Una collocation es una combinación de palabras que “suena natural” para un nativo: make a mistake, take a risk, pay attention. En B2 necesitas usar estas combinaciones para sonar más natural y preciso.
1) Mapa rápido
❌ ~do a mistake~ · ✅ make a mistake
❌ ~make your homework~ · ✅ do your homework
❌ ~strong rain~ · ✅ heavy rain
Muchas combinaciones no siguen una lógica clara para hispanohablantes, por eso se aprenden como chunks (bloques de palabras).
Cuando veas un verbo/nombre nuevo, intenta memorizarlo con su collocation típica: no solo effort, sino make an effort.
2) Collocations con make y do
make suele usarse con resultados, creación y decisiones; do con tareas y actividades generales.
| Verbo | Collocations típicas | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| make | make a decision make an effort make a mistake make progress make money make a phone call make an appointment | We need to make a decision soon. (Tomar una decisión) She’s making progress in English. (Está avanzando). |
| do | do homework do research do business do a course do housework do your best | I have to do my homework tonight. (Hacer la tarea). They did some research before buying the car. |
Idea general:
• make → “crear / producir” algo nuevo (decisión, plan, cambio).
• do → “realizar” una actividad/tarea.
3) Collocations clave: take / have / give / pay
A) TAKE
| Collocations con take | Ejemplo |
|---|---|
| take responsibility (for) | He refused to take responsibility for the problem. |
| take a risk / take a chance | Sometimes you have to take a risk. |
| take notes | Did you take notes during the meeting? |
| take a break / take a rest | Let’s take a break for ten minutes. |
| take part (in) | Many students took part in the project. |
B) HAVE
| Collocations con have | Ejemplo |
|---|---|
| have a look | Let me have a look at your report. |
| have a chat / have a conversation | We had a nice chat after class. |
| have a shower / have breakfast | I usually have breakfast at 7 a.m. |
| have a problem / have an issue | We have a problem with the software. |
C) GIVE y PAY
| Verbo | Collocations | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| give | give advice give someone a hand give a speech / presentation give permission | My teacher gave me some advice. He’s going to give a speech tomorrow. |
| pay | pay attention (to) pay a fine pay rent pay a visit (a alguien) | Please pay attention to the instructions. We paid a visit to our grandparents. |
Aprende estos grupos como “bloques”: take notes, have a look, give advice, pay attention. Son muy frecuentes en B2.
4) Strong collocations: adjetivo + nombre
Algunas combinaciones son mucho más naturales que otras. No es lo mismo “strong rain” (raro) que heavy rain.
| Collocation natural | Evita decir | Traducción aproximada |
|---|---|---|
| heavy rain | *strong rain* | lluvia fuerte / intensa |
| strong coffee | *heavy coffee* | café fuerte |
| deep sleep | *strong sleep* | sueño profundo |
| strong opinion | *heavy opinion* | opinión fuerte/marcada |
| high temperature | *big temperature* | temperatura alta |
| high chance | *big chance* | gran probabilidad |
No todo es “literal”. Memoriza pares frecuentes: heavy traffic, deep voice, strong relationship, high level.
5) Collocations útiles para writing B2
Algunos bloques muy típicos para cartas, emails y ensayos:
- take responsibility for (asumir responsabilidad)
- make an effort to (esforzarse por)
- raise awareness about (crear conciencia sobre)
- have an impact on (tener impacto en)
- play a role in (jugar un papel en)
- make a difference (marcar una diferencia)
- face a challenge (enfrentar un reto)
- reach an agreement (llegar a un acuerdo)
- meet the requirements (cumplir los requisitos)
- gain experience / confidence (ganar experiencia/confianza)
Ejemplo (fragmento de writing):
If students take responsibility for their own learning and make an effort to practise every day, they can gain a lot of experience and really make a difference to their future.
6) Errores comunes de collocations
| Incorrecto | Correcto | Comentario |
|---|---|---|
| *do a mistake* | make a mistake | “mistake” casi siempre va con make. |
| *make your homework* | do your homework | Tarea/actividad → do. |
| *pay attention in the teacher* | pay attention to the teacher | La preposición correcta es to. |
| *take a decision* | make a decision | En inglés estándar se usa make. |
| *strong rain* / *big rain* | heavy rain | Adjetivo típico con “rain” es heavy. |
| *say me your opinion* | tell me your opinion / give me your opinion | say no toma objeto directo persona de esa manera; mejor tell o give. |
Si dudas, piensa: “¿Esta combinación la he visto/leído antes?”. Si no, puede ser un calco del español.
7) Mini-práctica
- Completa con make / do / take / have / give / pay:
a) You should ______ more attention in class.
b) We need to ______ a decision before Friday.
c) I usually ______ a shower in the morning.
d) They ______ part in a language exchange last year.
e) Can you ______ me a hand with this exercise?
f) The company wants to ______ research on the market.
g) She ______ an effort to speak English every day.
h) Let’s ______ a break and get some coffee. - Elige la opción correcta:
a) We need to (do / make) progress quickly.
b) He (did / took) notes during the lecture.
c) Please (give / pay) attention to what I’m saying.
d) She wants to (take / do) a business course.
e) They (had / made) a big mistake in the report. - Sustituye la parte subrayada por una collocation natural en inglés:
a) She took the risk → Escribe la frase completa en inglés.
b) Ellos ganaron experiencia trabajando en el extranjero.
c) Tenemos que cumplir los requisitos del programa.
d) Él marcó una gran diferencia en la empresa.
e) La organización quiere crear conciencia sobre el problema. - Corrige si es necesario:
a) We did a big progress last year.
b) I made my homework before dinner.
c) He paid attention in the instructions.
d) It was a very strong rain yesterday.
e) She took a very important decision. - (Producción guiada) Escribe 4 frases sobre ti usando estas collocations:
• take responsibility for
• make an effort to
• do research on
• have an impact on
Intenta que sean situaciones reales (estudios, trabajo, proyectos personales).
Respuestas ejemplo (orientativas):
1) a) pay · b) make · c) have · d) took · e) give · f) do · g) make · h) take
2) a) make · b) took · c) pay · d) do · e) made
3) a) She took a risk. / She decided to take a risk.
b) They gained experience working abroad.
c) We have to meet the requirements of the programme.
d) He made a big difference in the company.
e) The organisation wants to raise awareness about the problem.
4) a) We made great progress last year.
b) I did my homework before dinner.
c) He paid attention to the instructions.
d) It was very heavy rain yesterday.
e) She made a very important decision.
5) Respuesta libre; revisa que uses la collocation completa (verbo + nombre).
8) Próximo paso
Continúa con Phrasal-noun/verb/adjective (set-up, break-through…), donde verás cómo muchos phrasal verbs se convierten en sustantivos y adjetivos muy frecuentes en textos de nivel B2.