Collocations Collocation in English Collocation in Arabic Mistakes by Arab learners when using collocations

Collocations Each lexical item has a tendency to keep a regular company with certain others in utterances Examples : TO take an exam TO catch a / bus cold To express an opinion

Collocation in English Noun + verb collocation Example : An accident takes place Anger flares/ mounts/ abates Crisis develops/ arises

Collocation Verb + noun collocation TO extinguish fire/ a light TO narrate a story TO commit a crime

Collocation in Arabic In Arabic, / yalqi/ (throw or cast away) has several collocations which do not fit if compared with English language: يلقي /Yalqi/ 1. يلقي عليه المسئولية ( ( to place responsibility on sb 2.يلقي الرعب في قلبه ( to strike in sb’s heart ) 3. يلقي محاضرة ( ( to give a lecture/ lesson 4. يلقي خطاباً ( ( to make a public address/speech 5. يلقي السلاح ( to lay down his arm) 6.يلقي عليه سؤال ( to ask sb a question) 7. يلقي السمع اليه ( ( to lead one’s ear to sb

Make or DO A journey, a good turn, one’s best, washing-up, a good job, harm, favor, a complaint, a bargain …etc.

phrasal verbs Phrasal verbs are used in conjunction with another word, especially a preposition. Their meaning to a great extent is unpredictable. Examples: Fall out ( quarrel) Put sb up (to give sb a place to sleep) Drop in on sb( to visit sb without arrangements).

Sources of difficulty in Phrasal verbs: 1) The whole phrase in English is equivalent to a single verb in Arabic Be over (( ينتهي Out of his mind (( يجن 2) Prepositions, sometimes used with the English verb, are different from its usual Arabic equivalent Do without ( ( يستغنى عن To ask after ( يسأل عن الشخص أو صحته )

Idioms in English An Idiom is a fixed phrase whose meaning can not be predicated from a knowledge of the meaning of the individual words. Examples: All-singing all-dancing (modern ) I will get you an all-singing all-dancing mobile if you pass the exam with flying colours. Foot the bill ( pay) The Old Bill ( the police)

Sources of difficulty in Idioms 1) it is no use to try to analyze each and every word of the idiom in an attempt to fathom out the meaning needed. A bit under the weather meaning slightly ill. A dead from the neck up meaning very stupid

2) Idioms are among the most frequent lexical items in the native speakers’ daily use. 3) A number of English idioms may have Arabic equivalent such as the following : Neither here nor there لا في العير ولا في النفير Let bygone be bygone مافات مات Move heaven and earth يقم الدنيا ويقعدها

Idioms of comparison As flat as a pancake As light as a feather As cunning as a fox As busy as a bee.