A verb + noun collocation is an established combination of a verb and a noun, such as settle a bill, keep a secret, or grant permission. These expressions are common in English, but choosing the right verb isn’t always straightforward.
For example, you can make a complaint, file a complaint, or investigate a complaint. All three expressions are natural, but they describe different actions. The choice depends on what is happening and who is involved.
Common Verb + Noun Collocations with Examples
Verb + noun collocations appear in everyday conversations, education, work, and formal communication. Some are easy to understand from their individual words, while others have meanings that are less predictable.
Everyday Activities and Arrangements
| Collocation | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| Catch a flight | Alice left home before dawn to catch her flight to Edinburgh. |
| Miss an appointment | Daniel missed his appointment when his car broke down on the motorway. |
| Set an alarm | Mia set an alarm so she wouldn’t oversleep before her early shift. |
| Settle a bill | After checking the charges, Thomas settled the hotel bill at reception. |
| Run an errand | Jack ran an errand for his elderly neighbour before heading to work. |
| Keep a promise | Despite his busy schedule, Ben kept his promise to attend his daughter’s school play. |
Run an errand means to make a short trip to complete a task, such as collecting a parcel or buying something. It doesn’t necessarily involve running.
Settle a bill means to pay the amount owed, while keep a promise means to do something you’ve promised to do.
Communication and Personal Relationships
| Collocation | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| Offer an apology | The event organiser offered an apology for the seating confusion. |
| Pay a compliment | Aaron paid his colleague a compliment on her thoughtful presentation. |
| Break the news | Hannah broke the news to her parents that she’d accepted a job overseas. |
| Give directions | A local shopkeeper gave us directions to the old railway station. |
| Express sympathy | Several neighbours expressed sympathy after the family lost their home in the fire. |
| Make a confession | After weeks of avoiding the subject, Nathan made a confession about the missing equipment. |
Pay a compliment means to say something appreciative or admiring. Despite the verb pay, no money is involved.
Break the news means to tell someone important information, especially when it may be unexpected or difficult to hear.
Work and Study
| Collocation | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| Meet a deadline | The illustrator worked through Sunday to meet the magazine’s deadline. |
| Chair a meeting | Priya chaired the meeting while the department manager was away. |
| Submit an application | Noah submitted his application for the internship before the closing date. |
| Revise a proposal | The design team revised its proposal after the client requested a simpler layout. |
| Gain experience | Emma gained valuable experience while volunteering at a local theatre. |
| Draw a conclusion | After comparing the soil samples, the students drew a conclusion about the source of the contamination. |
Chair a meeting means to lead or preside over it. The verb chair has a specialised meaning here that differs from the familiar noun referring to a piece of furniture.
Draw a conclusion means to arrive at a judgment based on information or evidence. The verb draw doesn’t refer to making a picture.
Formal and Public Situations
| Collocation | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| Issue a refund | The retailer issued a refund after receiving the faulty headphones. |
| Impose a fine | The council imposed a fine on the company for illegal dumping. |
| Resolve a dispute | A mediator helped the neighbours resolve a dispute over parking spaces. |
| Launch an inquiry | The organisation launched an inquiry into the missing financial records. |
| Reach a compromise | The flatmates reached a compromise over their shared cleaning responsibilities. |
| Uphold a decision | The appeals panel upheld the decision after reviewing the additional evidence. |
Impose a fine describes applying a financial penalty, usually by someone with legal or regulatory authority. Uphold a decision means to confirm or maintain a decision, particularly after a challenge or review.
How Different Verbs Work with the Same Noun
Some nouns combine with several verbs because people can perform different actions involving the same thing.
The noun complaint offers a useful example.
| Collocation | Who usually performs the action? | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Make a complaint | Someone who is dissatisfied | Express dissatisfaction, formally or informally |
| File a complaint | Someone submitting a formal complaint | Submit a complaint through an established process |
| Investigate a complaint | A person or organisation responsible for examining it | Look into the circumstances |
| Resolve a complaint | A person or organisation dealing with it | Address the complaint and bring the matter to a conclusion |
| Withdraw a complaint | The complainant or an authorised representative | Take back a previously submitted complaint |
These combinations can describe different stages of the same situation.
After receiving an incorrect electricity bill, Rachel filed a complaint with the supplier.
Rachel is the person submitting the complaint through the company’s formal process.
The supplier investigated the complaint and discovered that the meter reading had been recorded incorrectly.
Now the supplier is responsible for finding out what happened.
After correcting the charges, the supplier considered the complaint resolved, although Rachel remained dissatisfied with the delay.
A complaint may be regarded as resolved by the organisation handling it even when the complainant is unhappy with the outcome.
Make a complaint and file a complaint can overlap in meaning, but file generally suggests a more formal process.
Common Collocations with Make, Do, Take, and Have
The verbs make, do, take, and have appear in many familiar combinations.
In some expressions, the noun carries most of the meaning, while the verb helps form the construction. These are often called light-verb or delexical-verb constructions.
| Verb | Collocation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Make | make an attempt | Clara made an attempt to repair the old clock before calling a specialist. |
| Do | do the ironing | Nadia did the ironing while her brother packed for their trip. |
| Take | take a nap | After his night shift, Joel took a short nap before lunch. |
| Have | have a look | Could you have a look at the clasp on this necklace? |
In make an attempt, the noun attempt identifies the action. The verb make helps express that action without its usual sense of producing something.
The same principle applies to expressions such as have a conversation, take a walk, and make a suggestion.
Why Use a Verb + Noun Expression Instead of a Single Verb?
Sometimes English offers both a single verb and a related verb + noun expression.
The neighbours discussed the proposal after dinner.
The neighbours had a lengthy discussion about the proposal after dinner.
Both describe people discussing something. The second sentence, however, allows the speaker to describe the discussion itself. The adjective lengthy tells us how long it was.
The constructions also differ grammatically.
Discuss can take the topic directly as its object:
They discussed the proposal.
With have a discussion, the topic can be introduced using about:
They had a discussion about the proposal.
A verb + noun expression may offer a different way to describe or emphasise an activity. It isn’t necessarily interchangeable with the corresponding single verb in every context.
When Different Verbs Express a Similar Meaning
Changing the verb sometimes changes the action, as with file, investigate, and withdraw a complaint.
In other cases, several verbs can describe substantially the same activity. Their differences may concern register, emphasis, or conventional usage.
Make, Give, and Deliver a Speech
All three are established combinations.
Helen made a short speech at her retirement dinner.
The headteacher gave a speech during the opening ceremony.
The president delivered a speech outlining the government’s priorities.
Make a speech and give a speech often have very similar meanings.
Deliver a speech is particularly familiar in formal contexts or when attention is placed on presenting a prepared speech.
These are usage tendencies, not strict rules. By contrast, do a speech is not the usual standard expression for giving a formal talk.
Do, Conduct, and Carry Out Research
These combinations also overlap in meaning.
Before buying the second-hand car, Oliver did some research into its repair history.
The university conducted research into how urban trees affect local temperatures.
The conservation group carried out research on declining butterfly populations.
Do research is common in everyday English and can also appear in academic contexts.
Conduct research and carry out research are particularly familiar in formal, academic, and professional writing.
All three are acceptable. Make research, however, is not the normal English expression for carrying out an investigation or study.
Grammar in Verb + Noun Collocations
Knowing which verb combines naturally with a noun is only part of using the expression correctly. Articles, countability, word order, and prepositions can also affect the sentence.
Articles and Uncountable Nouns
Consider give advice.
The careers adviser gave Eleanor some useful advice about preparing for interviews.
Advice is normally uncountable in standard English.
Correct: She gave me some advice.
Incorrect: She gave me an advice.
You can use a piece of advice when referring to one particular suggestion.
The recipient can also appear in different positions.
The adviser gave Eleanor advice about the interview.
The adviser gave advice to Eleanor about the interview.
Both are grammatical. The first is often more natural when the recipient is a short noun phrase or pronoun.
Words Can Appear Between the Verb and Noun
The words in a collocation do not always appear next to each other.
Consider pay a compliment.
Maya paid her supervisor a compliment on his presentation.
Maya paid a compliment to her supervisor on his presentation.
Both sentences use the established combination pay a compliment. The first places the recipient between the verb and its direct object, while the second introduces the recipient after the noun phrase.
Modifiers can also appear within a collocation:
The manager made a carefully considered decision about the revised schedule.
Here, carefully considered describes the decision without changing the underlying combination make a decision.
Prepositions May Be Part of the Complete Pattern
Some verb + noun expressions regularly include a preposition when introducing another person, subject, or idea.
Consider pay attention to:
Please pay close attention to the instructions about collecting your luggage.
The preposition to introduces what someone should pay attention to.
Another example is raise an objection to:
Several tenants raised an objection to the proposed increase in service charges.
The underlying lexical combinations are pay attention and raise an objection. Their accompanying prepositional patterns help connect them to the rest of the sentence.
This relationship between vocabulary combinations and grammar is explained further in types of collocations in English.
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