The theme of this unit has been words and their contexts - both grammatical and communicative. Teachers and learners need to be able to handle both these concepts. Frequently, for instance, a teacher finds herself saying to a learner that what he has said 'isn't wrong exactly but just doesn't sound English'. It is here that the notion of collocation comes in handy.
All languages have words which tend to be used with certain other words.
A language learner must learn not only what it is possible to say grammatically but what a native speaker is likely to say. In English we face problems and interpret dreams but in modern Hebrew we stand in front of problems and solve dreams. In Japanese the verb for drink collocates with water and soup, but also with tablets and cigarettes. The following activity makes a further important point about collocation. I can't predict what word you might have written here.