Collocation Worksheets

Related ELA Standard: RI.6.4

Core Standard
Answer Keys Here

Collocation refers to a collection of words that normally around found together. The group of these words just sounds correct to native English speakers. This is often the dead giveaway that some a person is a native speaker of English. Non-native speakers will often associate word combinations that seem wrong or just a bit of. These worksheets will walk students through the proper use of collocation both in writing and speaking.

Collocation Worksheets To Print:

Draw the Line – Match up the verb with its collocation.

Collocations with "Make" – Time for you to write your own sentences.

Basic Collocations – Pop these fundamental words into the sentences.

Make, Pay, Hold, Give, Take or Do – A sweet little word splash for you to work with.

Give | Make | Take – Which of these would finish off your sentence in a solid manner?

Give... Make...Take... – You get ten shots to master this skill.

Do | Pay | Hold – The trick here is that you have to include each collocation.

The Hold – This definitely isn't as easy as it looks.

Co-Sorting – Choose the best collocation for each word(s) above and below.

Collocations with "Break" – How many collocations can you create using the word "break?"

Match the Nouns – Some words may fit in more than one place. Feel free to add words of your own as you think of them!

Wormy Locations – Fill in the blank after each word to create a collocation.

Habitual Juxtaposition – You have to step back from this big phrase. It really isn't that difficult to understand.

What Can You "Make?" – Complete each expression to fill in the blanks below.

Make a Difference – How many more expressions can you think of that use the word make?

Why Should We Learn Proper Grammatical Collocations?


When we write or speak our goal is often to sound fluid and natural. When we present information in this fashion, our ideas are quickly and easily understood. The proper use of collocation provides us a means to provide rich descriptions and higher levels of expression. Non-native speakers often fumble this aspect of grammar. For example: a native English speaker would to the start of a blizzard as heavy snow; whereas a non-native speaker might refer to it as a big snow. While the both are technical correct, one form just sounds better.


There are many different types of acceptable collocation. The use of an adverb and adjective can be found in the sentence: Mike is grossly underqualified for the position. (grossly is an adverb and underqualified is an adjective). You can also use two nouns to achieve this as in the sentence: I just bought three buckets of baseballs (buckets and baseballs are nouns). An adjective can be used with a noun as in the sentence: The pilot maneuvered the plane into a daring drop (daring is an adjective and drop is a noun in this sense). The use of a verb and adverb can exhibit collocation. For example: Maryanne gently threw the box (gently is the adverb that modifies the verb threw).


How do you improve your use of collocation if you are not a native speaker? It really comes down to repetition and being put in a situation that requires the use of collocation. Flashcards help, but using conversational English regularly with native speakers is often the best method.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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