English Lesson: Collocations for Describing a Conversation

In this lesson, we will focus on collocations that are used to describe conversations. 

How can you describe a conversation you have had or heard? Well, there are many collocations that can help you do that, so let's look at the most common ones. 
​

exchange greetings (= say hello to each other) 

• I'm not very close to my neighbours but we exchange greetings when we see each other. 
• I saw her briefly and we exchanged greetings but we didn't have a proper conversation.  

drop a hint (= give a hint; when you say something in an indirect way) 

• 'So, what shall we get her?' -- 'Actually, that wouldn't be so difficult. I talked to her yesterday and she was dropping quite a few hints about what she'd like for her birthday.' 
• It's always a good idea to drop a hint about your birthday, so none of your friends forget. 
• My mum dropped several hints about me getting a job right after graduation. 
• My co-worker dropped a hint that she was going to leave the company. 

a snatch of conversation (= when you hear a short part of a conversation) 

• I heard a few snatches of conversation on the bus that made me think of my school years. 
• I heard snatches of conversation from the table next to us where the woman was talking about her travel experience in Spain. ​

make small talk 

Examples: 

• I'm not very good at making small talk. 
• I've noticed that a lot of people make small talk about the weather. 
• 'What did you talk about?' -- 'Oh, nothing interesting. I just made small talk about the weather and my new job.' 

a quick chat | a brief chat 

• I met Alex at the gym on Saturday. We had a quick chat - he said to say hi to you. 
• Do you have time for a brief chat about the meeting? 

a little chat 

• Are you still mad at him? Why don't you call him and have a little chat? 
• Can you come to my office in an hour? I'd like to have a little chat with you. 

a cosy chat (British English) | a cozy chat (American English)
(= a relaxed, private conversation) 

• She was quite upset so I made some coffee and we had a cosy chat. 
• Come and join us for lunch and a cosy chat. 

​a quiet chat (= when you don't want to be interrupted by other people) 

• Let's have a quiet chat over lunch. 
• That's my favourite coffee shop to meet friends for a quiet chat. 

go into detail(s) (about/on) (= give a lot of details about a situation) 

• He didn't go into great detail about the meeting. 
• I don't think your essay goes into detail about the problems caused by air pollution. 
• They said they'd had a great holiday but they didn't go into details. 
• 'Did I tell you I had started a new course?' -- 'Actually, you mentioned it briefly but you didn't go into details.' 

a long discussion (about/on) | a lengthy discussion (about/on) 

• After a long discussion, we finally made a decision. 
• We had a very long discussion about our future plans. 
• After a lengthy discussion with her parents, she decided not to move out. 

​English collocation lessons: 
English Lesson: Collocations for Success 
English Lesson: Collocations for Feelings 
English Lesson: Collocations for Rural Life 
English Lesson: Collocations for Urban Life 
Collocations and Expressions for Childhood 


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