COLLOCATIONS 1

Collocations are certain groups of words that always come together in a certain language. Some examples of collocations in Potuguese are "chuva forte", "cometer um erro", "dar um cheque", "tomar uma decisão". If we translate these words to English, we have "strong rain", "commit a mistake", "give a check", "take a decision". Right?
WRONG!
Why is that?
Because translating is not enough; you must know the correct collocation, got it? So, in English, the appropriate translation would be:
HEAVY rain, not strong rain
MAKE a mistake, not commit a mistake (you commit murder, or you commit suicide!)
WRITE a check
MAKE a decision

So, how in the world will you learn the correct collocations? By watching movies, reading, listening to songs, talking to native speakers... I will frequently post about collocations, ok? Here´s some good example, the verb "GANHAR" in Portuguese, you can use 4 verbs in English to mean GANHAR, so:
WIN- a game, a championship, the lottery
GAIN- weight, experience, reputation
EARN- money ffrom work, your salary (by the way, "salário mínimo" is minimum wage, not minimum salary)
RECEIVE- a present, a gift, a letter, an e-mail

Well, to conclude, here are some links for you to learn more:
For a more thorough explanation go to http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/collocations.htm

short collocations list
http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/collocations-lists.htm

quizz
http://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/collocations-quiz.htm

Also, there are some excellent dictionaries that you can buy:
OXFORD COLLOCATIONS DICTIONARY , or Cambridge Collocations Dictionary

Bye everyone!