In this blog, we’re going to understand what collocations are, read student summaries, and of course, learn from their work!
Zsolt, Yixin, Chayanit, and Esther are four students from Budapest, Beijing, Bangkok and Salvador. They’re currently on the IELTS Exam Prep course at EC Malta. Writing tasks are an essential part of the IELTS exam, getting them right is important for earning a pass!
To practise writing, their teacher Isabella instructed them to write: “A summary about my city using collocations”. They definitely understood the assignment, as we’ll see later. But first…
What are collocations?
Collocations are pairings of words that sound natural to a native speaker. For example, “make a mistake” sounds more natural than “do a mistake”.
Collocations can generally be divided into different types, such as:
In fact, “exam preparation” is a noun + noun collocation; it’s also a fixed collocation.
Fixed collocations
Fixed collocations are pairings of words that sound very natural together and are difficult to replace. These collocations are so widely used that they’ve become standard terms/descriptors, like “crystal clear” or “historical figure”.
Can you spot the collocations in Zsolt, Yixin, Chayanit, and Esther’s summaries?
‘Budapest‘ by Zsolt
Budapest is the capital of Hungary and it is the most populous city in the country by far with its 2M inhabitants. It is one of the oldest cities in Europe, so I would recommend visiting it for every tourist.
One of the metro lines of Budapest is the second (oldest) metro line in the whole of Europe, so travelling with it might feel like a time travel. Sightseeing is very easy because every building in the city centre is at least 100 years old.
On the other hand, Budapest is a bit crowded, because a quarter of the Hungarian population lives there. On top of that, there are way more cars than should be. It would be a great innovation to create more talking streets for pedestrians like in other modern civilisations.
capital of Hungary(noun + noun)Capital of [country]” is a classic fixed expression commonly used in geography and political context.
most populous city (adjective + noun)common descriptive phrase for cities. “Populous” is a more formal adjective meaning “densely populated.” It commonly modifies nouns like city, area, country.
by far(adverb + adjective) often used to intensify superlatives (e.g., “by far the best,” “by far the biggest”).
oldest cities(adjective + noun) “oldest” commonly collocates with “cities” when talking about history or heritage.
recommend visiting (verb + noun) standard collocation for giving travel or activity advice
Tip: In this context, visiting functions as a noun, because Zsolt is talking about the concept of visiting rather than the action. Verbs that function as nouns are called gerunds; they always end in -ing.
metro line(noun + noun) fixed collocation
feel like (verb + prepositional phrase) used to describe a sensation or feeling
time travel (noun + noun)common metaphorical expression
city centre (noun + noun) strong collocation describing the central area of a city
a bit crowded (adverb + adjective) common informal intensifier used with adjectives (e.g. “a bit boring”, “a bit interesting”).
way more cars (adverb + noun) informal but strong collocation (especially in speech); way more is an informal intensifier that’s used before countable and uncountable nouns.
Tip: You wouldn’t usually say “population of Hungary” in this kind of sentence (“a quarter of the population of Hungary lives there” is grammatically correct, but more formal and less direct than “a quarter of the Hungarian population”).
modern civilisations (adjective + noun) “Modern” is often paired with abstract or cultural terms like “civilisation,” “society,” “technology.
‘Beijing’ by Yixin
Beijing, the capital of China, is a very big and populous city. People who are born in this city have some privileges than others in the country. For example, they have more opportunities to integrate into the best universities of China.
This city has a very strong economy, and it is famous for tourism, which is of great historical significance. The most popular monument is the Great Wall. Its total length is around 22,000 km.
capital of China(noun + noun)
populous city (adjective + noun): used in formal demographic contexts. Other more common alternatives are “large city” or “densely populated city”.
born in this city (Verb + prepositional phrase) Born is a very common combination in English when discussing place of birth. The addition of “this city” personalises it but doesn’t break the collocation.
have privileges (verb + noun): the word ‘privilege’ refers to a special advantage or honour. For example, one might say “I had the privilege of attending the event” or “She has the privilege of living close to school”. The verb “have” collocates with a range of abstract nouns like privileges, rights, responsibilities, opportunities, etc.
more opportunities (adjective + noun): “more” is a quantifying adjective that collocates naturally with abstract nouns like opportunities, choices, jobs, options
best universities (superlative adjective + noun): The word “best” regularly collocates with “universities” in discussions about rankings and quality of education.
strong economy (adjective + noun): this is a common phrase in economics and politics (other examples include “strong economy”, “growing economy”, “global economy”)
famous for tourism (adjective + prepositional phrase): “Famous for” itself is a strong and frequent collocation. It’s often followed by a noun indicating the reason for the fame (e.g. “New York City is famous for its food”, “Cape Town is famous for its beaches”).
historical significance (adjective + noun): a standard phrase in history, culture, and academia.
of great historical significance (prepositional phrase/fixed expression): a formal fixed phrase often used in academic or formal writing
most popular monument (adjective + noun): a very common collocation in both speech and writing, and it naturally modifies nouns like destination, monument, show.
total length (adjective + noun): the word “total” collocates frequently with nouns involving measurement or scope (e.g “total cos”, “total are”, total population”).
‘Bangkok’ by Chayanit
Bangkok, the heart of Thailand is the centre of luxurious buildings, shopping malls and offices. The interior of several popular shopping malls, such as SIAM Paragon, Central World, and SIAM Discovery, one fitted with modern facilities and furniture. Not only does this city have modern buildings, there are also some aesthetically pleasing/attractive old buildings worth for travellers to visit. Some blocks in the city are lined up with numerous interesting traditional restaurants and street food vendors. Finally, due to the fact that Bangkok is one of the most visited cities in Thailand, it has become more populous.
the heart of thailand (noun + prepositional phrase): “the heart of [something]” is the central and most important part of it
luxurious buildings (adjective + noun): “Luxurious” often collocates with hotels, houses, interiors, and buildings. It emphasises elegance or wealth.
Shopping malls (noun + noun): widely used collocation referring to a large building with many shops.
Modern facilities/buildings (adjective + noun): very common in travel, housing, and infrastructure descriptions.
Aesthetically pleasing (adverb + adjective): fixed phrase in design, architecture, art, and criticism.
Attractive buildings (Adjective + noun): “Attractive” is a general-purpose adjective that collocates with buildings, places, features.
old buildings (adjective + noun)
Traditional restaurants (adjective + noun) “Traditional” is a very common collocate with food, restaurants, and customs.
Street food vendors (noun + noun): This one’s like a collocation sandwich; “street food” and “food vendors” are standard phrases, so “street food vendors” flows naturally.
‘Salvador’ by Esther
The city where I live in is one of the most populated cities in Brazil. Being the first capital of the country, Salvador is very successful in attracting many tourists throughout the whole year, and especially in the summer. Our cuisine is rich, abundant in spices and seafood, and we have many beautiful beaches and historical monuments that are very well-preserved. In the touristic places, which is basically the entire town, it is very easy to find traditional crafts that you can gift your loved ones or keep as a memory of the city.
capital of the country(noun + noun)
populated cities (adjective + noun): “Populated” naturally modifies “cities” when referring to population size. This pairing is common in demographic and urban discussions.
attracting many tourists (verb + noun): widely used in tourism contexts; “attract” is the most natural verb for describing how a place draws in tourists.
throughout the whole year (preposition + noun phrase): common way to express continuity over a year; the word throughout strongly collocated with time periods.
in the summer: (preposition + noun): A fixed seasonal expression.
abundant in spices(adjective + prepositional phrase): “Abundant in” is a common phrase for describing things present in large quantities, especially ingredients.
beautiful beaches (adjective + noun)
historical monuments (adjective + noun)
well-preserved (adverb + adjective): a frequent collocation with old structures, especially in heritage or conservation discussions.
touristic places (adjective + noun): alternatives like “tourist areas” or tourist attractions” flow more naturally
traditional crafts (adjective + noun): used to describe handmade or culturally rooted artefacts; it’s very common in travel and souvenir contexts.
gift your loved ones (verb + noun phrase): this one’s common in marketing or informal situations.
memory of the city (noun + prepositional phrase): “memory of [a place]” is a typical way to express emotional or nostalgic connection to a location.
We hope you learned a thing or two about collocations from Zsolt, Yixin, Chayanit, and Esther’s work! Why don’t you try it now? Write a summary about your city using collocations.
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