Adjective and nouns Nouns and verbs Chapter II compounds and idioms

1.2 Nouns and verbs
Nouns and verbs are two very important parts of speech. But what is the difference? Learn to easily identify a noun vs. a verb by getting a clear definition. View different types of nouns and verbs used in examples too. Soon, you’ll gain a clear understanding of whether a word is a noun or a verb.
You couldn’t have a sentence without nouns. They are one of the basic building blocks of the English language. A noun is defined as a person, place, thing or idea. Examples include child, house, door and love. The list of nouns can go on and on, and they are singular, plural and sometimes, both! If you don’t believe it, ask the deer.
Can you find the nouns in the sentence below?
The girl and boy held hands to cross the road on their way to school.
In this sentence, girl, boy, hands, road, way and school are all nouns. Nouns are generally the people, places, things or ideas that are performing the action of the sentence (i.e., subjects) or are receiving the action of the sentence
Just when you think that you have a handle on nouns and verbs, it’s time to throw you a curveball. Some nouns can be verbs. Actually, several nouns can also be verbs, spelled exactly the same way. So, how do you tell? When you say the sentence, listen to where the stress is placed on the syllable.³
Noun: An object is in front of the door.
Verb: I object to that way of thinking.
When “object” is used as a noun, the stress is placed on the first syllable: OBject. When it is used as a verb, stress is placed on the second syllable: obJECT.
See how that works! Check out a few more examples to really get the hang of it.
Noun: My permit is in the glove compartment. (PERmit)
Verb: I don’t permit you to go. (perMIT)
Noun: My conduct is polite and professional. (CONduct)
Verb: I conduct my work professionally. (conDUCT)
Noun: He’s a rebel without a cause. (REbel)
Verb: He will rebel against any authority figure. (reBEL)
Noun: English is my favorite subject in school. (SUBject)
Verb: The teacher is going to subject us to more exams. (SUBject)
Noun: Unemployment saw an increase of 10 percent. (INcrease)
Verb: Unemployment is going to increase by 10 percent. (increase
Here is a list of some of the most common verb and noun collocations:

1. 
   Have a drink – get something to drink
   
2. 
   Have breakfast / lunch / dinner – eat something for a meal
   
3. 
   Have a good time – enjoy yourself
   
4. 
   Break a record – achieve a new record
   
5. 
   Break a leg – to do well
   
6. 
   Break the law – not follow the rules
   
7. 
   Pay attention – to be focused
   
8. 
   Pay a visit – go to visit someone
   
9. 
   Pay your respects – show someone you respect them
   
10. 
    Make a difference – change something
    

Collocations are often used as short expressions to describe how someone feels about a situation. In this case, collocations can be used in the adjective form, or also as emphatic expressions using an intensifier and a verb. Here are a few examples using some common collocations:
positively encourage someone to do something
We'd like to positively encourage you to buy this stock.
deeply regret the loss of someone / something
I deeply regret the loss of your loved one.
to be in an utter fury over something Tom's in an utter fury over the misunderstanding with his wife.
to go to great lengths to do something He went to a great length to explain the situation.
Learn more of these common expressions.
Common Adjective Collocations
Emphatic Expressions - Strong Collocations
Get a Collocation Dictionary
You can learn collocations from a number of resources. Academics and teachers like to use collocation databases to help study common collocation uses. However, for students one of the best tools is a collocation dictionary. A collocation dictionary is different from normal dictionaries in that it provides you with collocations commonly used with key words rather than a definition. Here is an example of a few of the collocations used with the verb 'progress':
Adverbs: nicely, satisfactory, smoothly, well - You are progressing smoothly in this course.| further - As you further progress, you will learn more.
Verb + Progress: fail to - He's failing to progress at work.
Prepositions: beyond - She failed to progress beyond high school. | from, through - Students should progress from this class with an improved knowledge of the subject.
I highly recommend using the Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English published by Oxford University Press to begin using collocations as a means of improving your vocabulary skills in English.⁴
A collocation is a pair or group of words that habitually appear together.
Adjectives and nouns can have a particular collocation to convey a specific meaning.
We form adjectives and noun collocations by putting adjectives before nouns.
The most commonly used adjectives and nouns collocations are:
Big disappointment, big failure, big mistake, big surprise…;
Heavy bag, heavy box, heavy rain, heavy snow, heavy suitcase, heavy traffic…;
Rich culture, rich history, rich people, rich vocabulary…;
Strong accent, strong drink, strong smell, strong taste, strong wind…
Example
The documentary was a big disappointment.
He admitted he made a big mistake.
We were walking in heavy rain.
You shouldn’t carry such a heavy suitcase alone.
I was late due to heavy traffic.
Rich people can afford to buy everything they want.
She reads a lot of books and has a rich vocabulary.
The man just wanted a strong drink.
This coffee has a very strong smell.
The strong wind stopped us from going for a walk yesterday.
Before a specific noun we must put only a specific adjective to convey a specific meaning. If we use another adjective, the meaning could sound strange and not natural.
Collocations are a pair or group of words which habitually appear together to convey a whole new meaning.
We use adjectives and nouns collocations putting adjectives before nouns.
The most commonly used adjectives and nouns collocations are:
Big disappointment, big failure, big mistake, big surprise…;
Heavy bag, heavy box, heavy rain, heavy snow, heavy suitcase, heavy traffic…;
Rich culture, rich history, rich people, rich vocabulary…;
Strong accent, strong drink, strong smell, strong taste, strong wind…
For example:
— “She has a strong Italian accent.” = The word accent is placed after the adjective strong in the sentence.
Let’s revise this content within the {Form} section. Take a look at the {Example} section that shows its use within a context.
Related
Adjectives and nouns collocations are used to convey a whole new meaning. In addition to adjective and noun collocations; we also have Verbs and prepositions collocations.
For better understanding about the form of Adjective and noun collocations, you can learn about Adjectives used only in attributive position.⁵