Common collocation mistakes and how to fix them

By: Collocations.org Admin
Date: 22 February 2026

Why learners make collocation mistakes

Collocation errors are among the most persistent issues for English learners, even at advanced levels. Unlike grammar mistakes, which can often be spotted by applying a rule, collocation mistakes are harder to self-correct because they involve knowledge that is largely intuitive for native speakers. The words in a wrong collocation are often individually correct and grammatically sound — they just do not belong together in the way the learner has combined them.

These errors typically arise from three sources: direct translation from the learner's first language, over-reliance on synonyms, and simple lack of exposure to how words are used in natural context. Understanding where mistakes come from is the first step toward eliminating them.

Make vs do errors

The make/do distinction produces some of the most frequent collocation mistakes in English. Learners from many language backgrounds have a single verb where English has two, which leads to errors like "do a mistake" instead of "make a mistake", or "make exercise" instead of "do exercise".

Some corrections to memorise:

• "Do a mistake" → make a mistake
• "Make exercise" → do exercise
• "Do a photo" → take a photo
• "Make a party" → have a party / throw a party
• "Do a decision" → make a decision

Wrong adjective choices

Choosing the wrong adjective is a very common error, usually caused by treating synonyms as interchangeable. The following examples show typical mistakes and their corrections:

• "Strong rain" → heavy rain
• "Big news" → major news / significant news (though "big news" is also acceptable informally)
• "High speed" is correct, but "high salary" → high salary is fine; "big salary" → high salary or large salary
• "Powerful coffee" → strong coffee
• "Fast food" is correct, but "fast car" → fast car is also correct; however "rapid food" would be wrong

Wrong preposition in a fixed phrase

Many collocations include a preposition, and choosing the wrong one is a frequent source of error. These are largely a matter of memory rather than logic:

• "Interested about" → interested in
• "Depend of" → depend on
• "Good in cooking" → good at cooking
• "On the end" → in the end / at the end
• "Congratulate someone for" → congratulate someone on

False friends from other languages

Learners often transfer collocation patterns directly from their first language. A Spanish speaker might say "assist to a meeting" (from "asistir a una reunión"), when the correct English collocation is "attend a meeting". A French speaker might say "pass an exam" meaning to sit it, when in English "pass an exam" means to succeed — to sit an exam is to "take an exam" or "sit an exam".

How to reduce collocation errors

The most reliable way to reduce these mistakes is to look up new words in a collocation dictionary rather than a standard one, and to notice word combinations in everything you read. When you make an error and someone corrects you, do not just note the right word — write down the full collocation and a short example sentence. That way you are encoding the correct combination in your memory, not just the correct single word.