English Collocations in Dialogue: Master Hundreds of Collocations in American English Quickly and Easily - Jackie Bolen 2021

How to use this book

Welcome to this book designed to help you expand your knowledge of collocations in American English. My goal is to help you increase your vocabulary and to be able to speak and write more fluently.

Simply put, collocations are words that occur together more frequently than random chance. For example, we often say “fast good” and “quick shower” but not “quick food” and “fast shower.” Using them during writing and speaking will help your English sound more natural.

Let's face it, collocations can be difficult to master, even for the best students. In this book, you'll find hundreds of English collocations that are used in boardrooms, over a meal, and with friends and family around the world.

The best way to learn new vocabulary is in context. That's why I've introduced each one in a dialogue. Then, you'll find a simple definition in plain English. Finally, there is a practice opportunity so that you can review what you've learned.

To get the most bang for your buck, be sure to do the following:

- Review frequently.

- Make sure to do the practice exercises in this book (cover up the answers while you're doing it!)

- Use each collocation in real life as soon as possible.

- Don't be nervous about making mistakes. That's how you'll get better at English!

- Consider studying with a friend so you can help each other stay motivated.

- Use a notebook and write down new collocations (as well as new words, phrasal verbs, idioms, expressions, etc.) that you run across. Review frequently so that they stay fresh in your mind.

- Be sure to read frequently. Choose something that is slightly below your level and try to read it for at least 20 minutes a day. Read quickly and if you don't know a word, guess what the meaning is instead of stopping and looking it up in a dictionary. This is one of the best ways to learn collocations naturally.

There are various types of collocations to be aware of. However, classifying them into the various categories isn't that helpful of an exercise. I list them here for general awareness. This book has a mix of all of the various types you can read about below.

- adverb + adjective (fully aware)

- adjective + noun (regular exercise)

- noun + noun (bar of soap)

- noun + verb (plan took off)

- verb + noun (do my homework)

- verb + expression with preposition (burst into tears)

- verb + adverb (vaguely remembered)

Good luck and I wish you well on your journey to becoming more proficient with English.