3.1.- Collocations.

What comes now may sound strange but it is something that we have in every language, including Spanish, of course. It is the reason why we say "poner la mesa" and not "colocar la mesa" or "instalar la mesa" when we put a tablecloth, plates, glasses, cutletry, etc. on a table

With the expression collocations we refer to a group of words that usually go together. They can form a group of:

• verb + noun,
• adj + noun,
• noun + noun,
• etc...

Examples:

• Miss the bus (not lose the bus).
• Make a mistake (not do a mistake).
• A serious illness (not a big illness or a strong illness).

To use a word naturally you have to learn the other words that often go with it.