English-Portuguese Dictionary of Verbal Collocations
By Author Giljonnys Dias da Silva
The English-Portuguese Dictionary of Verbal Collocations is a specialized reference tool designed to provide learners of both English and Portuguese with guidance on the combinations of verbs and their typical collocates (words that commonly occur together with a specific verb). Collocations are a crucial aspect of language proficiency, as they reflect the natural combinations of words used by native speakers in everyday language.
What is a Verbal Collocation?
A verbal collocation refers to a pairing or grouping of a verb with other words (typically nouns, adjectives, or adverbs) that tend to occur together more frequently in a given language. For example, in English, the verb "make" is commonly combined with nouns like "decision," "progress," or "mistake" (e.g., "make a decision," "make progress," "make a mistake"). These combinations sound more natural to native speakers than other alternatives, such as "do a decision" or "do progress." Understanding and using correct collocations is a key factor in achieving fluency in any language.
List of some verbal collocations in English with their respective translations into Brazilian Portuguese:
abandon a plan: abandonar um plano Sinônimo: to call off a plan, to abandon ship, to back out of a plan, to pull the plug on a plan, to give up on a plan, to ditch a plan, to forgo a plan
abandon hope: perder a esperança Sinônimo: to give up hope, to lose hope, to accept failure, to give in to despair
abandon your thoughts: abdicar dos pensamentos Sinônimo: to push aside your thoughts, to quiet your mind, to dissociate from your thoughts, to abandon your worries
abandon ship: abandonar o navio Sinônimo: to leave a ship, to jump overboard, to flee the ship, to abandon the vessel, to step off the ship
abandon somebody to their fate: abandonar alguém a mercê do destino Sinônimo: to leave somebody to their own devices, to leave somebody in the lurch
abandon your country: abandonar seu país Sinônimo: to flee your country, to leave your homeland, to seek refuge abroad, to leave your nation, to run away from your country, to abandon your native land, to leave the fatherland
abandon yourself to despair: entregar-se ao desespero Sinônimo: to give in to despair, to succumb to despair, to fall into despair, to let yourself be consumed by despair, to drown in hopelessness, to sink into despair, to allow despair to cloud your judgment, to lose yourself in hopelessness, to be overtaken by despair, to sink into hopelessness
abase somebody's dignity: diminuir a dignidade de alguém Sinônimo: to lower somebody's self-esteem, to strip somebody of their dignity, to make somebody feel inferior, to belittle somebody's worth, to rob somebody of their dignity, to demean somebody
abase somebody's reputation: sujar a reputação de alguém Sinônimo: to discredit somebody, to degrade somebody's image, to ruin somebody's reputation, to destroy somebody's reputation, to ruin somebody's good name, to deface somebody's reputation, to besmirch somebody's reputation, to blacken somebody's name, to trash somebody's reputation, to trash-talk somebody, to tear somebody down
abase yourself: degradar-se, aviltar-se Sinônimo: to bend over backwards, to humble yourself, to grovel at someone's feet, to abase your worth, to sacrifice your dignity, to lower your standards
abase yourself as far as to do something: rebaixar-se até a ponto de fazer algo Sinônimo: to degrade yourself to the point of doing something, to bend over backwards to the extent of doing something, to go to great lengths to do something, to bring yourself down to the level of doing something
abate a noise: diminuir um barulho Sinônimo: to lower the volume, to dampen a noise, to still a noise, to lower the sound, to cut down a noise, to turn the volume down, to chill out of a noise, to pipe down, to simmer down a noise
abate a nuisance: reprimir um abuso Sinônimo: to get rid of a nuisance, to ease a nuisance, to knock off a nuisance, to cool it with the racket, to shut up the disturbance, to turn down a nuisance
abate the cost: abater o custo, reduzir o custo Sinônimo: to lower the cost, to cut down the cost, to reduce the financial load, to curb the cost, to bring down the price, to cut back on the cost
abate the pain: aliviar a dor Sinônimo: to relieve the pain, to ease the pain, to soothe the pain, to quell the pain, to cool down the pain, to chill the pain, to knock down the pain, to alleviate the pain, to ease the ache, to dull the pain, to ease the soreness, to muffle the pain
abbreviate a ceremony: reduzir a duração de uma cerimônia Sinônimo: to curtail a ceremony, to trim a ceremony, to cut short a ceremony, to make a ceremony more brief, to speed up a ceremony, to compress a ceremony, to hasten a ceremony, to fast-track a ceremony, to cut down a ceremony
abbreviate a discussion: encurtar uma discussão Sinônimo: to summarize a discussion, to cut short a discussion, to boil down a discussion, to brief a discussion, to skip over a discussion, to simplify a discussion
abbreviate a meeting: encerrar uma reunião mais cedo, encurtar uma reunião Sinônimo: to cut a meeting short, to make a meeting shorter, to cut down a meeting, to finish a meeting early, to speed up a meeting, to bring a meeting to a quick close, to make a meeting brief
abbreviate a procedure: simplificar um procedimento Sinônimo: to simplify the procedure, to speed up the procedure, to make the procedure more efficient, to cut back on the procedure, to fast-track the procedure, to make the procedure more efficient, to trim down the process
abbreviate a report: resumir um relatório Sinônimo: to outline a report, to cut down a report, to trim down the details, to make a report briefer, to cut a report short, to refine a report, to shorten a narrative, to summarize the details, to give a quick overview
abbreviate a statement: resumir uma declaração Sinônimo: to summarize a statement, to brief a statement, to reword a statement, to abstract a statement, to compress a statement, to sum up a statement, to cut a statement short, to cut down a statement, to make a brief statement, to trim down the details of a statement, to boil down a statement
abbreviate a word: abreviar uma palavra Sinônimo: to shorten a word, to contract a word, to reduce a word, to make a word shorter
abbreviate an essay: resumir um ensaio, fazer o resumo de uma dissertação Sinônimo: to give an overview of an essay, to cut short an essay, to summarize an essay, to create a brief version of an essay, to break down a essay, to cut down an essay to the basics
abbreviate the time: reduzir o tempo Sinônimo: to cut the time, to bring down the time, to minimize the duration, to pick up the pace, to shave off some time, to beat the clock, to get it done quicker
abbreviate your life: encurtar a sua vida Sinônimo: to shorten your lifespan, to hasten your death, to speed up your demise, to accelerate your death, to lower your life expectancy, to bring forward your death, to decrease your years, to reduce your time on earth
abide by a decision: agir de acordo com uma decisão Sinônimo: to uphold a decision, to stick to a decision, to conform to a decision, to go along with a decision, to stand by a decision, to accept the outcome, to submit to the ruling, to follow the lead, to take the decision in stride, to accept the call, to take it on the chin, to play along with a decision
abide by a rule: obedecer a uma regra, atear-se a uma regra Sinônimo: to follow a rule, to comply with a rule, to obey a rule, to adhere to a rule, to live by a rule, to go by a rule, to follow the guidelines, to keep to a rule, to comply with the regulations, to follow the law, to toe the line, to play by the book, to keep things in check, to follow the standard
abide by the law: obedecer a lei, agir de acordo com a lei Sinônimo: to obey a law, stand by a law, to observe a law, to follow a law
abide by your principles: manter-se fiel as suas convicções Sinônimo: to live by your principles, to stay true to your principles, to remain faithful to your principles, to live by what you believe, to stand by your principles, to stand your ground, to hold fast to your principles, to be true to your principles, to practice what you preach, to keep to your beliefs, to follow your own path
abide by your promise: cumprir com a sua promessa Sinônimo: to be true to your word, to keep a promise, to uphold a promise, to honor your pledge, to stand by your word, to hold fast to your word, to stick to your promise, to come through on your promise
abide by your word: cumprir com a sua palavra Sinônimo: to keep your promise, to stand by your word, to honor your word, to act on your word, to stick to your commitment, to stay committed to your word, to keep your pledge
abide in a countryside: permanecer em uma zona rural Sinônimo: to reside in a countryside, to dwell in a countryside, to settle down in a countryside, to occupy a rural area, to stay in a rural area, to stay in a countryside
abide with your wife: conviver com a esposa Sinônimo: to live together with your wife, to be on good terms with your wife, to stay commited to your wife, to reside together as a couple, to live in a shared abode with your wife
abound in fish: ser abundante em peixe Sinônimo: to teem with fish, to overflow with fish, to be swarming with fish, to have an abundance of fish
abound with knowledge: abundar em conhecimento, estar cheio de conhecimento Sinônimo: to overflow with knowledge, to be a wellspring of knowledge, to be a mine of knowledge
abound with wild animals: ser abundante em animais selvagens Synonyms: to teem with wild animals, to be full of wild animals, to be crawling with wild creatures, to be abundant in wildlife
abound with wisdom: ser rico em sabedoria Sinônimo: to be overflowing with knowledge, to possess great wisdom, to radiate wisdom, to be a wellspring of wisdom, to be steeped in knowledge
abridge a presentation: encurtar uma apresentação Sinônimo: to cut back a presentation, to boil down a presentation, to summarize a presentation, to cut down a presentation, to refine a presentation, to cut a presentation short, to trim down a presentation, to abbreviate a speech, to tighten up a presentation
abridge a text: abreviar um texto, resumir um texto Sinônimo: to shorten a text, to make a shorter version, to reduce a text, to make a text more concise, to refine a text, to extract the key points
abridge the duration: reduzir a duração Sinônimo: to trim the time, to speed up the process, to compress the timeline, to shorten the time, to tighten the schedule, to cut down the period, to squeeze the time, to bring forward the timeline, to cut the time short
absolve a debt: perdoar uma dívida Sinônimo: to write off a debt, to cancel a debt, to waive a debt, to clear a debt, to terminate a debt, to cancel out a debt
absolve somebody from a duty: eximir alguém de uma obrigação Sinônimo: to exempt somebody from a duty, to discharge somebody from a duty, to relieve somebody of a burden, to acquit someone of a duty
absolve somebody from punishment: isentar alguém da punição Sinônimo: to free somebody from punishment, to condone somebody, to grant clemency to somebody, to exempt someone from punishment, to acquit somebody of punishment
absolve yourself of responsibility: desobrigar-se da responsabilidade Sinônimo: to free yourself from responsibility, to wash your hands of responsibility, to pass on responsibility, to free yourself from duty, to excuse yourself from responsibility
abstain from a self-denying life: privar-se de uma vida de auto-negação Sinônimo: to refrain from a life of self-sacrifice, to avoid a life of self-denial, to forego a life of self-discipline, to refrain from self-imposed limitations, to withdraw from a life of self-denial
abstain from blood: abster-se de sangue Sinônimo: to reject blood, to refrain from consuming blood, to avoid blood consumption, to omit blood from your diet, to deny oneself blood, to refrain from blood consumption
abstain from blood transfusion: abster-se de transfusão de sangue Sinônimo: to refuse blood transfusion, not to accept blood transfusion, to refrain from blood transfusion, to resist blood transfusion, to choose against blood transfusion, to avoid receiving blood transfusion
abstain from overeating: evitar o excesso de comida, parar de comer demais Sinônimo: to control consumption, to avoid overeating, to keep from overeating, to control your eating habits, to cut back on eating, to avoid gluttony, to eat in moderation, to resist food excess
abstain from fornication: abster-se da fornicação Sinônimo: to refrain from fornication, to avoid fornication, to maintain celibacy, to stay away from fornication, to live in chastity, to abstain from sexual relations, to resist illicit sex, to steer clear of fornication
abstain from sexual immorality: abster-se da imoralidade sexual Sinônimo: to maintain moral chastity, to resist sexual temptation, to steer clear of immoral sexuality, to choose chastity over immorality
abstain from smoking: abster-se de fumar Sinônimo: to quit smoking, to give up smoking, to break the smoking habit, to stop smoking, to refrain from smoking
abuse a child sexually: abusar sexualmente de uma criança Sinônimo: to molest a child, to exploit a child sexually, to engage in child sexual abuse
abuse power: abusar do poder Sinônimo: to misuse power, to abuse a position, to overstep your authority, to tread on others' right, to engage in power abuse, to act with tiranny, to take advantage of a position, to impose unfair dominance
abuse somebody's trust: trair a confiança de alguém Sinônimo: to double-cross somebody, to break somebody's trust, to break a promise, to stab somebody in the back, to break somebody's confidence, to erode somebody's trust, to trample on somebody's trust, to break the bond of trust
abuse the process: deturpar o processo Sinônimo: to subvert the process, to misapply the process, to twist the process, to tamper with process, to distort the procedure, to abuse the framework, to falsify the procedure
abuse the truth: manipular a verdade Sinônimo: to warp the truth, to falsify evidence, to twist the facts, to make false claims, to forge the truth, to conceal the truth, to give a false impression, to fabricate a story, to cloud the truth
abuse your authenticity: abusar de sua autoridade Sinônimo: to misapply your authority, to abuse your position, to overuse your authority, to misuse power, to exert tyrannical control, to impose unjust authority, to command unjustly, to subvert your authority, to take undue advantage of your position
abuse your health: abusar da saúde
accede upon the queen's death: suceder ao trono após a morte da rainha
accede to a request: aceder a um pedido
accede to an office: tomar posse de um cargo Sinônimo: to take up a post, to occupy a position, to take office, to be appointed to an office, to be given office, to seize a position
accede to the throne: subir ao trono, ser elevado ao trono Sinônimo: to succeed to the throne, to ascend to the throne, to claim the throne, to take up the crown, to seize the throne, to reign over, to assume royal authority, to be enthroned
accede to your suggestion: aceitar a sua sugestão Sinônimo: to embrace your suggestion, to consent to your suggestion, to agree to your suggestion, to accept your suggestion, to go along with your suggestion, to endorse your suggestion, to take up your suggestion, to concede to your suggestion, to go with your suggestion, to take on your suggestion
The Purpose of the English-Portuguese Dictionary of Verbal Collocations
The primary aim of the English-Portuguese Dictionary of Verbal Collocations is to provide users, particularly students and language learners, with an easy-to-use resource that lists common collocations for verbs in both English and Portuguese. This is valuable for learners who wish to improve their command of the two languages by understanding how verbs interact with other words in both languages.
Features of the Dictionary
1. Collocation Lists: The dictionary includes lists of English verbs with their typical Portuguese equivalents and the most common words that typically follow them. These lists help learners understand not only the meaning of a verb but also its typical usage in context.
2. Bilingual Format: The dictionary is bilingual, meaning it provides collocations for English verbs alongside their Portuguese counterparts. This format allows learners to understand how the same verb may be used in both languages and how collocations might vary between English and Portuguese.
3. Contextual Examples: The dictionary usually includes examples of sentences or phrases showing how the verb and its collocates are used in context. These examples help learners understand the natural flow of language and how verbs combine with other parts of speech.
4. Language Proficiency: By using this dictionary, learners can improve their writing and speaking skills by adopting more natural expressions and avoiding awkward or unnatural constructions. This is particularly helpful in academic, business, and everyday conversational contexts.
5. Guidance on Verb-Noun, Verb-Adjective, and Verb-Adverb Collocations: The dictionary provides specific guidance on collocations involving verbs with nouns (e.g., "give advice," "make a decision"), adjectives (e.g., "feel disappointed," "become aware"), and adverbs (e.g., "speak fluently," "react quickly").
Importance of Collocations in Language Learning
Mastering verbal collocations is crucial for several reasons:
Fluency: Using correct collocations makes speech and writing sound more fluent and natural. This helps learners sound more like native speakers, as they begin to think in terms of these common word combinations.
Communication Efficiency: Collocations allow speakers and writers to convey ideas more efficiently, as they help avoid unnecessary elaboration or confusion. Instead of describing every verb’s meaning from scratch, collocations provide pre-formed, widely understood phrases.
Cultural Nuances: Different languages often use different verb forms and collocations for the same concept. For example, in Portuguese, one might say "fazer uma amizade" (literally, "make a friendship") while in English, the common expression is "make friends." Understanding these differences enhances cross-cultural communication.
Applications of the Dictionary
1. Language Learners: Whether for beginners or advanced learners, this dictionary is an essential resource for understanding the natural, everyday use of verbs and their common pairings in English and Portuguese.
2. Translation and Interpretation: For translators and interpreters, understanding verbal collocations is essential to ensure that translations are not only accurate in meaning but also natural and idiomatic in the target language.
3. Teachers and Educators: Language teachers can use this dictionary as a supplementary tool to help students become more comfortable with verbal collocations, providing practical examples and exercises.
4. Writers and Public Speakers: For anyone seeking to improve their writing or public speaking, knowing how to use the right verb combinations can make communication more effective and persuasive.
Conclusion
The English-Portuguese Dictionary of Verbal Collocations is a valuable resource for learners of both English and Portuguese, offering practical insight into how verbs interact with other words in both languages. By mastering collocations, learners can improve their fluency, sound more natural in conversation, and communicate more effectively. The dictionary serves as a bridge between the two languages, helping users navigate the complexities of verbal usage and ensuring they produce language that resonates with native speakers.
Bibliographic References
McCarthy, M., & O’Dell, F. (2004). English Collocations in Use: Intermediate. Cambridge University Press.
This book provides an in-depth look at collocations in English, helping learners understand how to use common verb-noun, verb-adjective, and other types of collocations effectively.
Lewis, M. (2000). Teaching Collocation: Further Developments in the Lexical Approach. Hove: Language Teaching Publications.
This book offers an overview of the importance of collocations in language learning and teaching, with a focus on the lexical approach and its implications for learners and educators.
Sinclair, J. (1991). Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners. HarperCollins.
A foundational resource in understanding how collocations function in English, this dictionary provides detailed examples of typical word combinations, serving as a reference for advanced learners.
Cowie, A. P. (1998). The Oxford Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Oxford University Press.
This dictionary focuses on the phrasal verbs commonly used in English and their collocations, offering insights into how these verb combinations work in context.
López, J. F. (2007). Collocations in the English and Spanish Language. In Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, 18(2), 77-98.
A scholarly article comparing collocations in English and Spanish, offering insights into how verbal collocations in both languages may differ or align.
Nesselhauf, N. (2005). Collocations in a Learner Corpus. John Benjamins Publishing Company.
This book offers a detailed analysis of collocations in learner corpora and highlights their role in second language acquisition, including how learners of different languages approach collocation patterns.
Boers, F., & Demecheleer, M. (2001). A Cognitive Linguistic View of Collocations. Language and Computers, 35(1), 89-104.
This article discusses collocations from a cognitive linguistic perspective and explores the role of collocations in language processing and learning.
Firth, J. R. (1957). Papers in Linguistics 1934-1951. Oxford University Press.
Firth’s work on the concept of collocations and his theories on the importance of word combinations in language provides foundational understanding for the study of collocations in linguistics.
Carter, R., & McCarthy, M. (2006). Cambridge Grammar of English: A Comprehensive Guide. Cambridge University Press.
This comprehensive grammar guide includes an exploration of collocations, offering explanations of how words combine naturally in spoken and written English.
Rocha, C. R. (2010). Collocational Competence in the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language: A Brazilian Perspective. Revista Brasileira de Linguística Aplicada, 10(2), 361-386.
This article examines the role of collocations in teaching English as a foreign language in Brazil, discussing the challenges and strategies for integrating collocational awareness into language instruction.