Practice
Noun collocations
Sign in to saveYou may know the words piece and advice, but English usually puts them together as a piece of advice. Learning the whole pair makes your sentence easier to understand and more natural.
Recognize useful noun collocations and use the natural word pair that fits an everyday meaning.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
She gave me a useful piece of advice before the interview. /ʃiː ɡeɪv miː ə ˈjuːsfəl piːs əv ədˈvaɪs bɪˈfɔː ðiː ˈɪntəvjuː/
The short answer
Keep common noun partnerships together in your notes. Learn a piece of advice, a parking space, customer service, and a burst of laughter as complete phrases.
She gave me a useful piece of advice before the interview.
Why it works: Advice is uncountable, so a piece of advice is a common way to talk about one suggestion.
4 more examples
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Finding a parking space near the station took twenty minutes.
Parking space is a common noun plus noun pair for a place where a vehicle can be left.
Not this:Finding a
space for parkingnear the station took twenty minutes. What changes: Space for parking is understandable, but parking space is shorter and more usual for this meaning. -
A burst of laughter came from the next room.
A burst of laughter describes laughter that starts suddenly and lasts a short time.
Not this:
Laughter suddenly camefrom the next room. What changes: This sentence gives the basic meaning, while a burst of laughter names the short, sudden event. -
Good customer service can make people return to a store.
Customer service is the usual phrase for help that a business gives to its customers.
Not this:Good
service for customerscan make people return to a store. What changes: Service for customers explains the idea, but customer service is the familiar business phrase. -
The manager gave us a word of warning about the deadline.
A word of warning is a short warning that tells someone to be careful.
Not this:The manager
warned usabout the deadline. What changes: Warned us states the action directly. A word of warning presents the warning as a short message.
Read the full guide
First, find the noun that names the thing, place, feeling, or idea. Then notice the word that English normally uses beside it. A familiar pair can be easier to remember when you connect it with a real situation.
Learn the whole noun phrase
A noun can need another word before or after it to make a familiar English phrase. Do not save advice alone if the useful phrase is a piece of advice. Keep the phrase together in your notes.
She gave me a useful piece of advice before the interview.
Advice is normally uncountable. Use a piece of advice for one suggestion, or some advice when you do not count separate suggestions.
Your colleague gives you one helpful suggestion before a meeting. Which phrase can you use?
You can say: "She gave me a piece of advice before the meeting."
Notice noun plus noun pairs
English often puts one noun before another noun to name one thing. In parking space, parking tells you what kind of space it is. Learn the two words in that order.
Finding a parking space near the station took twenty minutes.
Space for parking has a similar meaning, but parking space is the usual short phrase for a place to leave a vehicle.
You are looking for somewhere to leave your car near a hospital. What noun pair do you need?
You need a parking space.
Use a noun phrase to name a short event
Some phrases show how an event happens. A burst of laughter tells the listener that laughter began suddenly and did not last long. The phrase gives more detail than laughter alone.
A burst of laughter came from the next room.
Laughter came from the next room gives the basic fact. A burst of laughter adds the idea of a short, sudden event.
A group laughs suddenly after a joke. Which phrase describes that short event?
You can describe it as a burst of laughter.
Choose the usual phrase for a situation
A familiar collocation can make a general idea more specific. Customer service is the usual phrase for the help a business gives its customers. It appears in shops, websites, and workplace conversations.
Good customer service can make people return to a store.
Service for customers is understandable, but customer service is the common phrase you will hear and see in business contexts.
A company helps customers solve a problem with an order. Which phrase names that kind of help?
The company provides customer service.
Keep grammar with the collocation
The small words in a phrase matter. Learn the full phrase a word of warning, including its article and preposition. When you record a new collocation, include one complete sentence.
The manager gave us a word of warning about the deadline.
The manager warned us is also correct. A word of warning is useful when you want to present the warning as one short message.
Someone tells you to be careful before you change an important file. Which phrase can describe that message?
It was a word of warning.
Before you go
Remember this
Learn noun collocations as complete phrases, not as single words. Keep the article or preposition when it belongs to the phrase: a piece of advice, a burst of laughter, and a word of warning. Add a short example so you can use the pair in a real situation.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Noun collocations"
What is a noun collocation?
A noun collocation is a familiar English word partnership that includes a noun. It may be a noun plus noun pair such as parking space, or a longer noun phrase such as a piece of advice. Learn the full phrase so you remember the natural wording.
She gave me a useful piece of advice before the interview.
Why do I need to learn a piece of advice instead of advice alone?
Advice is normally uncountable, so English uses a piece of advice when you mean one suggestion. You can also say some advice for an amount that you do not count. Keeping the complete phrase in your notes helps you use the article and preposition correctly.
She gave me some useful advice before the interview.
Are noun collocations always two nouns?
No. Many are noun plus noun pairs, including customer service and parking space. Others contain a noun with a small connecting word, such as a burst of laughter or a word of warning. Learn the words that normally stay together in the complete phrase.
Finding a parking space near the station took twenty minutes.
How can I remember noun collocations?
Write the complete collocation with one short situation. For example, connect customer service with a shop or website, and a word of warning with a situation where someone needs to be careful. Reading and listening for the pair again will make it easier to recognize.
Finding a space for parking near the station took twenty minutes.
Can another phrase be correct even if it is not the usual collocation?
Sometimes it can. A longer phrase may be clear, but a familiar collocation often sounds more natural and is easier for the listener to process. Compare the wording in a reliable learner dictionary, then choose the phrase that fits your meaning and situation.
A burst of laughter came from the next room.