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Commonly Used Collocations and Expressions in English (PDF)

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So you want to learn collocations and commonly used English expressions? Two or more words that usually go together and sound right to native speakers all over the world are called collocations and expressions.

Some collocations and expressions also can be unnatural and sound wrong to native speakers.

For example “fast food” is a collocation. If you try to say “quick food” it will sound wrong to native speakers. If you learn these collocations and expressions your English will sound more natural and easily understood.

Collocations Meaning & Example List

Collocation	Meaning	Example Sentence
Take action	Do something, act	They need to take action to solve the problem.
Make progress	Improve, advance	The company has made good progress this year.
Get involved	Participate, be part of	He wants to get involved in the community.
Have an impact	Influence, affect	Her speech had a great impact on her friends.
Deal with	Manage, handle	He has to deal with a lot of stress at school.
Go through	Experience, endure	She went through a difficult time after losing her husband.
Come across	Find, discover	She came across an old photo of her family.
Turn to	Seek help, rely on	When he had a problem, he always turns to his father.
Put effort into	Try hard, invest energy	He has been putting a lot of effort into his work.
Carry out	Perform, execute	The company is planning to carry out a new project.
Play a role	Be part of, contribute	His volunteering work plays a big role in his life.

Common Collocations List

Collocation	Meaning	Example Sentence
Do justice	Treat fairly	The judge must do justice in the court.
Make a mistake	Error	She made a mistake in her calculations.
Take a break	Rest, pause	You need to take a break from work.
Get a job	Find work	He’s been trying to get a new job.
Go on vacation	Take a trip	They’re going on vacation to Paris next week.
Have a baby	Give birth	They’re going to have a baby in a few months.
Do a good job	Perform well	You did a good job on your new project.
Make an effort	Try hard	I’ll make an effort to be on time tomorrow.
Take responsibility	Be accountable	She must take responsibility for her mistakes.
Get married	Wed	We’re getting married next month.
Go to school	Attend classes	He goes to school every day.
Have a party	Celebrate	We’re having a party for our anniversary.

Check Also:
Types of Collocations in English & Examples
Separable and Inseparable Phrasal Verbs & List (PDF)✅
25+ Common Proverbs and Their Meanings in English

Common English Expressions List

Expression	Meaning	Example Sentence
At the end of the day	Ultimately	At the end of the day, it’s up to you what to do.
Break the ice	Reduce awkwardness	He told a joke to break the ice at the meeting.
Cut to the chase	Get straight to the point	Can we cut to the chase and talk about the real problem here?
Give someone a hand	Help	Can you give me a hand with this heavy box?
In a nutshell	Briefly, simply	In a nutshell, the project was a success.
It’s not rocket science	It’s not difficult	Figuring out how to use English collocations is not rocket science.
Let’s face it	To be honest	Let’s face it, we made a great mistake here.
Make ends meet	Earn enough to pay bills	It’s hard to make ends meet on a low salary.
Put it this way	Express in a different way	Put it this way, if you don’t study, you’ll fail the exam.
Take it easy	Relax	Take it easy my friend, it will pass soon.
To tell you the truth	Honestly	To tell you the truth, I don’t know what to do with her.