At the C1 level, what separates a good speaker from a convincing one is often not grammar — it is collocations. A collocation is a word combination that native speakers produce automatically: tomar una decisión, llevar a cabo, poner en marcha. Each word is ordinary on its own, but together they form a fixed pairing that cannot be swapped out without sounding wrong. This page organizes the most important advanced collocations by function, so you can reach for the right expression when you need to talk about actions, communication, results, evaluation, or beginnings and endings.
Decision and action
These collocations describe the process of deciding and doing — essential in professional, academic, and everyday contexts.
Después de pensarlo mucho, tomé una decisión.
El equipo logró llevar a cabo el proyecto en tres meses.
The team managed to carry out the project in three months.
El gobierno puso en marcha un nuevo programa de salud.
The government launched a new health program.
Finalmente di el paso y renuncié a mi trabajo.
I finally took the plunge and quit my job.
Tuvieron que hacer frente a una crisis económica sin precedentes.
They had to face an unprecedented economic crisis.
El director puso en práctica las nuevas políticas de inmediato.
The director put the new policies into practice immediately.
Communication and persuasion
These are the collocations of argument, presentation, and public discourse. You will encounter them constantly in essays, news articles, and speeches.
El informe hace hincapié en la necesidad de reformar el sistema.
The report emphasizes the need to reform the system.
La universidad dio a conocer los resultados de la investigación.
The university released the research results.
Los datos ponen de manifiesto una tendencia preocupante.
The data reveal a worrying trend.
El artículo llama la atención sobre el problema del agua.
The article draws attention to the water problem.
Hay que tener en cuenta varios factores antes de decidir.
Several factors must be taken into account before deciding.
Result and effect
When you need to describe consequences, causes, and outcomes — especially in academic or professional writing — these collocations are indispensable.
La nueva ley dio lugar a una serie de protestas.
The new law gave rise to a series of protests.
La sequía trajo como consecuencia una crisis alimentaria.
The drought brought about a food crisis.
Las vacunas empezaron a surtir efecto después de dos semanas.
The vaccines began to take effect after two weeks.
El tratamiento no dio resultado.
The treatment didn't produce results.
La reforma tuvo un impacto significativo en la economía.
The reform had a significant impact on the economy.
Evaluation and judgment
These collocations express assessments, assumptions, and value judgments — the language of opinion and analysis.
No podemos dar por sentado que todo va a salir bien.
We can't take for granted that everything will go well.
Vale la pena invertir tiempo en aprender estas expresiones.
It's worth investing time in learning these expressions.
No vale la pena discutir sobre eso.
It's not worth arguing about that.
Corrió el riesgo de perder todo su dinero.
He ran the risk of losing all his money.
Merece la pena visitar ese museo.
It's worth visiting that museum.
Hay que tener presente que no todos tienen las mismas oportunidades.
We must keep in mind that not everyone has the same opportunities.
Es necesario hacer un balance de los logros y los fracasos.
It's necessary to take stock of the successes and failures.
Beginning and ending
These are the collocations for launching, initiating, concluding, and stopping — useful in narration and formal contexts alike.
El alcalde dio inicio a las celebraciones con un discurso.
The mayor kicked off the celebrations with a speech.
Las negociaciones pusieron fin al conflicto.
The negotiations put an end to the conflict.
La empresa dio por terminado el contrato.
The company terminated the contract.
Dieron por concluida la sesión a las cinco.
They adjourned the session at five.
The top 30 collocations for C1 learners
Here is a consolidated reference table. These are the combinations that appear most frequently in formal and semi-formal Spanish.
| # | Collocation | English equivalent | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | tomar una decisión | to make a decision | Action |
| 2 | llevar a cabo | to carry out | Action |
| 3 | poner en marcha | to launch, set in motion | Action |
| 4 | hacer frente a | to face, confront | Action |
| 5 | tomar medidas | to take measures | Action |
| 6 | poner en práctica | to put into practice | Action |
| 7 | dar el paso | to take the plunge | Action |
| 8 | hacer hincapié en | to emphasize | Communication |
| 9 | dar a conocer | to release, make known | Communication |
| 10 | poner de manifiesto | to reveal, make evident | Communication |
| 11 | llamar la atención sobre | to draw attention to | Communication |
| 12 | tener en cuenta | to take into account | Communication |
| 13 | dar lugar a | to give rise to | Result |
| 14 | traer como consecuencia | to bring about as a consequence | Result |
| 15 | surtir efecto | to take effect | Result |
| 16 | dar resultado | to produce results | Result |
| 17 | tener un impacto | to have an impact | Result |
| 18 | dar por sentado | to take for granted | Evaluation |
| 19 | valer la pena | to be worth it | Evaluation |
| 20 | correr el riesgo de | to run the risk of | Evaluation |
| 21 | merecer la pena | to be worthwhile | Evaluation |
| 22 | tener presente | to keep in mind | Evaluation |
| 23 | hacer un balance | to take stock | Evaluation |
| 24 | dar inicio a | to kick off, begin | Beginning |
| 25 | poner fin a | to put an end to | Ending |
| 26 | echar a andar | to get underway | Beginning |
| 27 | dar por terminado | to declare finished | Ending |
| 28 | prestar atención | to pay attention | Communication |
| 29 | tener sentido | to make sense | Evaluation |
| 30 | dar pie a | to give grounds for | Result |
Common mistakes
❌ Necesitamos tomar acciones para resolver el problema.
Anglicism: We need to take actions to solve the problem.
✅ Necesitamos tomar medidas para resolver el problema.
Correct: We need to take measures to solve the problem.
❌ Esto hizo un impacto en la comunidad.
Wrong verb: This made an impact on the community.
✅ Esto tuvo un impacto en la comunidad.
Correct: This had an impact on the community.
❌ No podemos tomar por sentado que todo saldrá bien.
Wrong verb: tomar por sentado is an English calque.
✅ No podemos dar por sentado que todo saldrá bien.
Correct: We can't take for granted that everything will go well.
❌ El proyecto fue puesto en movimiento la semana pasada.
Wrong collocation: en movimiento is not the fixed phrase.
✅ El proyecto fue puesto en marcha la semana pasada.
Correct: The project was launched last week.
For the common collocational errors that English speakers make, see Collocational Errors. For collocations built around specific verbs, see Expressions with Hacer and Expressions with Dar. For idiomatic multi-word expressions, see Idiomatic Verb Phrases.
Related Topics
- Collocational Errors (Wrong Word Combinations)C1 — The most common verb-noun, adjective-noun, and adverb-verb mismatches that English speakers make in Spanish.
- Light Verbs (Hacer, Dar, Tener, Tomar + Noun)B1 — Set phrases where the noun carries the meaning and the verb just supports
- Expressions with HacerA2 — Idioms built around hacer, from weather to time to everyday chores.
- Expressions with DarB1 — Idiomatic uses of dar, from realizing to thanking to bumping into someone.