Collocations: “house” and “home”

    Mixed
    Spotlight 5/2017
    Englischvokabular
    © Fishbones/iStock.com

    My home is my castle

    Adjectives, verbs or nouns that are often used together are called “collocations”. These combinations sound right to native speakers, and learning them will help you read and speak more fluently. In the following exercises, we look at collocations with the words “house” and “home”.

     
    House
    • Someone under “house arrest” is legally forced to stay at home as if in prison. (If your children have done something wrong and have been punished with Hausarrest, in English, you would say they have been “grounded”.)
    • If you are in the process of buying a house, you are a “house buyer”. Once all the paperwork has been signed, you’ll be handed the “house keys” and will then officially become a “house owner” or “homeowner”.
    • A man who stays at home to look after children and do the housework while his partner goes out to work is a “house husband”.
    • Someone you invite to stay in your house is a “house guest”. People sometimes say that house guests are like fish — after a few days, they begin to stink.
    • A party in someone’s house is a “house party”.

     

    Home
    • The address of the house or flat in which you live is your “home address”.
    • A piece of electrical equipment used in the kitchen is a “home appliance”.
    • “Home comforts” are things associated with your home that help you lead a comfortable, convenient life and give you a feeling of wellbeing. If you’re far away or in a place that’s wild and uncivilized, you’ll probably miss your home comforts.
    • Entertainment provided in your home by equipment such as DVD players, music systems and computers is known as “home entertainment”.
    • The life you lead at home with your family is your “home life”.
    • Your “home number” is the phone number at which you can be reached at home.
    • A room in somebody’s home that is used for work is a “home office”.

     

    Now, test your knowledge with the exercises below.

     

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