Sample Collocations

1. adverb + adjective
Invading that country was an utterly stupid thing to do.
We entered a richly decorated room.
Are you fully aware of the implications of your action?
2. adjective + noun
The doctor ordered him to take regular exercise.
The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage.
He was writhing on the ground in excruciating pain.
3. noun + noun
Let's give Mr Jones a round of applause.
The ceasefire agreement came into effect at 11am.
I'd like to buy two bars of soap please.
4. noun + verb
The lion started to roar when it heard the dog barking.
Snow was falling as our plane took of.
The bomb went of when he started the car engine.
5. verb + noun
The prisoner was hanged for committing murder.
I always try to do my homework in the morning, after making my
bed.
He has been asked to give a presentation about his work.
6. verb + expression with preposition
We had to return home because we had run out of money.
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 At first her eyes filled with horror, and then she burst into tears.
Their behaviour was enough to drive anybody to crime.
7. verb + adverb
She placed her keys gently on the table and sat down.
Mary whispered softly in John's ear.
I vaguely remember that it was growing dark when we left.

Time Collocations Quiz

ADJECTIVES VS ADVERBS
Definitions
An adjective is a word or set of words that modifies (i.e., describes) a noun or
pronoun. Adjectives may come before the word they modify.
Examples:
That is a cute puppy.
She likes a high school senior.
Adjectives may also follow the word they modify:
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Examples:
That puppy looks cute.
The technology is state-of-the-art.
An adverb is a word or set of words that modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.
Examples:
He speaks slowly (modifies the verb speaks)
He is especially clever (modifies the adjective clever)
He speaks all too slowly (modifies the adverb slowly)
An adverb answers how, when, where, or to what extenthow often or how much
(e.g., daily, completely).
Examples:
He speaks slowly (answers the question how)
He speaks very slowly (answers the question how slowly)
Rule 1. Many adverbs end in -ly, but many do not. Generally, if a word can have ly added to its adjective form, place it there to form an adverb.
Examples:
She thinks quick/quickly.
How does she think? Quickly.
She is a quick/quickly thinker.
Quick is an adjective describing thinker, so no -ly is attached.
She thinks fast/fastly.
Fast answers the question how, so it is an adverb. But fast never has -ly attached to it.
We performed bad/badly.
Badly describes how we performed, so -ly is added.

Rule 2. Adverbs that answer the question how sometimes cause grammatical
problems. It can be a challenge to determine if -ly should be attached. Avoid the trap of ly with linking verbs, such as taste, smell, look, feel, etc., that pertain to the
senses. Adverbs are often misplaced in such sentences, which require adjectives instead.
Examples:
Roses smell sweet/sweetly.
Do the roses actively smell with noses? No; in this case, smell is a linking verbwhich
requires an adjective to modify rosesso no -ly.
The woman looked angry/angrily to us.
Did the woman look with her eyes, or are we describing her appearance? We are describing
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her appearance (she appeared angry), so no -ly.

The woman looked angry/angrily at the paint splotches.
Here the woman actively looked (used her eyes), so the -ly is added.
She feels bad/badly about the news.
She is not feeling with fingers, so no -ly.
Rule 3. The word good is an adjective, whose adverb equivalent is well.
Examples:
You did a good job.
Good describes the job.
You did the job well.
Well answers how.
You smell good today.
Good describes your fragrance, not how you smell with your nose, so using the adjective is
correct.
You smell well for someone with a cold.
You are actively smelling with your nose here, so use the adverb.
Rule 4. The word well can be an adjective, too. When referring to health, we often
use well rather than good.
Examples:
You do not look well today.
I don't feel well, either.

Rule 5. Adjectives come in three forms, also called degrees. An adjective in its normal
or usual form is called a positive degree adjective. There are also the comparative and
superlative degrees, which are used for comparison, as in the following examples:
Positive

Comparative

Superlative

sweet

sweeter

sweetest

bad

worse

worst
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efficient

more efficient

most efficient

A common error in using adjectives and adverbs arises from using the wrong form of
comparison. To compare two things, always use a comparative adjective:
Example: She is the cleverer of the two women (never cleverest)
The word cleverest is what is called the superlative form of clever. Use it only when
comparing three or more things:
Example: She is the cleverest of them all.
Incorrect: Chocolate or vanilla: which do you like best?
Correct: Chocolate or vanilla: which do you like better?
Rule 6. There are also three degrees of adverbs. In formal usage, do not drop
the -ly from an adverb when using the comparative form.
Incorrect: She spoke quicker than he did.
Correct: She spoke more quickly than he did.
Incorrect: Talk quieter.
Correct: Talk more quietly.
Rule 7. When this, that, these, and those are followed by a noun, they are adjectives.
When they appear without a noun following them, they are pronouns.
Examples:
This house is for sale.
This is an adjective.
This is for sale.
This is a pronoun.

Enough and Too (Suficiente y Demasiado)

"Enough" y "too"se utilizan como calificadores con adjetivos, adverbios y nombres para indicar un grado de
cantidad.

Enough (Suficiente)
"Enough" es un adjetivo que se usa para indicar que es suficiente o igual que lo necesario. Se puede utilizar con
otros adjetivos, adverbios o nombres.

1. Con adjetivos and adverbios:

adjetivo/adverbio + "enough"

Ejemplos:
Play
Heather is old enough now to make her own decisions. (Heather es lo suficientemente mayor ahora para tomar sus propias
decisiones.)

Play
Victor doesn't speak English well enough for the job. (Victor no habla suficientemente bien el ingls para este trabajo.)
Play
The apartment is big enough for three people. (El piso es lo suficientemente grande para tres personas.)
Play
Ben runs fast enough to win the race. (Ben corre lo suficientemente rpido como para ganar esta carrera.)
Play
We aren't working hard enough! We are never going to finish this project. (No trabajamos lo suficientemente duro.
Nunca acabaremos este proyecto.)

2. Con nombres:
"enough" + nombre

Ejemplos:
Play
I don't have enough time to finish all this work! (No tengo tiempo suficiente para acabar este trabajo.)
Play
Is there enough wine for everyone to try? (Hay suficiente vino para que todos lo prueben?)
Play
Don't worry, they have enough space in the car for all of us. (No se preocupe, tienen sitio suficiente en el coche para todos
nosotros.)

Nota: Podemos reemplazar "enough" por "the" para indicar la misma cosa. Compare los ejemplos de arriba y
abajo.

Ejemplos:
Play
I don't have the time to finish all this work! (No tengo el tiempo para acabar este trabajo.)
Play
Don't worry, they have the space for all of us. (No se preocupe, tienen sitio para todos nosotros.)
Nota: Tambin podemos utilizar "enough" sin un nombre cuando est claro a que nos referimos.

Ejemplos:
Play
Would you like some more coffee? No, I've had enough, thank you. (Le gustara un poco ms de caf? No, he tenido
suficiente, gracias.)

Play
Do you have enough to pay for this? (Tienes suficiente para pagar esto?)
3. Podemos usar "enough" con un adjetivo y un nombre, pero el sentido de la frase cambia con la
posicin de "enough".

Ejemplos:
Play
Is there enough hot water? (Hay suficiente agua caliente?)
Play
Is there hot enough water? (El agua es lo suficientemente caliente?)
4. "Enough of":
"enough of" + determinante [articulo o pronombre]

Ejemplos:
Play
I've been in enough of these situations to know better! (He estado en bastantes situaciones de estas como para conocer
mejor.)

Play
We've had enough of your complaints. Don't you have anything positive to say? (Tenemos bastante con tus quejas. No
tienes nada positivo que decir?)

Play

Michael has studied enough of the possibilities to make a good decision. (Michael ha estudiado bastantes de las
posibilidades como para tomar una buena decisin.)

Too (Demasiado)
"Too" es un adverbio que indica que hay una cantidad ms que suficiente.
1. Con adjetivos y adverbios:
"too" + adjetivo/adverbio

Ejemplos:
Play
You are too young to understand. (Eres demasiado joven para entender.)
Play
Claire is too irresponsible to have a dog. (Claire es demasiado irresponsable como para tener un perro.)
Play
It's too early to go to bed. (Es demasiado temprano para ir a la cama.)
Nota: Podemos usar "enough" en una frase negativa para indicar que algo no es suficiente. Compara los
ejemplos de arriba con los de abajo.
Ejemplos:
Play
You are not old enough to understand. (No eres lo suficientemente mayor para entender.)
Play
Claire is not responsible enough to have a dog. (Claire no es lo suficientemente responsable como para tener un perro.)
2. Cuando usamos "too" con nombres, utilizamos las expresiones "too many" o "too much".
"too many" + nombre contable
"too much" + nombre incontable

Ejemplos:
Play
There are too many students in the classroom. (Hay demasiados estudiantes para esta clase.)
Play
Is there too much sugar in your coffee? (Hay demasiado azcar en tu caf?)
Play
My daughter has too many shoes, she doesn't need any more! (Mi hija tiene demasiados zapatos, no necesita ms.)
Play
There is too much work for just one person! (Hay demasiado trabajo para una sola persona.)
3. "Too much of" o "Too many of":
"too many of" + determinante + nombre contable
"too much of" + determinante + nombre incontable

Ejemplos:
Play
His problem is that he spends too much of his time playing video games! (Su problema es que pasa demasiado tiempo
jugando a videojuegos.)

Play
That's enough. You have already eaten too many of the chocolates! (Basta ya. Ya comiste demasiados bombones.)