THE ENGLISH ADJECTIVE LEXICAL COLLOCATION

Siti Aisah , Prof. Dr. Indiyah Imran

Undergraduate Program, 2009

Gunadarma University http://www.gunadarma.ac.id

Keyword : ENGLISH ADJECTIVE, LEXICAL, COLLOCATION ABSTRACT : The aims of this research are to describe the English adjective collocations, other word classes that collocate with the English adjective, the most frequent combination of adjective collocations, and to describe the meaning of adjective collocations. This research discussed the English adjective lexical (medium-strength) collocation. In case of speaking and writing, there are some problems non-native speakers may have with English vocabulary use in particular with the appropriate combinations of words. This research uses a qualitative descriptive method, because all of the data are in the form of words and sentences not numbers. Besides, this research is also a descriptive research, because it involves the collecting of data is to answer research questions concerning the current status of the subject of the study (David, Wilkinson. 2000:7). After finding 200 data, the writer classified two main categories, namely adjective + noun (L3) and adverb + adjective (L6). The writer also classified six subcategories, they are derivational adjective + noun, describing adjective + noun, intensifying adjective + noun, adverb + derivational adjective, adverb + inherent quality, and adverb + physical state. The most frequent combination of adjective lexical collocations is adverb + derivational adjective; there are 94 data or 47% of the whole data. All of the collocations in this research have common meaning.

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GUNADARMA UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF LETTERS

THE ENGLISH ADJECTIVE LEXICAL COLLOCATION

Written By:

Name : Siti Aisah

NPM : 10605123

NIRM : 20053137200350121

Major : English

Advisor 1 : Prof. Dr. Indiyah Imran

Advisor 2 : Ni Luh Putu Setiarini, SS, MHum

An Undergraduate Thesis

Submitted to the Faculty of Letters

As a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

S1 degree in English Department

JAKARTA 2009

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ABSTRACT Siti Aisah. 2009. “The English Adjective Lexical Collocation”. Skripsi. English Department. Faculty of Letters. Gunadarma University. Advisors: (1) Prof. Dr. Indiyah Imran; (2) Ni Luh Putu Setiarini, SS, MHum. Key Words: Linguistic, Collocation, Lexical Collocation.

The aims of this research are to describe the English adjective collocations, other word classes that collocate with the English adjective, the most frequent combination of adjective collocations, and to describe the meaning of adjective collocations. This research discussed the English adjective lexical (medium-strength) collocation. In case of speaking and writing, there are some problems non-native speakers may have with English vocabulary use in particular with the appropriate combinations of words.

This research uses a qualitative descriptive method, because all of the data are in the form of words and sentences not numbers. Besides, this research is also a descriptive research, because it involves the collecting of data is to answer research questions concerning the current status of the subject of the study (David, Wilkinson. 2000:7).

After finding 200 data, the writer classified two main categories, namely adjective + noun (L3) and adverb + adjective (L6). The writer also classified six subcategories, they are derivational adjective + noun, describing adjective + noun, intensifying adjective + noun, adverb + derivational adjective, adverb + inherent quality, and adverb + physical state. The most frequent combination of adjective lexical collocations is adverb + derivational adjective; there are 94 data or 47% of the whole data. All of the collocations in this research have common meaning.

Introduction

1.1 Background of the Research 1.1.1 Justification of the Research The subject of this research is collocation which refers to the way words occur together in speech and writing (Leech et al., 2005). Lexical collocations, in contrast to grammatical collocations, normally do not contain prepositions, infinitives, or clauses. Typical lexical collocations consist of nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs (Benson, M., Benson, E., Ilson, R., 1997:xxiv). According to Marcella Frank (1972:109), the adjective is a modifier that has the grammatical property of comparison. It is often identified by special derivational endings or by special adverbial modifiers that precede it. As we know that knowledge of collocation is vital for competent use of a language. In case of speaking and writing, there are some problems non-native speakers may have with English vocabulary use in particular with the appropriate combinations of words. The problem for the learner of English is that there are no collocation rules that can be learned. The native English speaker intuitively makes the correct collocation, based on a lifetime experience of hearing and reading the words in set combinations. The non-native speaker has more limited experience and may frequently collocates words in a way that sounds odd to the native speaker. The writer as a non-native speaker wishes to research this topic because it is important as an input to master English collocation. By doing this research, the writer hopes that this research will be useful for other people when facing the problems in combining English lexical adjective correctly.

This research is important to be carried out because collocation runs through the whole of all languages. No piece of natural spoken or written in English is totally free of collocation. For the student, choosing the right collocation will make his speech and writing much more natural and more

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native-speakers like. 1.2 Previous Research 1.2.1 M. Benson, E. Benson, and R. Ilson (1997)

The BBI Combinatory Dictionary of English. (Benson, E. Benson, and R. Ilson, 1997). This study gives essential grammatical and lexical collocations; when necessary, it provides definitions, paraphrases, and Usage Notes. Much of the material provided in this Dictionary has never before been published. This Dictionary provides such collocations as call an alert, crack a smile, punch a time, etc; in order to enable the user of the Dictionary to find them quickly and easily, they are given in the entries for the nouns. The BBI Dictionary, attention is consistently paid to lexical and collocational differences between AE and BE. These differences are noted in the entries and Usage Notes. 1.2.2 Candy Chen-Pin Liu (2000)

A Study of Strategy Use in Producing Lexical Collocation. (Candy Chen-Pin Liu, Chinese Culture University, 2000). This study examined strategy use in producing lexical collocations among freshmen English majors at the Chinese Culture University. Overall, retrieval, literal translation, de-lexicalized verbs, synonyms, and appeal to authority were the most effective types of strategy use leading to production of acceptable collocations. 1.2.3 Jui Hsin Theresa Wang and Robert L. Good (2007)

The Repetition of Collocations in EFL Textbooks: A Corpus Study. (Jui Hsin Theresa Wang and Robert L. Good, National Kaohsiung First University of Science and technology, 2007). Their study investigates verb-noun collocations found in the three most popular series of English textbooks for senior high schools in Southern Taiwan. Their focus is verb-noun lexical collocations because these have been shown to be difficult for EFL learners. Repetitions of these collocations were identified by searching the textbook corpus using a proprietary computer-based program. The results show that these collocations were repeated from three to five times on average. Moreover, most collocations (80%) occurred only one to five times throughout the whole series of textbooks. Because the low number of repetition. It is concluded that textbook writers may need to re-evaluate the importance of repetition for collocations if their acquisition is a goal. 1.2.4 Shahheidaripour (2000)

Interlanguage Development and Collocational Clash. (Gholamabbass Shahheidaripour, The Iran Language Institute, English department, Islamic Azad University, Kerman, Iran, 2000). The rational behind this study was to touch the lexical aspect of IL development to investigate whether learning only one sense of a word may lead to collocational clash and vocabulary misplacement, and if so, is it a major source of errors in second language acquisition or not? In order for him to conduct the required studies, two directional hypotheses were presented:H1: Learning only one sense of a word results in vocabulary misplacement and collocational clash, and consequently, H2: Vocabulary misplacement and collocational clash may be considered as main sources of errors in second language acquisition. 1.2.5 C.C. Shei and Helen Pain (2000) An ESL Writer’s Collocational Aid. (C.C. Shei and Helen Pain, Division of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, 2000). Their research attempts to correct the problem of advanced Chinese learners’ collocational ability in English to be significantly inferior to that of native speakers. They correct the problem by developing an on-line correcting program which is able to detect some collocational errors in the learner’s English writing and offer examples of standard collocations from a large corpus for reference. The system is based on two kinds of corpora: a learner corpus which is used to extract standard English collocations. The system also makes use of a Dictionary of Synonyms derived from Word Net to discover the potential collocational errors in learners’ input, as well as a Paraphrase Database gathered from the learners themselves to help diagnose un-collocational learner phrase.

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1.3 Position of the Research

The previous research which is the most related to this research is Benson et al. They discussed English grammatical and lexical collocations. Use of the Combinatory Dictionary will help learners avoid such errors. This study is similar to Wei’s in discussing about collocation as one important aspect of productive vocabulary. The second most related previous research is Candy Chen-Pin Liu’s. Liu discussed Strategy Used in Producing Lexical Collocation. Liu’s examined strategy use in producing lexical collocations among freshmen English majors at the Chinese Culture University. Divided into two major groups by English writing proficiency, students completed three tasks: a collocation test. This research is similar to Liu’s in discussing about lexical collocation.

There are three previous researches which are not so related to discuss this research. They are Jui Hsin Theresa Wang and Robert L. Good’s. They discussed the importance of repetition in the acquisition of lexical items. Their focus is verb-noun lexical collocations. Their study investigates verb-noun collocations found in the three most popular series of English textbooks for senior high schools in Southern Taiwan. Gholamabbass Shahheidaripour’s. He discussed about the lexical aspect of IL development to investigate whether learning only one sense of a word may lead to collocational clash and vocabulary misplacement. This research is similar to Good’s and Shahheidaripour’s in discussing about lexical collocation. Meanwhile, the last previous research which is not so related to this research is Shei and Pain’s. They about how to correct the problem of Chinese learners’ collocational ability in English which significantly inferior to that of native speakers by developing an on-line correcting program which is able to detect some collocational errors in the learner’s English writing and offer examples of standard collocations from a large corpus for reference. This research is similar to Shei and Pain’s in discussing collocations.

The difference between this research and the five previous researches is this research focuses on lexical adjective collocation. This research is conducted to describe what words collocate with the English adjective, what adjective collocations that found in English, and to describe the most frequent combinations of adjective collocations which we can not find in previous researches above. The position of the research in relation with the previous researches is as an additional research. 1.4 Significance of the Research

The writer hopes this research may contribute the progress in the science of linguistics especially on collocation and vocabulary. Therefore the writer hopes that this research will be useful for the reader and especially for the students of English to improve their vocabulary on English adjective collocations, so they will understand what words collocate with the English adjectives.

1.5 Problem of the Research

1. What adjective collocations are in English? 2. What other word classes collocate with the English adjective? 3. What combination is the most frequent of adjective collocations? 4. What is the meaning of adjective collocations in English?

1.6 Aim of the Research 1. To describe English adjective collocations. 2. To describe word classes that collocate with the English adjective. 3. To describe the most frequent combination of adjective collocations. 4. To describe the meaning of adjective collocations in English.

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1.7 Scope of the Research To make the limitation of the research, the writer focuses only on English lexical adjective

(medium-strength) collocations. The writer does not discuss grammatical collocations and other lexical collocations such as verb collocations and noun collocations.

Result of the Research 4.1 Introduction

Figure 4.1 Word Classes that Collocate with the English Adjective.

After finding 200 data, the writer established two main categories, namely (L3) adjective + noun and (L6) adverb + adjective. In the first pattern which is (L3) adjective + noun, the writer found 72 data (36%). Meanwhile, the second pattern which is (L6) adverb + adjective, the writer found 128 data (64%). Those two main categories are further subcategorized. The first main category (L3) is subcategorized into three sub-categories. They are 1) derivational adjectives + noun, 2) describing adjectives + noun, and 3) intensifying adjectives + noun. The most frequent combination is the sub-category describing adjectives + noun consists of 40 data or 20 %. The second main category (L6) is subcategorized into three sub-categories. They are 1) adverb + derivational adjective, 2) adverb + inherent quality, and 3) adverb + physical state. The most frequent combination is the sub-category adverb + derivational adjective consists of 94 data or 47 %.

So, based on the data the most frequent combination of adjective collocations is adverb + derivational adjective.

Because all of the collocations in this research have common meaning, this research chose one theory, that is the theory of common meaning.

The writer then will analyze the data into each sub-categories based on the patterns characteristics. Figure 4.2 below consists of the main categories and the sub-categories of the data.

No. The Main and Sub-categories in Adjective Lexical Collocation Data Percentage

Word Classes that Collocate with the English Adjective

Adv + Adj64%

Adj + Noun36%

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Figure 4.2 the main and sub-categories in adjective lexical collocation. 4.2 (L3) Adjective + Noun

The total data is 72, with characteristics of patterns in adjective lexical collocations as follows: 4.2.1 Derivational Adjectives + Noun Data:

Curious ~ feeling, mistake, person (1) It was a curious feeling, as though we were floating on air. (2) The performer has no curious mistake. (3) He is such a curious person, always asking question.

Discussion: The word curious in sentence (1), (2), and (3) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word feeling, mistake, and person are the collocates. The highlighted words in those three sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. The word curious in those sentences above can not be replaced by the word inquiring, although both curious and inquiring have same meaning. Because inquiring feeling, inquiring mistake, and inquiring person are unnatural English. Data:

Instant ~ access, dislike, relief, success, use, action, preoccupation

(4) This account gives you instant access to your money. (5) She took an instant dislike to me. (6) The medicine provide instant relief from headaches. (7) The show was an instant success. (8) Ready for instant use.

Discussion: The word instant in sentence (4), (5), (6), (7), and (8) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word access, dislike, relief, success, and use are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. The word instant in those sentences above can not be replaced by the word rapid, although both instant and rapid have same meaning. Because rapid access, rapid dislike, rapid relief, rapid success, and rapid use are unnatural English. Data: Permanent

~ address, basis, damage, wave (9) She does not have a permanent address. (10) They are now living together on a permanent basis.

1. (L3) Adjective + Noun 72 36 % a. Derivational Adjectives + Noun 20 10 % b. Describing Adjectives + Noun 40 20 % c. Intensifying Adjectives + Noun 12 6 % 2. (L6) Adverb + Adjective 128 64 % a. Adverb + Derivational Adjective 94 47 % b. Adverb + Inherent Quality 28 14 % c. Adverb + Physical State 6 3 % Total 200 100 %

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(11) The accident has not done any permanent damage. (12) She came to the party with a permanent wave.

Discussion: The word permanent in sentence (9), (10), (11), and (12) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word address, basis, damage, and wave are the collocates. The highlighted words in those four sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. The word permanent in those sentences above can not be replaced by the word lasting, although both permanent and lasting have same meaning. Because lasting address, lasting basis, lasting damage, and lasting wave are unnatural English. Data: Powerful

~ remedy, friends, position, computer, drug, force, machine, voice (13) The patient is getting better after took some powerful remedy from the doctor. (14) Only the intervention of powerful friends obtained her release. (15) The man got a powerful position in his office. (16) It was a powerful computer. (17) It was a powerful drug.

Discussion: The word powerful in sentence (13), (14), (15), (16), and (17) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word remedy, friends, position, computer, and drug are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. The word powerful in those sentences above can not be replaced by the word mighty, although both powerful and mighty have same meaning. Because mighty remedy, mighty friends, mighty position, mighty computer, and mighty drug are unnatural English. Data:

Technical ~ equipment, support, education, complexity, terms, ability, knockout (18) Our technical equipment is equal to any task. (19) We offer free technical support for those buying our software. (20) There are many technical educations in this university. (21) Skaters score extra points for technical complexity. (22) The article is full of technical terms.

Discussion: The word technical in sentence (18), (19), (20), (21), and (22) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word equipment, support, educations, complexity, and terms are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. The word technical in those sentences above can not be replaced by the word technological, although both technical and technological have same meaning. Because technological equipment, technological support, technological educations, technological complexity, and technological terms are unnatural English. 4.2.2 Describing Adjectives + Noun Data:

Easy ~ person, reach, life, target, prey, day, exam, flow, questions, time (23) She is an easy person to get along with. (24) He lives within easy reach of his office. (25) I will agree to anything for an easy life. (26) She is an easy target for their criticism.

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(27) The baby fish are easy prey for birds. Discussion: The word easy in sentence (23), (24), (25), (26), and (27) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word person, reach, life, target, and prey are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. The word easy can not be replaced by the word simple, although both easy and simple have the same meaning. Because simple person, simple reach, simple target, and simple prey are unnatural English. In sentence (25) the word life can be both easy and simple. Data:

Hard ~ drugs, exam, day, life, times, evidence, school, tones (28) We had no hard evidence that they had used hard drugs. (29) It was a hard exam and the final question was really hard. (30) It’s been a long hard day and I’ve been worked very hard. (31) They had a hard life and worked through hard times. (32) We had no hard evidence that they had used hard drugs.

Discussion: The word hard in sentence (28), (29), (30), (31), and (32) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word drugs, exam, day, life, times, and evidence are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. The word hard in those sentences above can not be replaced by the word harsh, although both hard and harsh have the same meaning. Because harsh drugs, harsh exam, harsh day, harsh life, harsh times, and harsh evidence are unnatural English. Data: Heavy

~ rain, suitcase, smoker, meal, cold, drinker, sleeper, causalities, snow, timetable, traffic, week (33) The heavy rain and heavy traffic made me late for my appointment. (34) He won’t be able to lift such a heavy suitcase. He’s only nine years old. (35) He’s been a heavy smoker and drinker all his adult life. (36) It was a very heavy meal – far too much meat and not enough vegetables or salads. (37) She had a very heavy cold and her breathing was heavy too.

Discussion: The word heavy in sentence (33), (34), (35), (36), and (37) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word rain, suitcase, smoker, meal, and cold are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. The word heavy in those sentences above can not be replaced by the word weighty, although both heavy and weighty have the same meaning. Because weighty rain, weighty suitcase, weighty smoker, weighty meal, and weighty cold are unnatural English. Data:

Severe ~ winter, damage, pressure, penalties, shortage of food, blow, rules, reprimand, weather (38) The severe winter meant that hundreds of schools had to be closed. (39) The heavy rain caused severe damage to crops and, later on. (40) We are under severe pressure to reduce the wage bill and make 500 workers redundant. (41) The magistrate imposed severe penalties – they were severely punished. (42) We have a severe shortage of food.

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Discussion: The word severe in sentence (38), (39), (40), (41), and (42) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word winter, damage, pressure, penalties, and shortage of food are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. The word severe in those sentences above can not be replaced by the word cruel, although both severe and cruel have the same meaning. Because cruel winter, cruel damage, cruel pressure, cruel penalties, and cruel shortage of food are unnatural English. Data: Strong

~ influence, views, support, case, chance, accent, subject, criticism, denial, drug, feeling, opinion (about something), opposition, safety, sales, sense (of), showing, smell, taste, tea (43) Martina Hingis has always exerted a strong influence on the way I play tennis. (44) Although I have strong views on this, I had the strong support of everybody in the room. (45) He has a strong case and there is a strong chance that his appeal will be successful. (46) She speaks English quite well but with a strong French accent. (47) The social sciences and psychology is perhaps my strong subject.

Discussion: The word strong in sentence (43), (44), (45), (46), and (47) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word influence, views, case, accent, and subject are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. The word strong in those sentences above can not be replaced by the word powerful, although both strong and powerful have the same meaning. Because powerful influence, powerful views, powerful case, powerful accent, and powerful subject are unnatural English. 4.2.3 Intensifying Adjectives + Noun Data:

Awful ~ shame, color, weather, smell, job, mess of things, accident (48) It is an awful shame that she's unable to come back home for the holidays. (49) That is an awful color. (50) The last summer was an awful weather. (51) There is an awful smell in here. (52) I had an awful job persuading him to come.

Discussion: The word awful in sentence (48), (49), (50), (51), and (52) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word shame, color, weather, smell, and job are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning.

The word awful in those sentences above can not be replaced by the word dreadful, although both awful and dreadful have the same meaning. Because dreadful shame, dreadful color, dreadful weather, dreadful smell, and dreadful job are unnatural English. Data:

Complete ~ surprise, opposite, agreement, idiot, day, astonishment, collapse

(53) Jon has sent me ten red roses and that has come as a complete surprise. (54) I'm a pessimist and she's an optimist so she's the complete opposite of me. (55) We were in complete agreement. (56) I felt a complete idiot.

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(57) You will receive payment for each complete day that you work Discussion: The word complete in sentence (53), (54), (55), (56), and (57) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word surprise, opposite, agreement, idiot, and day are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning.

The word complete in those sentences above can not be replaced by the word entire, although both complete and entire have the same meaning. Because entire surprise, entire opposite, entire agreement, entire idiot, and entire day are unnatural English. Data:

Great ~ traveler, crowd, number, height, shock, admiration, anger, detail, disappointment, power, pride (58) He has always been a great traveler in the wilds. (59) A great crowd had gathered. (60) People were arriving in great number. (61) He must have fallen from a great height. (62) Her death was a great shock to us all.

Discussion: The word great in sentence (58), (59), (60), (61), and (62) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word traveler, crowd, number, height, and shock are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. The word great in those sentences above can not be replaced by the word huge, although both great and huge have the same meaning. Because huge traveler, huge crowd, huge number, huge height, and huge shock are unnatural English. Data: Regular

~ intervals, basis, exercise, occurrence, visitor, breathing, ending, troops, holiday, life, time (63) A light flashed at regular intervals. (64) The equipment is checked on a regular basis. (65) Do you take regular exercise? (66) Domestic violence is a regular occurrence in some families. (67) He was a regular visitor to her house.

Discussion: The word regular in sentence (63), (64), (65), (66), and (67) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word intervals, basis, exercise, occurrence, and visitor are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning.

The word regular in those sentences above can not be replaced by the word usual, although both regular and usual have the same meaning. Because usual intervals, usual basis, usual exercise, usual occurrence, and usual visitor are unnatural English. Data:

Terrible ~ shock, pain, news, thought, memory, mess, experience, mistake, accident, nightmare (68) His sudden death came as a terrible shock to the entire family. (69) What's wrong? You look terrible. ~ I'm in terrible pain. (70) What terrible news! (71) I have just had a terrible thought. (72) I have a terrible memory for name.

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Discussion: The word terrible in sentence (68), (69), (70), (71), and (72) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word shock, pain, news!, thought, and memory are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. The word terrible in those sentences above can not be replaced by the word horrible, although both terrible and horrible have the same meaning. Because horrible shock, horrible pain, horrible news, horrible thought, and horrible memory are unnatural English. 4.3 (L6) Adverb + Adjective

The total data is 128, with characteristics of patterns in adjective lexical collocations as follows: 4.3.1 Adverb + Derivational Adjective Data:

Proficient very, fully, fairly, reasonably, technically ~ (73) She is very proficient in several languages. (74) He is fully proficient at his job. (75) She is a fairly proficient singer. (76) I am a reasonably proficient driver. (77) It is a technically proficient performance of the piece.

Discussion: The word proficient in sentence (73), (74), (75), (76), and (77) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word very, fully, fairly, reasonably, and technically are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. Data:

Protective fiercely, highly, very ~ (78) The lionesses are fiercely protective of their young. (79) This cream is highly protective barrier against the sun’s ray. (80) He was very protective of his role as advisor.

Discussion: The word protective in sentence (78), (79), and (80) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word fiercely, highly, and very are the collocates. The highlighted words in those three sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. Data:

Questionable highly, very, rather, somewhat ~ (81) Their motives for undertaking this study are highly questionable. (82) The conclusion that they come to are very questionable. (83) It is rather questionable whether this is a good way of solving the problem. (84) Her motives for helping are somewhat questionable.

Discussion: The word questionable in sentence (81), (82), (83), and (84) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word highly, very, rather, and somewhat are the collocates. The highlighted words in those four sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. Data:

Refreshing extremely, highly, really, very, wonderfully, quite ~ (85) The breeze was cool and extremely refreshing.

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(86) It made a really refreshing change to be taken seriously for once. (87) It is very refreshing to meet someone who is so dedicated to their work. (88) The water was cold and wonderfully refreshing. (89) I took a quite refreshing shower.

Discussion: The word refreshing in sentence (85), (86), (87), (88), and (89) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word extremely, really, very, wonderfully, and quite are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. Data:

Separable easily, readily, completely ~ (90) Church and State were not easily separable in this period. (91) They were not readily separable. (92) The moral question is not completely separable from the financial one.

Discussion: The word separable in sentence (90), (91), and (92) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word easily, readily, and completely are the collocates. The highlighted words in those three sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. 4.3.2 Adverb + Physical State Data:

Slim very, quite ~ (93) That woman has a very slim body. (94) She was tall and quite slim.

Discussion: The word slim in sentence (93) and (94) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word very and quite are the collocates. The highlighted words in both sentences above are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. Data:

Small extremely, really, terribly, very, a bit, fairly, pretty, quite, rather, relatively ~ (95) He said in a really small voice. (96) There are a very small number of students passed than I had expected. (97) Everything had been planned down to a quite small detail. (98) That dress is a rather small for you. (99) They are having a relatively small wedding.

Discussion: The word small in sentence (95), (96), (97), (98), and (99) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word really, very, quite, rather, and relatively are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. Data:

Tall exceptionally, extremely, unusually, very; fairly, quite, rather ~ (100) It is extremely tall building. (101) This is an unusually tall glass of iced tea. (102) The basketball players are usually very tall.

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(103) She is quite tall for her age. (104) He is rather tall and thin with light brown hair.

Discussion: The word tall in sentence (100), (101), (102), (103), and (104) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word extremely, unusually, very, quite, and rather are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. Data:

Tidy extremely, very, immaculately, scrupulously, fairly, quite ~ (105) It must have cost an extremely tidy sum. (106) She keeps her flat very tidy. (107) It was a neatly furnished and immaculately tidy room. (108) I am a fairly tidy person. (109) I like everything to be neat and quite tidy.

Discussion: The word tidy in sentence (105), (106), (107), (108), and (109) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word extremely, very, immaculately, fairly, and quite are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. Data:

Young extremely, very, comparatively, fairly, quite, relatively ~ (110) My grandfather is seventy years old but he looks extremely young. (111) He seemed very young to have so much responsibility. (112) The night is still fairly young. (113) Caterpillars eat the quite young leaves of this plant. (114) He is a talented and relatively young football player.

Discussion: The word young in sentence (110), (111), (112), (113), and (114) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word extremely, very, fairly, quite, and relatively are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. 4.3.3 Adverb + Inherent Quality Data:

Standard almost, fairly, pretty ~ (115) The stations were built to a simple, almost standard design. (116) It was a fairly standard method of assessing employees. (117) They only maintain pretty standard of customer care.

Discussion: The word standard in sentence (115), (116), and (117) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word almost, fairly, and pretty are the collocates. The highlighted words in those three sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. Data:

Swift incredibly, remarkably, very, fairly ~ (118) It was an incredibly swift decision. (119) He made a remarkably swift recovery. (120) He rose in his feet in one very swift movement. (121) The white house was fairly swift to deny the rumors.

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Discussion: The word swift in sentence (118), (119), (120), and (121) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word incredibly, remarkably, very, and fairly are the collocates. The highlighted words in those four sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. Data:

Tragic genuinely, particularly, really, terribly, very; almost, quite, rather ~ (122) He is a genuinely tragic figure in the play. (123) She was killed in a really tragic accident at the age of 24. (124) Cuts in the health service could have terribly tragic consequences for patients. (125) It was a very tragic moment. (126) It would be quite tragic if her talent remained unrecognized.

Discussion: The word tragic in sentence (122), (123), (124), (125), and (126) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word genuinely, really, terribly, very, and quite are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. Data:

Weary very, almost, a bit, a little, rather ~ (127) Students soon grow very weary of listening to a parade of his theoretical facts. (128) His voice sounded almost weary. (129) His smile was a bit weary. (130) She looks a little weary. (131) She suddenly felt old and rather weary.

Discussion: The word weary in sentence (127), (128), (129), (130), and (131) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word very, almost, a bit, a little, and rather are the collocates. The highlighted words in those five sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning. Data:

Wise extremely, very, always ~ (132) He becomes extremely wise after ten years in business. (133) It was very wise to leave when you did. (134) It is always wise to write down important points.

Discussion: The word wise in sentence (132), (133), and (134) is the focal word. Meanwhile, the word extremely, very, and always are the collocates. The highlighted words in those three sentences are collocations because the collocates determine the meaning.

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Conclusion and Suggestion

5.1 Conclusion The research problems are: What adjective collocations are in English?, What other word

classes collocate with the English adjectives?, What combination is the most frequent of adjective collocations?, What is the meaning of adjective collocations in English? The subjects of the analysis are adjective lexical collocations in English medium-strength collocation. The data are taken from an English novel entitled The Listerdale Mistery by Agatha Christie, Oxford collocation dictionary, and the internet.

The conclusions of this research are as follows: after finding 200 data, the data is classified into two main categories, namely (L3) adjective + noun and (L6) adverb + adjective. In the first pattern which is (L3) adjective + noun, the writer divided adjective into three kinds. They are derivational adjectives, describing adjectives, and intensifying adjectives. The adjective in the second pattern is adverb + adjective, it is divided into three kinds. They are derivational adjective, inherent quality, and physical state. The most frequent combination of adjective lexical collocations is adverb + derivational adjective, there are 94 data or 47%.

Because all of the collocations in this research have common meaning, this research chose one theory, that is the theory of common meaning.

As it can be seen, this research still has its weaknesses. This research only discusses adjective lexical collocation. This research does not discuss grammatical collocation and other lexical collocations such as nominal collocation and verb lexical collocation. 5.2. Suggestion The researcher suggests for the students of Gunadarma University especially students from Faculty of Letters, this research may be used as a reference in writing English adjective lexical collocations. And for next researchers, the writer suggests to analyze other kinds of English lexical collocations such as English nominal lexical collocations and English verb lexical collocations which do not discuss in this research.

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References

Benson, M., Benson, E., Ilson, R. 1997. The BBI Dictionary of English Word Combinations. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Frank, Marcella. 1972. Modern English, A Practical Preference Guide. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Greenbaum, Sidhey. 1992. An Intriduction to English Grammar. Hongkong: Longman Group (FE) Limited.

Haspelmath, Martin. 2002. Understanding Morphology. London: Hodder Headline Group.

Leech, Geoffrey., Cruischank, Benita., Ivanick, Roz. 2005. An A-Z of English Grammar and Usage. London.

Oxford Collocations Dictionary. 2005. New York: Oxford University Press. Spenser, Andrew, and Zwicky, M. Arnold. 1998. The Handbook of Morphology. Oxford: Blackwell

Publishers. Tallerman, Maggie. 1998. Understanding Syntax. London: Hodder Headline Group. Viktoria Fromkin & Robert Rodman, An Introduction to Language sixth edition, Harcourt Brace

College Publishers: Florida, 1998. Wilkinson, David. 2000. The Researcher’s Toolkit; the Complete Guide to Practitioner Research.

London: Cambridge University. Yarber, E. Robert and Yarber, Laine, Mary. 1993. Reviewing Basic Grammar 3rd Edition. New York:

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