English for Spanish speakers · part 18 of 22
English collocations that feel strange
A collocation is a pair of words that habitually go together. Breaking them is not grammatically wrong — it just sounds foreign. The trouble is that English and Spanish often pick different partner words for the same idea.
| Idea | Spanish instinct | English collocation |
|---|---|---|
| Intense rain | lluvia fuerte (strong) | heavy rain |
| Intense coffee | café fuerte (strong) | strong coffee |
| Quick meal | — | fast food |
| High fever | fiebre alta | high temperature |
| Gain friends | hacer amigos | make friends |
| Take a photo | hacer una foto | take a picture |
| Assigned schoolwork | hacer los deberes | do homework |
"Strong" works for coffee but not for rain, where English switches to "heavy." There is no deep logic — these are conventions. The way in is to teach the noun and its usual partner together: not rain but heavy rain; not coffee but strong coffee.