Verb Collocations in English! The following lesson will provide a list of common verb collocations in English to enhance your vocabulary with ESL images.
In the English language, collocation refers to a natural combination of words that are closely affiliated with each other.
Collocations with ASK
1. Ask a favour
– Can I ask a favour?
2. Ask a question
– Sally interrupted me in midstream to ask a question.
3. Ask about
– I want to ask you about your opinion about this book.
4. Ask after somebody
– Tell your father I was asking after him.
5. Ask for advice
– You should go to your doctor and ask for advice.
6. Ask for directions
– How do you ask for directions in Korea?
7. Ask for something
– He never speaks to me other than to ask for something.
Collocations with BREAK
1. Break a law
– If you break a law, you go to prison.
2. Break a promise
– I know he wouldn’t break a promise to me, so I try to keep this promise.
3. Break a record
– “You and me, today we’re going to break a record, ” he said.
4. Break a window
– I had to break a window to get into the house.
5. Break ground
– They will break ground on the new housing project next week.
6. Break the news
– The police had to break the news to the boy’s parents.
7. Break one’s fall
– Luckily, a bush broke his fall.
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Collocations with CATCH
1. Catch a glimpse
– Perhaps I might catch a glimpse of Frank.
2. Catch a thief
– You’re here to catch a thief.
3. Catch a whiff
– I caught a whiff of peachy perfume.
4. Catch sight of
– As the group turns to leave, Sayid catches sight of the cat.
5. Catch someone’s attention
– The silver plated caster on the dining table catch her attention.
6. Catch someone’s eye
– I caught her eye and smiled.
7. Catch the flu
– Tom seems to catch the flu every year.
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Collocations with COME
1. Come into view
– We were watching the stars when suddenly a shooting star came into view.
2. Come last
– Greg comes last in every race.
3. Come on time
– The movie starts at 9 am. Please come on time.
4. Come prepared
– There is a test next week, come prepared.
5. Come right back
– Where’s Johnny? He went to get some coffee, he said he’ll come right back.
6. Come to a compromise
– We need to come to a compromise about our vacation plans.
7. Come to a conclusion
– The debate did not come to a conclusion until yesterday.
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Collocations with DO
1. Do good
– If I do good next year, I can come out then.
2. Do gymnastics
– We don’t do gymnastics at school.
3. Do harm
– Drugs can do harm to you.
4. Do homework
– I like to do homework.
5. Do laundry
– She loves to do laundry.
6. Do nothing
– I can do nothing about it.
7. Do research
– He stayed on at university to do research.
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Collocations with GET
1. Get a job
– He wanted to see if he could get a job with us.
2. Get a joke
– I go there to get a joke each day.
3. Get a letter (receive)
– I got a letter from my friend in Bangkok.
4. Get a shock
– They’ll get a shock when they get this bill.
5. Get a splitting headache
– Tom says he’s got a splitting headache and falls in half.
6. Get divorced
– I got divorced when I was about 31.
7. Get dressed/ undressed
– The first thing I do in the morning is get dressed.
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Collocations with GIVE
1. Give a ride
– I’ve got to get into town. Can you give me a ride?
2. Give an advice
– We are here to give people advice about health issues.
3. Give an answer
– John always gives perfect answers in class.
4. Give an example
– John gave Iceland as an example of a cold country.
5. Give permission
– The city authorities gave permission for the rally to take place.
6. Give priority
– They must also give priority to looked after children in care.
7. Give rise to
– They can give rise to cosmetic concerns.
Collocations with GO
1. Go on a picnic
– We could go on a picnic today.
2. Go on foot
– I don’t have a car, so I will go on foot.
3. Go online
– I’ll just go online and look up her address.
4. Go out of business
– The farmer is going out of business.
5. Go out of fashion
– Their music will never go out of fashion.
6. Go overseas
– I often go overseas on business trips.
7. Go quiet
– The animals go quiet when there’s a predator around.
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