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Collocations: tomar una decisión, hacer una pregunta, cometer un error",null,{"type":49,"value":50,"toc":763},"minimark",[51,56,65,70,114,150,154,157,398,401,499,503,516,610,660,664,684,687,718,721,725],[52,53,55],"h1",{"id":54},"spanish-collocations-which-verb-goes-with-which-noun","Spanish Collocations: Which Verb Goes With Which Noun",[57,58,59,60,64],"p",{},"You can know every word in a sentence and still build it wrong. Not ungrammatically wrong - ",[61,62,63],"strong",{},"collocationally"," wrong, which is worse, because it sounds fluent and foreign at the same time. Spanish, like every language, has fixed pairings of words that go together by habit rather than by logic, and the pairings almost never match English. This is the last thing that separates a good A-level Spanish speaker from a natural one.",[66,67,69],"h2",{"id":68},"the-core-problem-make-do-take-have","The core problem: make, do, take, have",[57,71,72,73,76,77,76,80,83,84,87,88,91,92,94,95,76,98,76,101,76,104,76,107,83,110,113],{},"English is lazy with its verbs. It uses ",[61,74,75],{},"make",", ",[61,78,79],{},"do",[61,81,82],{},"take"," and ",[61,85,86],{},"have"," for an enormous range of nouns, and picks between them by pure convention: you ",[89,90,75],"em",{}," a decision but ",[89,93,82],{}," a photo, and no rule explains why. Spanish carves the same territory up between at least six verbs - ",[61,96,97],{},"tomar",[61,99,100],{},"hacer",[61,102,103],{},"dar",[61,105,106],{},"sacar",[61,108,109],{},"poner",[61,111,112],{},"echar"," - and the split does not line up with the English one at all.",[57,115,116,117,120,121,123,124,127,128,131,132,135,136,127,139,142,143,145,146,149],{},"The trap is obvious once you see it. ",[61,118,119],{},"Make a decision"," tempts you towards ",[61,122,100],{}," (make = hacer, surely?), but Spanish says ",[61,125,126],{},"tomar una decisión",". ",[61,129,130],{},"Ask a question"," looks like it needs a verb for ",[89,133,134],{},"ask",", but Spanish says ",[61,137,138],{},"hacer una pregunta",[61,140,141],{},"Make a mistake"," is not ",[61,144,100],{}," anything - it is ",[61,147,148],{},"cometer un error",". Reach for the English verb, translate it, and you will be wrong more often than right.",[66,151,153],{"id":152},"verb-noun-collocations-that-matter","Verb + noun collocations that matter",[57,155,156],{},"Here are the pairings worth memorising as locked units. Notice how scattered the Spanish verbs are.",[158,159,160,176],"table",{},[161,162,163],"thead",{},[164,165,166,170,173],"tr",{},[167,168,169],"th",{},"English idea",[167,171,172],{},"Wrong literal Spanish",[167,174,175],{},"Correct collocation",[177,178,179,192,204,216,229,242,255,268,281,294,307,320,333,346,359,372,385],"tbody",{},[164,180,181,185,188],{},[182,183,184],"td",{},"make a decision",[182,186,187],{},"hacer una decisión",[182,189,190],{},[61,191,126],{},[164,193,194,197,200],{},[182,195,196],{},"ask a question",[182,198,199],{},"tomar una pregunta",[182,201,202],{},[61,203,138],{},[164,205,206,209,212],{},[182,207,208],{},"make a mistake",[182,210,211],{},"hacer un error",[182,213,214],{},[61,215,148],{},[164,217,218,221,224],{},[182,219,220],{},"commit a crime",[182,222,223],{},"hacer un delito",[182,225,226],{},[61,227,228],{},"cometer un delito",[164,230,231,234,237],{},[182,232,233],{},"take a risk",[182,235,236],{},"tomar un riesgo",[182,238,239],{},[61,240,241],{},"correr un riesgo",[164,243,244,247,250],{},[182,245,246],{},"pay attention",[182,248,249],{},"pagar atención",[182,251,252],{},[61,253,254],{},"prestar atención",[164,256,257,260,263],{},[182,258,259],{},"keep quiet",[182,261,262],{},"mantener silencio",[182,264,265],{},[61,266,267],{},"guardar silencio",[164,269,270,273,276],{},[182,271,272],{},"keep a promise",[182,274,275],{},"mantener una promesa",[182,277,278],{},[61,279,280],{},"cumplir una promesa",[164,282,283,286,289],{},[182,284,285],{},"turn thirty",[182,287,288],{},"hacer treinta años",[182,290,291],{},[61,292,293],{},"cumplir treinta años",[164,295,296,299,302],{},[182,297,298],{},"give an example",[182,300,301],{},"dar un ejemplo",[182,303,304],{},[61,305,306],{},"poner un ejemplo",[164,308,309,312,315],{},[182,310,311],{},"go for a walk",[182,313,314],{},"tomar un paseo",[182,316,317],{},[61,318,319],{},"dar un paseo \u002F una vuelta",[164,321,322,325,328],{},[182,323,324],{},"take a photo",[182,326,327],{},"tomar una foto",[182,329,330],{},[61,331,332],{},"sacar una foto \u002F hacer una foto",[164,334,335,338,341],{},[182,336,337],{},"draw conclusions",[182,339,340],{},"dibujar conclusiones",[182,342,343],{},[61,344,345],{},"sacar conclusiones",[164,347,348,351,354],{},[182,349,350],{},"be successful",[182,352,353],{},"ser exitoso",[182,355,356],{},[61,357,358],{},"tener éxito",[164,360,361,364,367],{},[182,362,363],{},"break a record",[182,365,366],{},"romper un récord",[182,368,369],{},[61,370,371],{},"batir un récord",[164,373,374,377,380],{},[182,375,376],{},"have a nap",[182,378,379],{},"tener una siesta",[182,381,382],{},[61,383,384],{},"echar una siesta \u002F dormir la siesta",[164,386,387,390,393],{},[182,388,389],{},"pay heed \u002F take notice",[182,391,392],{},"hacer atención",[182,394,395],{},[61,396,397],{},"hacer caso",[57,399,400],{},"Some of these are worth a closer look:",[402,403,404,416,435,445,466,483],"ul",{},[405,406,407,409,410,412,413,415],"li",{},[61,408,126],{}," - the single most common trap. You ",[61,411,82],{}," a decision in Spanish, never ",[61,414,75],{}," one.",[405,417,418,420,421,423,424,427,428,431,432,434],{},[61,419,138],{}," - you ",[61,422,75],{}," a question. ",[61,425,426],{},"Preguntar"," exists as a verb, but for the noun ",[61,429,430],{},"pregunta"," the pairing is ",[61,433,100],{},".",[405,436,437,440,441,444],{},[61,438,439],{},"cometer un error \u002F un delito"," - errors and crimes are ",[61,442,443],{},"committed",", never made or done.",[405,446,447,450,451,453,454,457,458,461,462,465],{},[61,448,449],{},"cumplir"," does double duty: ",[61,452,280],{}," (keep a promise), ",[61,455,456],{},"cumplir un sueño"," (fulfil a dream), and ",[61,459,460],{},"cumplir años"," (to have a birthday) - ",[61,463,464],{},"hoy cumplo veinte años"," is \"today I turn twenty\".",[405,467,468,420,470,473,474,476,477,76,480,434],{},[61,469,306],{},[61,471,472],{},"put"," an example, not give one. But you ",[61,475,103],{}," a walk: ",[61,478,479],{},"dar un paseo",[61,481,482],{},"dar una vuelta",[405,484,485,487,488,491,492,495,496,498],{},[61,486,106],{}," is the photo verb across most of Spain and Latin America (",[61,489,490],{},"sacar una foto","), though ",[61,493,494],{},"hacer una foto"," is also common. It also gives you ",[61,497,345],{}," (draw conclusions).",[66,500,502],{"id":501},"adjective-noun-collocations","Adjective + noun collocations",[57,504,505,506,76,509,76,512,515],{},"Verbs are not the only thing Spanish fixes. It also has favourite adjectives for particular nouns, where the logical choice (",[61,507,508],{},"grande",[61,510,511],{},"fuerte",[61,513,514],{},"mucho",") is understood but marks you as a learner. The natural partner is often a stronger, more specific word.",[158,517,518,530],{},[161,519,520],{},[164,521,522,524,527],{},[167,523,169],{},[167,525,526],{},"Weak but understood",[167,528,529],{},"Fixed collocation",[177,531,532,545,558,571,584,597],{},[164,533,534,537,540],{},[182,535,536],{},"a serious mistake",[182,538,539],{},"un error muy grande",[182,541,542],{},[61,543,544],{},"un error garrafal",[164,546,547,550,553],{},[182,548,549],{},"torrential rain",[182,551,552],{},"lluvia muy fuerte",[182,554,555],{},[61,556,557],{},"lluvia torrencial",[164,559,560,563,566],{},[182,561,562],{},"a resounding success",[182,564,565],{},"un éxito muy grande",[182,567,568],{},[61,569,570],{},"un éxito rotundo",[164,572,573,576,579],{},[182,574,575],{},"ravenous hunger",[182,577,578],{},"mucha hambre",[182,580,581],{},[61,582,583],{},"un hambre canina",[164,585,586,589,592],{},[182,587,588],{},"deep sleep",[182,590,591],{},"sueño muy fuerte",[182,593,594],{},[61,595,596],{},"un sueño profundo",[164,598,599,602,605],{},[182,600,601],{},"blind love",[182,603,604],{},"amor tonto",[182,606,607],{},[61,608,609],{},"amor ciego",[402,611,612,621,626,644,650],{},[405,613,614,617,618,620],{},[61,615,616],{},"error garrafal"," - a glaring blunder. Say ",[61,619,544],{}," and you sound like you read the papers.",[405,622,623,625],{},[61,624,557],{}," - the standard weather-report phrase for a downpour.",[405,627,628,631,632,635,636,639,640,643],{},[61,629,630],{},"éxito rotundo"," - a total, unqualified success. ",[61,633,634],{},"Rotundo"," also lives with ",[61,637,638],{},"no"," (",[61,641,642],{},"un no rotundo",", a flat refusal).",[405,645,646,649],{},[61,647,648],{},"hambre canina"," - literally \"canine hunger\", the natural way to say you could eat a horse.",[405,651,652,655,656,659],{},[61,653,654],{},"sueño profundo"," - deep sleep, as in ",[61,657,658],{},"caer en un sueño profundo"," (to fall into a deep sleep).",[66,661,663],{"id":662},"the-practical-rule","The practical rule",[57,665,666,667,670,671,674,675,677,678,680,681,683],{},"There is one habit that fixes all of this: ",[61,668,669],{},"learn the verb with its noun",", as a single chunk, and never file the noun on its own. The moment you store ",[61,672,673],{},"decisión"," by itself, you will one day need a verb for it, reach for the English ",[61,676,75],{},", and produce ",[61,679,187],{},". Store it as ",[61,682,126],{}," from the first day and the trap never opens.",[57,685,686],{},"So when you meet a new noun, ask what it collocates with, and learn the pair:",[402,688,689,698,704,711],{},[405,690,691,692,695,696],{},"not ",[61,693,694],{},"foto",", but ",[61,697,490],{},[405,699,691,700,695,702],{},[61,701,430],{},[61,703,138],{},[405,705,691,706,695,709],{},[61,707,708],{},"paseo",[61,710,479],{},[405,712,691,713,695,716],{},[61,714,715],{},"error",[61,717,148],{},[57,719,720],{},"Read widely, listen for the pairings, and note the ones that surprise you - those surprises are exactly the collocations your English instinct would have got wrong. Build the whole Spanish phrase from the start, and you stop translating the verb altogether. That is the difference between correct Spanish and Spanish that sounds like a Spaniard.",[66,722,724],{"id":723},"see-also","See also",[402,726,727,735,742,755],{},[405,728,729,734],{},[730,731,733],"a",{"href":732},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fser-estar","Ser and estar"," - the other place where two Spanish words split a single English one, and where the choice is fixed rather than logical.",[405,736,737,741],{},[730,738,740],{"href":739},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fpor-para","Por and para"," - another fixed-usage pair that resists word-for-word translation from English.",[405,743,744,76,748,83,751,754],{},[730,745,747],{"href":746},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fhacer","The verb hacer",[730,749,97],{"href":750},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Ftomar",[730,752,103],{"href":753},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fwords\u002Fdar"," - the workhorse verbs at the centre of most collocations, with their full conjugations.",[405,756,757,758,762],{},"The ",[730,759,761],{"href":760},"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar","Spanish grammar cheatsheet"," collects the highest-frequency collocations on one card.",{"title":764,"searchDepth":765,"depth":765,"links":766},"",2,[767,768,769,770,771],{"id":68,"depth":765,"text":69},{"id":152,"depth":765,"text":153},{"id":501,"depth":765,"text":502},{"id":662,"depth":765,"text":663},{"id":723,"depth":765,"text":724},"B2","Which Spanish verb goes with which noun: the fixed verb + noun and adjective + noun pairings that never map word-for-word from English make, do, take and have.",[775,807],{"type":776,"instructions":777,"items":778},"fill-blank","Complete each phrase with the verb that Spanish uses with this noun. Put the verb in the infinitive.",[779,782,785,789,793,797,800,803],{"prompt":780,"answer":97,"hint":781},"___ una decisión (to make a decision)","not hacer",{"prompt":783,"answer":100,"hint":784},"___ una pregunta (to ask a question)","the verb for make or do",{"prompt":786,"answer":787,"hint":788},"___ un error (to make a mistake)","cometer","the verb for commit",{"prompt":790,"answer":791,"hint":792},"___ un riesgo (to take a risk)","correr","the verb for run",{"prompt":794,"answer":795,"hint":796},"___ atención (to pay attention)","prestar","the verb for lend",{"prompt":798,"answer":106,"hint":799},"___ una foto (to take a photo)","the verb for take out",{"prompt":801,"answer":103,"hint":802},"___ un paseo (to go for a walk)","the verb for give",{"prompt":804,"answer":805,"hint":806},"___ éxito (to be successful)","tener","the verb for have",{"type":808,"instructions":809,"items":810},"which-one","Choose the verb that collocates correctly with the noun in each sentence.",[811,814,817,820,823,826],{"prompt":812,"answer":97,"options":813},"Tengo que ___ una decisión importante hoy.",[97,100,103],{"prompt":815,"answer":100,"options":816},"¿Puedo ___ una pregunta?",[100,97,109],{"prompt":818,"answer":787,"options":819},"Es fácil ___ un error en este examen.",[787,100,103],{"prompt":821,"answer":103,"options":822},"Vamos a ___ un paseo por el parque.",[103,97,100],{"prompt":824,"answer":106,"options":825},"Voy a ___ una foto de la plaza.",[106,97,109],{"prompt":827,"answer":795,"options":828},"Tienes que ___ atención en clase.",[795,103,100],"md",[831,834,837,840],{"q":832,"a":833},"What is a collocation, and why do they matter so much in Spanish?","A collocation is a pair of words that habitually go together, where the choice is fixed by convention rather than logic: in English you make a decision but take a photo, and there is no rule telling you which verb goes where - you just know. Spanish has its own set, and it rarely lines up with English. Tomar una decisión (make a decision) uses tomar, not hacer; hacer una pregunta (ask a question) uses hacer, not the verb for ask. Get the collocation wrong and the sentence stays grammatical but sounds foreign, because you have translated the idea correctly and the pairing wrongly.",{"q":835,"a":836},"Why can I not just translate make, do, take and have directly into Spanish?","Because Spanish spreads those four English verbs across at least six of its own. Make maps onto tomar (una decisión), hacer (una pregunta), cometer (un error) and dar (un paso) depending on the noun. Take maps onto tomar (un café), sacar (una foto), dar (un paseo) and correr (un riesgo). There is no single Spanish equivalent of take, so a learner reaching for one verb and using it everywhere will be right perhaps a third of the time. The noun decides the verb, so you have to learn them as a locked pair.",{"q":838,"a":839},"What is the practical way to learn Spanish collocations?","Learn the verb with its noun, as one chunk, and never store the noun on its own. When you meet decisión, file it as tomar una decisión; when you meet foto, file it as sacar una foto or hacer una foto. Read and listen for the pairings, note the ones that surprise you, and drill them as units rather than as separate words. Building the phrase from the English verb is the mistake - the moment you think make a decision and translate make, you are lost. Think of the whole Spanish phrase from the start.",{"q":841,"a":842},"Do adjectives collocate with nouns in Spanish too?","Yes, and just as tightly. Spanish has fixed intensifying pairs where one specific adjective is the natural partner for a noun. A serious mistake is un error garrafal, not un error grande; heavy rain is lluvia torrencial; a resounding success is un éxito rotundo; ravenous hunger is hambre canina; deep sleep is sueño profundo. Using a logical but non-standard adjective (un error muy grande) is understood but marks you as a non-native. These adjective + noun pairs are worth collecting alongside the verb + noun ones.","higher","You have learned the words, but Spanish still sounds wrong - and the reason is almost never grammar. It is collocation: the invisible rule about which verb goes with which noun. English piles everything onto make, do, take and have (make a decision, do a favour, take a photo, have breakfast), and Spanish splits that same work across tomar, hacer, dar, sacar, poner and echar in a way you cannot predict from the English. You do not hacer a decision, you tomar it. You do not tomar a question, you hacer it. You do not hacer a mistake, you cometer it. Translate the verb and you get a sentence that is grammatically flawless and unmistakably foreign. Native speakers store these pairings whole, as single units, and so should you. This page maps the traps: the verb + noun collocations grouped by meaning, the adjective + noun pairings that Spanish fixes just as tightly (error garrafal, not error grande), and the one habit that fixes all of it - learning the verb with its noun, never building the phrase up from the English.","spanish",{},true,"\u002Fspanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fcollocations",{"title":46,"description":773},"spanish\u002Fgrammar\u002Fcollocations","iBVBjB1-1UhX2PfyKWKBpiindCtT8kEXWYfZgsDekyo",[],{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":854},"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M13 21h8M15 5l4 4m2.174-2.188a1 1 0 0 0-3.986-3.987L3.842 16.174a2 2 0 0 0-.5.83l-1.321 4.352a.5.5 0 0 0 .623.622l4.353-1.32a2 2 0 0 0 .83-.497z\"\u002F>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":856},"\u003Cg fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003Cpath d=\"M12 15V3m9 12v4a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H5a2 2 0 0 1-2-2v-4\"\u002F>\u003Cpath d=\"m7 10l5 5l5-5\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Fg>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":858},"\u003Cg fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\">\u003Cpath d=\"M20 20a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V8a2 2 0 0 0-2-2h-7.9a2 2 0 0 1-1.69-.9L9.6 3.9A2 2 0 0 0 7.93 3H4a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v13a2 2 0 0 0 2 2Zm-8-10v6\"\u002F>\u003Cpath d=\"m15 13l-3 3l-3-3\"\u002F>\u003C\u002Fg>",{"left":4,"top":4,"width":5,"height":5,"rotate":4,"vFlip":6,"hFlip":6,"body":860},"\u003Cpath fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M11 4.702a.705.705 0 0 0-1.203-.498L6.413 7.587A1.4 1.4 0 0 1 5.416 8H3a1 1 0 0 0-1 1v6a1 1 0 0 0 1 1h2.416a1.4 1.4 0 0 1 .997.413l3.383 3.384A.705.705 0 0 0 11 19.298zM16 9a5 5 0 0 1 0 6m3.364 3.364a9 9 0 0 0 0-12.728\"\u002F>"]