Make a Positive Impression: 28 Essential Business English Collocations

Welcome to Business Fluency - a newsletter designed to enhance your understanding of essential business terms and concepts and provide you with practical strategies to boost your business and career prospects.

In today’s newsletter:

• Make a Positive Impression: 28 Essential Business English Collocations

• Quote of the day: Felicity O’Dell & Michael McCarthy

• What I’m Watching: Emma Jokobi from mmmEnglish

• Word of the day: Collocation

• Business English: Test Your Knowledge!

• Whenever you are ready, here is how I can help you

Read The Daily Upside. Stay Ahead of the Markets. Invest Smarter.

Most financial news is full of noise. The Daily Upside delivers real insights—clear, concise, and free. No clickbait, no fear-mongering. Just expert analysis that helps you make smarter investing decisions.

Join 1M+ readers today.

Make a Positive Impression: 28 Essential Business English Collocations

Transform Your Business Communication to a Gain Competitive Advantage

Last week, we explored how to handle objections effectively in business situations. This week, let's focus on making your Business English sound more natural through collocations - words that frequently appear together in English.

My business English students regularly ask me how they can sound more professional in business conversations without sounding artificial. The answer lies in mastering common business collocations. Let's explore these natural word partnerships with clear definitions and practical examples.

Seven Essential Types of Business Collocations

1. Verb + Noun Collocations In the world of business and finance, certain verbs naturally pair with specific nouns. When you use these combinations, your English immediately sounds more authentic:

• "Reach an agreement" means to successfully conclude negotiations, finding terms that work for all parties

• "Make a profit" describes generating positive financial returns - the happy outcome every business seeks

• "File a report" refers to formally submitting documentation to the appropriate departments or authorities

• "Raise capital" means obtaining financial resources for business growth through various funding methods

2. Verb + Adverb Collocations These combinations show how business actions are performed with precision:

• "Strongly recommend" expresses confident professional advice

• "Firmly believe" shows unwavering business conviction

• "Carefully consider" demonstrates thoughtful decision-making

• "Closely monitor" indicates attentive performance tracking

3. Verb + Prepositional Phrase These combinations are essential for clear business communication:

• "Comply with regulations" means following legal and industry requirements

• "Account for expenses" involves explaining or recording all financial outflows

• "Report to management" describes the flow of information to leadership

• "Invest in stocks" refers to allocating capital to equity investments

4. Noun + Verb Collocations These combinations show typical market movements and business activities with precision. Understanding them helps you discuss financial trends confidently:

• "Prices fluctuate" describes how values naturally move up and down in response to market conditions - a key concept when discussing market dynamics

• "Profits soar" indicates a dramatic upward trend in earnings, painting a clear picture of exceptional performance

• "Markets collapse" captures the sudden, severe decline that can impact trading environments

• "Shares plummet" describes a rapid, significant fall in stock prices - essential vocabulary for discussing market challenges

5. Noun + Noun Collocations These partnerships are fundamental to business documentation and analysis:

• "Market share" represents your company's percentage of total industry sales - a crucial metric for competitive analysis

• "Interest rate" describes the percentage cost of borrowing or return on lending - central to financial planning

• "Profit margin" indicates the percentage difference between revenue and costs - vital for assessing business health

• "Business model" outlines how a company creates and delivers value - essential for strategic discussions

6. Adjective + Noun Collocations These combinations help you describe business situations with professional precision:

• "Strong leadership" conveys effective and decisive management capabilities - key for investor communications

• "Competitive advantage" describes your unique market position and superior business strengths

• "Financial statement" refers to formal records of business activities and position - crucial for stakeholder reporting

• "Annual report" represents your comprehensive yearly performance document - vital for transparency

7. Adverb + Adjective Collocations These partnerships help you describe business outcomes and potential with sophistication:

• "Highly profitable" indicates performance significantly above normal expectations - perfect for positive financial discussions

• "Mutually beneficial" describes arrangements advantageous to all parties - essential for partnership negotiations

• "Commercially viable" suggests sustainable profit potential - key for project assessments

• "Financially sound" conveys stable and healthy financial positioning - crucial for stakeholder confidence

Why Mastering Collocations Matters

Using natural collocations transforms your business communication by:

• Building instant credibility in international settings

• Making complex ideas easier to understand

• Creating stronger professional relationships

• Demonstrating industry expertise

Practical Exercise

This week, try upgrading your business vocabulary. Instead of saying "Our company did well with money," use "Our company achieved strong financial performance." Notice how the collocation makes your message more impactful.

Next week, we'll explore common business idioms and when to use them appropriately.

Discussion Question: Read the title and subtitle of this newsletter again. How many collocations can you find? Send me an email with your ideas.

Quote of the Day: Felicity O’Dell & Michael McCarthy

What I’m Watching: Emma Jakobi from mmmEnglish

Do you want to learn some more about collocations? One of the best English teachers on the internet is Emma Jakobi from mmmEnglish (YouTube).

Here she is talking about collocations:

Word of the day: Collocation

Collocation - noun - countable - a word or phrase that is often used with another word or phrase, in a way that sounds correct to people who have spoken the language all their lives, but might not be expected from the meaning.

Word Family:

• Noun - collocation

• Verb - collocate

• Adjective - collocational

• Past simple: collocated

• Past participle: collocated

Collocate - verb - to place or arrange words together in a way that sounds natural

Business English: Test Your Knowledge

Whenever you are ready, here is how I can help you:

We provide Business English lessons and Cambridge and IELTS preparation courses. You can book an online lesson over Zoom here:

You can book a free 20-minute consultation with Iain over Zoom here:

Why not subscribe to our sister Financial Fluency newsletter for English students interested in learning about the financial markets and investing?

Disclaimer:

This newsletter is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The information contained herein is generic and does not take into account your individual financial circumstances. You should always consult with a qualified financial professional before making any investment or financial decisions.

Additionally, the authors and/or publishers of this newsletter may hold investments in securities or other financial instruments mentioned herein. These are included for illustrative purposes only and should not be taken as a recommendation to buy or sell such securities or financial instruments.