📖Definition
A collocation is a natural word partnership. Native speakers usually say strong evidence, heavy rain and make a decision, not heavy evidence or do a decision.
Knowledge Required
Collocations grow from wide reading and listening. Learn words in phrases, not just as single items.
✅How To Answer
Read the words before and after the gap.
Say each option with the surrounding words and notice which phrase sounds like normal English.
If several options have similar meanings, choose the one that commonly partners with the noun or verb in the question.
✏️Example
Choose the word that forms the most natural phrase.
___ evidence
strong
✅Solution
We say strong evidence when evidence supports an idea well. Heavy, large, hard and loud do not naturally collocate with evidence in this meaning.
💡Multiple Choice Tip
Distractors are often near synonyms of the correct word. Heavy and strong can both mean powerful, but only strong evidence is the natural phrase.
💡Tips/hints
Collect phrases such as make an effort, take responsibility, bitterly disappointed and highly unlikely.
If a phrase sounds odd, it probably is, even if each individual word is correct.