Strong, Fixed and Weak Collocations
Collocations are words that naturally go together. Strong collocations occur together very frequently (e.g. deliriously happy, auburn hair). Fixed collocations are highly predictable expressions with little variation (e.g. to and fro). Weak collocations combine more freely (e.g. broad agreement, broad smile). At advanced level, accurate collocation use makes language sound natural and precise. Many collocations are linked to specific contexts such as law, meetings, weather, emotions, appearance, and description.
Examples: mitigating circumstances, mitigating factors, inclement weather, picturesque village, picturesque town, picturesque location, broad accent, broad hint, adjourn a trial, adjourn a meeting. Fixed collocations often cannot be changed without sounding unnatural.
Exercises
- auburn hair
- to and fro
- broad smile
- inclement weather
- broad agreement
- deliriously happy
- adjourn a trial
- picturesque village
- mitigating
- adjourn
- broad
- picturesque
- inclement
- auburn
- deliriously
- to and
a hair b village c happy d weather e factors f fro g agreement h a meeting
- The judge decided to ______ the trial.
- She had ______ hair.
- Tourists loved the ______ town.
- We reached ______ agreement.
- The child was ______ happy.
- The boat moved to and ______.
- Because of ______ weather, flights were delayed.
- The lawyer mentioned mitigating ______.
- strong weather
- adjourn weather
- auburn village
- broad happiness
- to and back
- deliriously agreement
- picturesque factors
- weak trial
- ____ weather (inclement/broad)
- ____ smile (broad/auburn)
- ____ trial (adjourn/picturesque)
- ____ happy (deliriously/to and)
- ____ accent (broad/inclement)
- ____ factors (mitigating/picturesque)
- ____ location (picturesque/deliriously)
- ____ agreement (broad/auburn)
- auburn hair
- broad accent
- broad hint
- to and fro
- mitigating circumstances
- adjourn a meeting
- picturesque location
- deliriously happy
Further Practice
Advanced learners should notice how collocations restrict word choice. Native speakers expect particular combinations and may find unusual combinations unnatural even if grammatically correct.
- auburn/busy hair
- picturesque/metal village
- broad/narrow smile
- inclement/friendly weather
- adjourn/build a meeting
- deliriously/square happy
- mitigating/circular factors
- broad/wooden agreement
- mitigating _____
- broad _____
- adjourn a _____
- auburn _____
- picturesque _____
- inclement _____
- to and _____
- deliriously _____
- very happy
- red-brown hair
- delay the court case
- beautiful small town
- bad weather conditions
- general agreement
- move backwards and forwards
- reasons reducing blame
- auburn hair / auburn car / auburn curls
- broad smile / broad hint / broad sandwich
- picturesque town / picturesque village / picturesque calculator
- inclement weather / inclement conditions / inclement pencil
- adjourn a meeting / adjourn a trial / adjourn a bicycle
- deliriously happy / deliriously excited / deliriously table
- mitigating factors / mitigating circumstances / mitigating shoes
- to and fro / back and forth / to and sandwich
- Which collocation relates to law?
- Which describes weather?
- Which describes appearance?
- Which describes movement?
- Which describes strong emotion?
- Which describes scenery?
- Which expresses compromise?
- Which gives an indirect suggestion?
- Use broad agreement.
- Use broad accent.
- Use broad hint.
- Use picturesque location.
- Use mitigating factors.
- Use inclement weather.
- Use adjourn a meeting.
- Use deliriously happy.
Extension and Review
Collocations exist on a scale. Some are nearly fixed and must be memorised, while others are flexible. Recognising strength helps learners predict natural combinations and avoid literal translations.
- “To and fro” is fixed.
- “Auburn hair” is a strong collocation.
- “Adjourn a trial” is common legal English.
- “Broad agreement” means total disagreement.
- “Inclement weather” refers to bad weather.
- “Picturesque” often describes scenery.
- “Deliriously happy” is very strong.
- “Mitigating factors” can reduce blame.
- The chair decided to _____ the meeting.
- Her _____ hair shone in the sun.
- The hikers reached a _____ location.
- The committee achieved _____ agreement.
- The puppy was _____ happy to see us.
- Boats moved to and _____.
- The match was cancelled due to _____ weather.
- The defence presented mitigating _____.
- broad
- picturesque
- mitigating
- inclement
- auburn
- adjourn
- deliriously
- to and
- broad smile agreement accent shoe
- picturesque village town location engine
- mitigating factors circumstances toaster reasons
- inclement weather conditions spoon forecast
- adjourn meeting trial sandwich hearing
- auburn hair curls beard laptop
- deliriously happy excited pleased refrigerator
- to and fro here there bicycle
- “Shall we _____ the meeting?”
- “The village is very _____.”
- “She has _____ hair.”
- “We finally reached _____ agreement.”
- “The child is _____ happy.”
- “There were mitigating _____.”
- “The weather is _____.”
- “The crowd moved to and _____.”
- Write a sentence with picturesque town.
- Write a sentence with broad smile.
- Write a sentence with broad accent.
- Write a sentence with broad hint.
- Write a sentence with mitigating circumstances.
- Write a sentence with inclement weather.
- Write a sentence with adjourn a trial.
- Write a sentence with deliriously happy.
