What term refers to words that frequently occur together, either grammatically or lexically?

• A. Aspect
• B. Word
• C. Collocation
• D. Fixed Expression

Answer: (C)

Collocations are words that frequently occur together, either because of grammar or common usage. This term fits best because it covers both kinds of habitual word pairings you hear in natural English: lexical pairings like fast car, strong tea, or make a decision, where the two words co-occur because of meaning and usage; and grammatical pairings like depend on, commit a crime, or take a break, where certain words tend to combine with others in predictable ways.

Understanding collocations helps you sound natural because you’re choosing word combinations that language users actually expect. Fixed expressions are related but are more like chunks with often non-literal meaning, such as kick the bucket; they’re a subset of collocations but don’t capture the broader idea of all frequent word partnerships.