Ten adjective to noun collocations for business
Welcome again to The Art of Business English podcast. In this week’s episode I present part 3 of my series into business collocations.
Today, we are going to look at 10 adjective to noun collocations that we can start using in our next business interaction.
Adjectives, as you probably know help to better describe nouns, and they are great for making your English much more descriptive and improve your overall oral and written communications skills.
You will see from the list that only specific adjectives can collocate with certain nouns. Remember, using English collocations correctly is one of the fastest ways to make your English sound more native.
So, with that being said, let’s dive in a look at 10 adjective to noun collocations for your business English.
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Adjective to noun collocation for business
Annual turnover
Meaning: the total amount of money coming into a company from sales in a 12-month period
Past few weeks
Meaning: a period of 2 to 3 weeks before the present
Big break
Meaning: A great opportunity for success after an extended period of hard work with little gain.
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Deep trouble
Meaning: serious problems
Competitive advantage
Meaning: something that give you an edge or strength over your competitors
Bitter disappointment
Meaning: deep frustration
Grey area
Meaning: unclear, ambiguous, or uncertain
Huge mistake
Meaning: serious error
Hot topic
Meaning: an issue of current great interest
Bright future
Meaning: good prospects
Adjective to noun collocations in context
As with past episodes, now that you understand the collocations and their meaning, I will share some example sentences to help you see them used in context. I have also provided the Spanish translation to improve understanding.
English | Example | Spanish |
|---|---|---|
Annual turnover | “The company had an annual turnover of 13 million euros last year.” | Facturación anual |
Past few weeks | “The stock is healthy, having consolidated in the past few weeks.” | En las ultimas semanas |
Big break | “Her big break came when she was chosen to play the lead in a Broadway musical.” | Gran oportunidad |
Deep trouble | “The company was in deep financial trouble due to a massive debt load and shrinking sales.” | Grandes problemas |
Competitive advantage | “The new technology developed by the company gave them a competitive advantage over production costs” | Ventaja competitiva |
Bitter disappointment | “It was a bitter disappointment for John when he didn’t get a promotion after 20 years of service.” | Amarga decepción |
Grey area | “Labour law is a bit of a grey area for me.” | Zona gris |
Huge mistake | “It was a huge mistake for the company to invest in this deal.” | Gran error |
Hot topic | “Video conferencing software is a hot topic at the moment with people working from home.” | Tema candente |
Bright future | “You have a bright future ahead of you, make sure you take advantage of any opportunities.” | Brillante futuro |
Final thoughts
Adjective to noun collocations are a great way to become more expressive and really describe something in greater detail.
These collocations can also be very fashionable to use when speaking your native language to colleagues. I often hear my Spanish speaking friends throw around some of these collocations to make themselves sound “cool”.
The most important thing though is to understand their meaning, use them in the correct context and then you will be the one who people will look up to.
Enjoy the process and make sure you start to put some of these simple-to-use collocations into practice.
If you want to learn more collocations, and how to correctly pronounce them, then purchase your copy of my eBook, 500 Business Collocations for Everyday Use below. It is an amazing resource that will extend your vocabulary in no time.
Well, till next week. Take care.
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