1000 English Collocations E-Book
Don’t say “I’ll have a big coffee”
Say “I’ll have a large coffee”
Don’t say “It was a large success”
Say “It was a great success”
Don’t say “I’m in heavy trouble”
Say “I’m in deep trouble”
Why do the first sentences sound strange, but the second ones sound natural? The answer is collocations!
Collocations are two or more words that go together naturally. Learning them is essential for making your English sound fluent and natural.
Today we’ll learn 50 common English collocations with the words big, great, large, deep, strong, and heavy. These all seem rather similar, but they are used in DIFFERENT combinations of words.
You’ll definitely want to download today’s lesson PDF because it also has a quiz to help test how well you learned these 50 collocations.
English collocations with the word BIG
The word big is often used in collocations with a happening or event, for example:
- a big accomplishment
- a big decision
- a big disappointment
- a big failure
- a big improvement
- a big mistake
- a big surprise
(Big is also used when talking about size – click here to learn the difference between big, large, tall, and long in English.)
English collocations with the word GREAT
The word great is often used in collocations with feelings or qualities.
Great + feelings
- great admiration
- great anger
- great enjoyment
- great excitement
- great fun
- great happiness
- great joy
Great + qualities
- in great detail
- great power
- great pride
- great sensitivity
- great skill
- great strength
- great understanding
- great wisdom
- great wealth
English collocations with the word LARGE
The word large is often used in collocations involving numbers and measurements.
- a large amount
- a large collection
- a large number (of)
- a large population
- a large proportion
- a large quantity
- a large scale
English collocations with the word STRONG
The word strong is often used in collocations with facts and opinions:
Strong + facts/opinions
- strong argument
- strong emphasis
- strong evidence
- a strong contrast
- a strong commitment
- strong criticism
- strong denial
- a strong feeling
- a strong opinion (about something)
- strong resistance
Strong + senses
- a strong smell
- a strong taste
English collocations with the word DEEP
The word deep is used for some strong feelings:
- deep depression
- deep devotion
It is also used in these expressions:
- in deep thought
- in deep trouble
- in a deep sleep (when the person won’t wake up easily)
English collocations with the word HEAVY
Heavy is used for some weather conditions…
- heavy rain
- heavy snow
- heavy fog
The word heavy is also used for people with bad habits:
- a heavy drinker
- a heavy smoker
- a heavy drug user
There’s also the expression “a heavy sleeper” – that’s not someone who sleeps a lot; instead, it’s a person who doesn’t wake up easily when sleeping.
The word heavy is also used in collocations with two unpleasant things: TRAFFIC and TAXES!
- heavy traffic
- heavy taxes
WOW, those were a LOT of collocations – are you ready to see how well you learned them? Take a quiz:
