocation

This article is about the corpus linguistics notion.

In corpus linguistics, a collocation is a sequence of words or terms that co-occur more often than would be expected by chance. In phraseology, collocation is a sub-type of phraseme. An example of a phraseological collocation, as propounded by Michael Halliday,^[1] is the expression strong tea. While the same meaning could be conveyed by the roughly equivalent *powerful tea, this expression is considered incorrect by English speakers. Conversely, the corresponding expression for computer, powerful computers is preferred over *strong computers. Phraseological collocations should not be confused with idioms, where meaning is derived, whereas collocations are mostly compositional.

There are about six main types of collocations:

1.       adjective+noun,

2.      noun+noun (such as collective nouns),

3.      verb+noun,

4.      adverb+adjective,

5.      verbs+prepositional phrase (phrasal verbs), and

6.      verb+adverb.

Collocation extraction is a task that extracts collocations automatically from a corpus, using computational linguistics.
Rather than select a single definition, Gledhill proposes that collocation involves at least three different perspectives:
(i) cooccurrence, a statistical view, which sees collocation as the recurrent appearance in a text of a node and its collocates,
(ii) construction, which sees collocation either as a correlation between a lexeme and a lexical-grammatical pattern, or as a relation between a base and its collocative partners and
(iii) expression, a pragmatic view of collocation as a conventional unit of expression, regardless of form.
It should be pointed out here that these different perspectives contrast with the usual way of presenting collocation in phraseological studies.
Traditionally speaking, collocation is explained in terms of all three perspectives at once, in a continuum:

alive and kicking an arm and a leg apples and oranges back and forth be-all and end-all bells and whistles black and white blood and guts bow and arrow bread and butter by and large cap and gown cat and mouse cats and dogs clean and tidy crash and burn down and out far and away

far and wide flesh and blood heaven and hell here and there hide and seek high and dry high and mighty hot and cold in and out king and queen knife and fork ladies and gentlemen law and order live and let live lost and found loud and clear man and boy

man and wife meat and potatoes meet and greet mother and father mum and dad nook and cranny nuts and bolts odds and ends old and new once and for all peace and quiet pros and cons read and write rough and tumble sick and tired skin and bone song and dance spick and span

spit and polish thick and thin thunder and lightning time and again time and time again to and fro tooth and nail touch and go trial and error up and down yes and no all or nothing day or night do or die (neither) fish nor fowl (neither) hide nor hair kill or cure make or break

Words that go with DO	Words that go with MAKE
do a crossword do the ironing do the laundry do the washing do the washing up do your work do homework do housework do your job do anything do everything  do nothing. do badly do business do the dishes do a favor do good do harm do time (to go to prison) do well do your best do your hair do your nails do your worst	make amends make arrangements make believe (to pretend) make a choice make coffee make a comment make a cup of tea / coffee make a dress make a decision make a difference make an effort make an enquiry make an excuse make a fool of yourself make food make a fortune make friends make a fuss make a journey make love make a mess make a mistake make money make a move	make a noise make a phone call make a plan make a point make a profit make a promise make a remark make a sound make a speech make a suggestion make tea make time make a visit make your bed make a dress make food

Get up now, get up now, get up out of bed,
Wash your face, brush your teeth, comb your sleepy head.
Here’s your clothes and your shoes, hear the words I said,
Get up now, get up and make your bed.

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 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 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