We communicate mainly through word groups, rather than through individual words. This is so, both when we speak and when we write. And the type of word groups that we most often use are word groups structured around verbs.

And if you want to be able to use verbs fluently in speech or writing in a way that a native speaker of English would find acceptable, it’s not enough if you know their meaning, grammar and usage very well. You must also know what nouns they can occur with, and have the experience of using those nouns and verbs together — in verb-and-noun combinations that are acceptable.

This book gives you a comprehensive collection of verb+noun combinations that articulate native speakers of English use frequently in their speech and writing. The importance of the way this book arranges these collocations is this: This book arranges them verbwise — that is, under headwords that are all verbs. That is, this book tells you what nouns a given verb of everyday use frequently goes with, and what shapes those combinations usually take. This is the world’s first book that gives a verbwise compilation of verb-and-noun combinations. (Prof. Kev Nair’s own Dictionary of Active Fluency Combinations is the world’s first book that gives a nounwise compilation of verb-and-noun combinations.)

If you wish to achieve a high degree of fluency in narrative English (that is, the kind of English native speakers of English use while telling a story, describing an event, making a presentation, etc.), you must master the skill of getting your verb-and-noun combinations to pour out of your mouth smoothly and easily. This book aims to help you gain this mastery.

For more details, read the Introduction page.