Collocations for talk - noun
1. a conversation
ADJ.
good, little
(often ironic),
(often ironic),
long, quiet, serious
I will have to have a little talk with that young lady (= tell her that I disapprove of sth).
I will have to have a little talk with that young lady (= tell her that I disapprove of sth).
heart-to-heart, intimate
VERB + TALK
have
TALK + NOUN
show
PREP.
~ about
I enjoyed our talk about the old days.
I enjoyed our talk about the old days.
~ with
I need to have a heart-to-heart talk with her.
I need to have a heart-to-heart talk with her.
PHRASES
(to exchange/make) small talk
(= to talk politely about unimportant things) He was never very good at making small talk with her parents.
(= to talk politely about unimportant things) He was never very good at making small talk with her parents.
2. talking
ADJ.
excited, heady
There was excited talk of emigrating to America.
There was excited talk of emigrating to America.
ridiculous, wild
There is ridiculous talk of her breaking the world record soon.
There is ridiculous talk of her breaking the world record soon.
careless, dangerous, idle, loose | fighting, tough | straight
She likes straight talk and hates hypocrites.
She likes straight talk and hates hypocrites.
double
The president''s true agenda was hidden in political double talk.
The president''s true agenda was hidden in political double talk.
dirty, filthy | cheap, easy, empty, mere
The chairman''s boasts about future profits was just cheap talk.
The chairman''s boasts about future profits was just cheap talk.
fine, grand
(ironic) What all the fine talk came down to was hard cash.
(ironic) What all the fine talk came down to was hard cash.
baby
I never used baby talk to my little girl.
I never used baby talk to my little girl.
pillow
the pillow talk of lovers
the pillow talk of lovers
TALK + VERB
turn to sth
Talk turned to money and tempers began to fray.
Talk turned to money and tempers began to fray.
PREP.
~ about/of
All this talk of the president resigning is nonsense!
All this talk of the president resigning is nonsense!
PHRASES
be just talk
‘You think it''s just talk?’ ‘No, I think it''s true.’
‘You think it''s just talk?’ ‘No, I think it''s true.’
for all the talk of sth
For all the talk of bringing their children up the same, the boys ended up never doing any of the cooking.
For all the talk of bringing their children up the same, the boys ended up never doing any of the cooking.
3. (also ‘talks’) discussions between official groups
ADJ.
lengthy | high-level, top-level | informal | formal, official | private, secret | open | direct, face-to-face | wide-ranging | all-party, bilateral, inter-party, joint, multilateral, round-table, trilateral, tripartite | fresh, further | fruitless, inconclusive | crisis, emergency, urgent | exploratory, preliminary | constitutional, political | arms, pay, peace, trade
QUANT.
round
A further round of talks is expected in March.
A further round of talks is expected in March.
VERB + TALK
conduct, have, hold
The two governments held secret talks on the nuclear threat.
The two governments held secret talks on the nuclear threat.
broker, host | attend, enter | initiate, open | break off, pull out of, walk out of
The union has broken off talks with the management.
The union has broken off talks with the management.
cancel, suspend | reopen, resume
TALK + VERB
be scheduled
Talks were scheduled for Rome the following month.
Talks were scheduled for Rome the following month.
take place
The peace talks will take place in Cairo.
The peace talks will take place in Cairo.
begin, open, start | end | resume | be aimed at sth, be designed to
the latest round of talks aimed at ending the civil war
the latest round of talks aimed at ending the civil war
centre on sth, concentrate on sth, cover sth, deal with sth, focus on sth
The talks centred on bilateral trade.
The talks centred on bilateral trade.
produce sth
Talks produced agreement on an end to the occupation.
Talks produced agreement on an end to the occupation.
be deadlocked, break down, collapse, fail, founder, stall
The talks remain deadlocked over spending plans. | The talks foundered on the issue of compensation.
The talks remain deadlocked over spending plans. | The talks foundered on the issue of compensation.
PREP.
during ~
The agreement was concluded during talks in Beijing.
The agreement was concluded during talks in Beijing.
in ~
He is currently in talks with two football clubs.
He is currently in talks with two football clubs.
~ about/on/over
holding talks over the political future of the province
holding talks over the political future of the province
~ between
the failure of talks between the two communities
the failure of talks between the two communities
~ with
The delegation arrived for talks with their government.
The delegation arrived for talks with their government.
4. lecture
ADJ.
entertaining, informative, interesting | introductory | pep, sales, team | radio
VERB + TALK
give | attend, go to
TALK + VERB
be entitled sth
She gave a very entertaining talk entitled ‘My life and hard times’.
She gave a very entertaining talk entitled ‘My life and hard times’.
PREP.
~ about/on
Did you go to the talk on Peru?
Did you go to the talk on Peru?