Verb Collocations: Most Popular Verb Collocations in English

Verb Collocations! In the English language, collocation refers to a natural combination of words that are closely affiliated with each other. Some examples of verb collocations are “pay attention”, “fast food”, “make an effort”, and “powerful engine”.

Verb Collocations

Below is a list of verbs collocations in English with examples.

Collocations with GO

• Go abroad

E.g. I think we should go abroad on holiday this year.

• Go astray

E.g. John will go astray if he becomes friends with Bad Jack.

• Go bad

E.g. The milk will go bad if it is not kept in the fridge.

• Go bald

E.g. Many men go bald at an early age.

• Go bankrupt

E.g. The company is about to go bankrupt.

• Go blind

E.g. The old cat is starting to go blind.

• Go crazy

E.g. The old man is going to go crazy.

• Go deaf

E.g. Many old people go deaf.

• Go fishing

E.g. I would like to go fishing this weekend.

• Go insane (idiom)

E.g. If you don’t stop making that noise, I’m going to go (completely) insane!…

Collocations with HAVE

• A baby (To give birth to a baby)

My grandmother had all her babies at home.

• A backache

My father has a backache so he couldn’t sleep well.

• A bath

I can’t remember the last time I had a bath

• A bite

Can I have a bite of your hot dog?

• A break

Let’s have a break when you finish this exercise

• A business trip

My dad has a business trip so we could not visit our grandmother together

• A busy day

I have a busy day.

• A conversation/chat

Can we have a conversation before we make any decision?

• A cup of tea/ coffee

Would you like to have a cup of tea/coffee

• …

Collocations with MAKE

• Make a mess

Eg: If rich kids make a mess, their servants tidy things up again.

• Make a mistake

Eg: Whenever we make mistakes, our teacher corrects them for us.

• Make a note (of)

Eg: I’d better make a note of that, or I might forget.

• Make a reservation

Eg: Shall I make a reservation for 8 o’clock at that Japanese restaurant?

• Make a takeover bid

Eg: The company made a takeover bid for one of its rivals.

• Make an appearance

Eg: We waited forthirty minutes for the professor to make an appearance,then we went home.

• Make an effort

Eg: You can’t learn a language without making an effort…

Collocations with “GIVE”

• A call (a ring, a buzz)

E.g. Give me a call when you get back from your trip.

• A chance

E.g. He gave me a chance and I took it gladly.

• A choice

E.g. I was given no choice; I had to go to the boring lecture.

• A damn

E.g. She doesn’t give a damn about her job.

• A hand

E.g. Can I give you a hand with those bags?

• A headache

E.g. That loud music is giving me a headache.

• A hug or kiss

E.g. Come here and give me a kiss!

• A lecture or speech or performance

E.g. The president will give a long speech…

Collocations with DO

• A course

E.g. We’re doing a course at the local university.

• A deal

E.g. Have you done any deals with distributors in Asia yet?

• A favour

E.g. Can you do me a favour?

• A good/great/terrible job

E.g. You’ve done a good job cleaning the house!

• A report

E.g. I’m doing a report on the history of American foreign policy.

• Badly

E.g. Everyone did badly on the test – the highest grade was 68…

Verb Collocations in English | Pictures

Common Verb Collocations