English language learning tips from Cambridge Assessment English. In this clip learn about collocations, content useful for all exams.

Hello, my name is Jared.
Today we're going to look at collocations.
Many words just go together. There are no rules to explain why - they just do.
Let's have a look at a few now.

Take the word 'make'. You make a mistake, make progress, and make an effort.
Or 'do'. You do your best, do business, and do the cooking.
Collocations are used everywhere.

The words we're looking at now are 'a job'.
One of these words or phrases does not collocate with 'a job':

• Look for...


• Apply for...


• Get...


• Catch...

You can look for a job, apply for a job, and if you're lucky, you will get a job.
But you can't catch a job. It just doesn't collocate.

Here's the word 'money'. Which one of these words does not collocate with 'money'?

• Make...


• Save...


• Cash...


• Time...

You can make money, save money, and cash money at a bank.
Many people say that time is money, but you can't time money.

Collocations can help you broaden your range of vocabulary.
Being aware of and using collocations will help you in all parts of the exams: speaking, writing, reading, and even in the listening paper.
Collocations are everywhere; you just need to look out for them.

It isn't just when you're reading that you can focus on collocations.
You can do it when you're watching television, especially if you have English subtitles to help you follow the audio.
You can hear them in songs, on sports commentaries, announcements, and read them in signs or posters.

When you learn a new word as well as the meaning, pronunciation, and so on,
don't forget to notice which words it goes together or collocates with.

Thanks for watching.