Lexical/Grammatical Collocations: Patterns and Examples

November 14, 2011 - Adjectives, Adverbs, Articles, Grammar, Nouns, Prepositions, Speaking, Speaking Skills, Verbs - Tagged: , , , , , - 4 comments

 

Benson, Benson, and Ilson (1986) categorized English collocations into two classes: lexical collocations and grammatical collocations (with 7 and 8 types respectively); lexical collocations are made up only of verbs, adjectives, nouns and adverbs in different possible combinations while grammatical collocations contain words such as verbs, adjectives or nouns combined with a preposition or a grammatical structure. A table of collocations (alongside 37 patterns) categorized based on their study follows:

 

Pattern

Example(s)
V + N/P (or prepositional phrase) compose music; set an alarm
V + Adv walk heavily; argue heatedly
V + N make a decision; take place/part
Adj + N strong/weak tea
N + V bombs explode; alarms go off
N1 + of + N2 a pride of lions; a bunch of keys
Adv + Adj quite safe; deeply absorbed
N + Prep ability in/at; kind of; changes in
N + to + Inf an attempt to do it; years to come
N + that-clause He took an oath that he would do his duty.We reach an agreement that …; fact that
Prep + N on purpose; in fact
Adj + Prep tired of; bored with; angry with/at
Adj + to + Inf ready to go; easy to learn; likely to be
Adj + that-clause She was afraid that she would fail the exam; he was delighted that …
V + Prep I believe in …
V + direct O + to + indirect O =V + indirect O + direct O She sent the book to him. =She sent him the book.
V + direct O + to + indirect O(no movement for dative) They mentioned the book to her.
V + direct O + for + indirect O =V + indirect O + direct O She bought a shirt for her husband. =She bought her husband a shirt.
V + Prep + O They came by train;
V + O + Prep + O We invited them to the meeting.
V + to Inf She continued to write.
V + bare Inf Mary had better go.
V + V-ing They enjoy watching TV.
V + O + to Inf We forced them to leave.
V + O + bare Inf She heard them leave.
V + O + V-ing He felt his heart beating.
V + a possessive and V-ing I cannot imagine their stealing apples.
V + that clause(rather uncommen) The doctor suggests me that I take vitamins.
V + O + to be + C We consider her to be well-trained.
V + O + C She dyed her hair red.
V (+ O1) + O2 The teachers asked (the students) questions.It took/cost (us) ten minutes/cents.
V + O + Adverbial You carry yourself well [/like a soldier].
V (+O) + wh-clause/wh-phrase She asked (us) why we had come.
It + V + O + to Inf It surprised me to learn of her decision.
It + V + O + that-clause It surprised me that our offer was rejected.
V + C (Adj or N) He was a teacher.
V + C (Adj) The food tastes good.

(based on the categorization provided by Benson, Benson, and Ilson (1986))

The table illustrates different collocations across patterns. Examples are given for each combination.

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Reference

Benson, M., Benson, E., & Ilson, R. (1986). The BBI combinatory dictionary of English: A guide to word combinations. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.

 

 


 

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My name is Ehsan Shams, aged 27. I hold an MA in Teaching English, i.e. TEFL/TESL, from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. I got my BA in English Language and Literature with an average of 18.42 (on a 20-point scale) [from the same university]. I have been learning English all my life. I have been sent to attend English classes in different language institutes since I was an 8 year old child and I started learning English seriously (as well as continuously) at the age of 14; thenceforth I have been learning English and later “learning English twice;” as a wise man once said: Teaching is learning but twice. I have been teaching English in different language institutes since 6 years ago. I started teaching before I entered the university. It's my joy and pride to be a part of this website. I hope I will make a lot of money here;) I, hereby, thank those who care about well-prepared posts.