50 Common English Collocations with Examples

You already know the words make and decision. So why does “make a decision” sound right, while “do a decision” sounds wrong? There’s no deep rule — English speakers simply grew up hearing one pairing, not the other. Word pairs like these are English collocations, and they’re the quiet secret behind natural, relaxed English.

On this page you’ll learn 50 common English collocations with make, do, take, have and get, plus strong everyday pairings like heavy rain. Every one comes with a plain meaning and a real example, so you can start using them today — at work, in class, or over coffee with a friend.

What Are English Collocations — and Why Do They Matter?

A collocation is a pair or small group of words that native speakers habitually use together: fast food, not quick food; strong coffee, not powerful coffee. Neither wrong version breaks a grammar rule. They just aren’t what people actually say.

Here’s why this matters for you. When you learn a word on its own — say, decision — your brain still has to hunt for a partner every time you speak. Learn make a decision as one chunk, and the whole phrase comes out in one smooth piece. You sound calmer, clearer, and far more natural.

Collocations also protect you from translation traps. Many languages use their word for “do” where English uses “make”, and the other way round. Learning the English pairs directly — the way our 100 essential English words for beginners page teaches single words with examples — saves you from word-by-word guessing.

Collocations with Make (10)

Make often carries the idea of creating something — because of you, a result appears. These ten are the ones you’ll hear every single day.

1. make a decision — choose something after thinking about it. “We need to make a decision today.”
2. make a plan — decide what you will do, step by step. “Let’s make a plan for the weekend.”
3. make a mistake — do something wrong by accident. “Don’t worry — everyone makes mistakes.”
4. make a phone call — call someone on the phone. “I must make a phone call to my bank.”
5. make friends — become friends with new people. “He makes friends wherever he goes.”
6. make money — earn money from work or business. “She makes money by selling cakes online.”
7. make an effort — try hard to do something. “Please make an effort to arrive on time.”
8. make sure — check that something is true or done. “Make sure the door is locked tonight.”
9. make time — find time for something important. “Busy parents still make time for their children.”
10. make progress — get better at something, step by step. “You’re making great progress in English.”

Collocations with Do (8)

Do usually points to work, tasks and duties — the jobs of the day. If there’s effort involved and a finished task at the end, do is very often the partner you want.

1. do your homework — complete school work at home. “Finish your homework before dinner, please.”
2. do the housework — clean and tidy the home. “We share the housework at the weekends.”
3. do business — work or trade with a person or company. “Our company does business with Japan.”
4. do your best — try as hard as you possibly can. “Just do your best in the exam tomorrow.”
5. do someone a favour — help someone in a kind way. “Could you do me a favour, please?”
6. do damage — harm or break something. “The storm did a lot of damage last night.”
7. do research — study a subject carefully to learn about it. “Students do research in the library.”
8. do exercise — move your body to stay fit and healthy. “He does exercise every morning before work.”

Collocations with Take (8)

Take is the traveller and photographer of the family — it shows up with journeys, pictures and short pauses. Learn these eight and half your daily routine is covered.

1. take a break — stop what you’re doing and rest briefly. “Let’s take a break for ten minutes.”
2. take a photo — capture a picture with a camera or phone. “She took a photo of the sunset.”
3. take notes — write down the important points. “Take notes during the lesson, please.”
4. take the bus — travel somewhere by bus. “I take the bus to work every day.”
5. take a shower — wash your whole body under running water. “He takes a shower after football practice.”
6. take your time — do something slowly, without hurrying. “Take your time — there’s no rush at all.”
7. take a risk — do something that might fail or go wrong. “Starting a business means taking a risk.”
8. take responsibility — accept that something is your duty or fault. “A good leader takes responsibility for mistakes.”

Collocations with Have (8)

Have is the friendly, everyday verb of meals, rest and good moments. It also sneaks into experiences — things you live through rather than things you build.

1. have breakfast — eat the first meal of the day. “We have breakfast at seven every morning.”
2. have a good time — enjoy yourself. “Did you have a good time at the party?”
3. have a look — look at something, often to check it. “Can I have a look at your photos?”
4. have a rest — relax and do nothing for a short while. “Sit down and have a rest — you look tired.”
5. have a conversation — talk with someone for a while. “We had a long conversation last night.”
6. have an idea — a thought suddenly comes to your mind. “I have an idea — let’s walk instead.”
7. have fun — enjoy yourself and feel happy. “The children had fun at the park today.”
8. have a meeting — meet people to discuss work. “We have a meeting at nine tomorrow morning.”

Collocations with Get (6)

Get is the verb of change and arrival — things become different, or you reach a place or a new stage in life. It’s informal, friendly, and everywhere in spoken English.

1. get ready — prepare yourself for something. “Get ready — we’re leaving in five minutes.”
2. get home — arrive at your home. “I usually get home at six in the evening.”
3. get a job — find work that someone pays you for. “He got a job at a hotel last month.”
4. get better — improve, or recover after being ill. “Your English is getting better every week.”
5. get lost — not know where you are. “We got lost in the old town yesterday.”
6. get married — become someone’s husband or wife. “They got married last spring in a small village.”

Strong Everyday Collocations (10)

Some pairs never involve make, do, take, have or get at all. Adjectives simply have favourite nouns, and these ten favourites appear in weather reports, cafés, shops and small talk everywhere.

1. heavy rain — a large amount of rain falling. “Heavy rain flooded the streets last night.”
2. strong coffee — coffee with a powerful taste. “He drinks strong coffee every single morning.”
3. strong wind — wind that blows very hard. “A strong wind broke two trees in the garden.”
4. deep sleep — sleep that is hard to wake from. “The baby is in a deep sleep right now.”
5. high price — a price that costs a lot of money. “City flats come with very high prices.”
6. fast food — hot meals served quickly, like burgers. “We eat fast food only once in a while.”
7. big decision — an important choice that affects your life. “Moving abroad is a really big decision.”
8. soft drink — a cold, sweet drink with no alcohol. “Would you like a soft drink or some water?”
9. hard work — work that needs a great deal of effort. “Success usually comes from plain hard work.”
10. free time — time when you are not working or busy. “We play football in our free time.”

Once these pairs start to feel familiar, watch them at work in real talk. Our 40 English phrases for daily conversation are full of collocations in action, so you can hear how the chunks fit inside friendly, natural sentences.

Common Mistakes with Collocations

Almost every learner makes the same handful of mistakes, because the wrong partner feels logical. Look at each pair, smile, and let the right one replace the wrong one in your head.

• ✗ do a mistake → ✓ make a mistake. Mistakes are “made” in English, never “done”.
• ✗ make a photo → ✓ take a photo. Cameras “take” pictures in English, even though many languages say “make”.
• ✗ do a decision → ✓ make a decision. Choosing creates a result, so English pairs it with make.
• ✗ make my homework → ✓ do my homework. Homework is a task, and tasks belong with do.
• ✗ strong rain → ✓ heavy rain, but ✓ strong wind. Rain is heavy; wind and coffee are strong. There’s no logic — just habit.
• ✗ make a conversation → ✓ have a conversation. Friendly talk is an experience you have, not a thing you build.

Spotted your own favourite mistake in that list? Good — that’s exactly how it stops being yours. The learners who improve fastest are the ones who notice, laugh, and quietly swap the partner next time.

Quick Practice

Try these without looking back at the lists. Fill each gap with the right partner word — make, do, take, have or get.

One: “I need to ___ a decision before Friday.” Two: “Please ___ your homework before dinner.” Three: “Let’s ___ a break — we’ve worked for hours.” Four: “Did you ___ a good time on holiday?” Five: “We ___ lost in the old town.” Six: “What time do you usually ___ home?”

Answers: 1. make. 2. do. 3. take. 4. have. 5. got. 6. get. All six right? These pairs are becoming yours. Missed one or two? Skim that group again tomorrow — one short return visit fixes a pair in place far better than an hour of cramming. And if you’d like your practice in sentence form, our 100 daily use English sentences put these chunks into everyday lines you can say out loud. For a playful change of pace, test yourself with our free idiom quiz afterwards.

Ready to go deeper? The Cambridge Dictionary page on “collocation” explains the idea with clear examples, and the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries entry for “collocation” shows how dictionaries mark these word partnerships for learners.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a collocation, in simple words?

It’s a team of words that native speakers almost always use together, like make a decision or heavy rain. The grammar of the wrong partner may be fine — do a decision breaks no rule — but it isn’t the team English speakers grew up hearing, so it sounds foreign.

How many collocations should I learn each week?

Ten to fifteen is a kind, honest pace — roughly one group from this page. Learn each pair inside its example sentence, use one or two for real during the week, and review the group once after a few days. Slow and repeated beats fast and forgotten.

Why can’t I just translate word by word from my language?

Because partner choices differ between languages, and they follow habit, not logic. Your language may “make” photos and “do” decisions; English does the opposite. Translating chunks instead of single words — whole pairs like take a photo — is the simple fix.

What’s the best way to remember collocations?

Learn the pair, never the single word, and always inside a sentence about your own life. If you take the bus daily, take the bus is already yours. Write your own example, say it aloud, and meet the pair again in reading or listening — your brain keeps what it keeps meeting.

Are collocations the same as idioms?

Not quite. Idioms hide their meaning — break the ice has nothing to do with ice. Collocations are honest: strong coffee means exactly what the words say. The only challenge is remembering which words team up. If idioms tempt you afterwards, the quiz linked above is a gentle start.

Do collocations change when the tense changes?

The partner stays the same; only the verb’s form changes — make a decision becomes made a decision yesterday and will make a decision tomorrow. Our guide to English tenses shows all twelve forms with examples, so your chunks stay correct in every time frame.