Teaching
and Learning of Idiomatic Expressions and Multi-word Verbs of English in The Context
of Sudan CHAPTER
- 4 A
GENERAL LINGUISTIC SURVEY AND A DETAILED SEMANTIC STUDY OF IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS
AND MULTI-WORD VERBS OF ENGLISH 4.1 INTRODUCTION
This chapter intends to include the following: ·
A general linguistic study (survey) of idiomatic expressions
and multi-word verbs of English encompassing the following levels:
- Phonological and Orthographical
- Grammatical (syntactic and morphological)
and
- Stylistic ·
A detailed semantic study of idiomatic expressions and multi-words verbs of English: -
Definition of idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs of English.
- What is the relationship between idiomatic
expressions and multi-word verbs? - Lexico-semantic study. ·
Also we shall contrast, compare and relate idiomatic expressions
and multi-word verbs of English to the native speech of our subjects in terms
of metaphors and proverbs, colloquial (informal) Language, and slang. 4.2
A
GENERAL LINGUISTIC STUDY OF IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS & MULTI-WORD VERBS OF ENGLISH
This general study attempted to cover the following: n Phonological
and Orthographical Survey
n Grammatical: Syntactic and Morphological
n Stylistic 4.2.1.
Phonological And Orthographical Study Of Idiomatic
Expressions and Multi- Word-Verbs
Of English 4.2.1.1 Phonological Study Of Idiomatic Expressions and Multi-Word-Verbs
Or English
Concerning Multi-Word Verbs of English the following points are to be made
covering stress, intonation and rhythm. Stress:
General Introduction
Stress is the word for the ‘strength’ with which syllables are pronounced. In speech some parts of English words and sentences
sound much louder tan others. For example,
the first syllable of CARpet, the second syllable of inSPECtion or the last syllable
of conFUSE are usually stressed, while the other syllables in these words are
not.
In the sentence ‘Don’t look at HIM – HE didn’t do it, the words ‘him’ and
‘he’ are stressed in order to emphasise them.
Stressed syllables are not only louder; they may also have longer vowels,
and they may be pronounced on a higher pitch. Word
Stress: English words with more than one syllable mostly have a fixed stress
pattern. There are not many rules to show which syllable
of a word will be stressed: One usually has to learn the stress pattern of a word
along with its meaning, spelling and pronunciation. Examples: Stressed
on first syllable: After, CApital, HAPpen, Exercise, EAsy. Stressed
on second syllable: inSTEAD, proNOUNCE, aGREEment, parTIcularly. Stressed
on third syllable: enterTAIN, underSTAND, concenTRAtion Many
short phrases and compounds also have a fixed stress pattern: Front
DOOR (Not FRONT door) LIVing
room (Not living ROOM) Variable
Stress: Some words have variable stress.
In these words, the stress is at or near the end when the word is spoken
alone, but it can move to an earlier position when the word is in a sentence,
especially if another stressed word follows. Many
short phrases, for instance two-words verbs, have variable stresses e.g.: q Look
for that number ______ that’s the number to ‘look for. q Call
up that number _______ that’s the number to ‘call ‘up. Also,
in respect of Multi-Word Verbs stress, it is worth mentioning that the particle
in verbal combinations is normally stressed and, in final position, bears the
nuclear tone, whereas the preposition in verbal constructions is normally unstressed
and has the ‘tail’ of the nuclear tone on the lexical verb only: q He
called ‘up the man – the man was called ‘up. q He
‘called on the man – the man was ‘called
on. The reader can find at the inside back
cover of Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English the following
treatment and discussion of stress in phrasal verbs: ‘One type of phrasal verb has a single
strong stress on the first word. Examples
are: ‘Come
to sth, ‘go for sb, ‘look at sth. This
stress pattern is kept in all situations, and the second word is never stressed.
If the second word is one which normally appears in a weak form, remember
that the strong form must be used at the end of a phrase, for example: q Look
at / ət / this
But
q There’s something to look at / æt /. Another
type of phrasal verb is shown with two stresses. The patterns shown (in the dictionary),
with the main stress on the second word, is the one which is used when the verb
is said on its own, or when the verb as a whole is the last important word in
a phrase:
q What time are you
Coming ‘back?
q He made it ‘up.
q Fill them ‘in. But
the speaker will put a strong stress on any other important word if it comes later
than the verb. The stress on the second of the verb is then weakened or lost, especially
if it would otherwise be next to the strong stress. The important word which receives the strong
stress may be between the two parts of the phrasal verb, or after both of them.
q We came back ‘early.
q I filled in a ‘form.
q Fill this ‘form in. ·
Stress in other Variations of Multi-Word Verbs
Nominalized forms of phrasal verbs carry principal stress on the first
element. Consider the following: ‘downpur,
‘offprint, ‘upkeep. ;Outpouring,
‘upbringing ‘Break-in,
‘flypast, ‘glance – through
The above general rule is departed from only in cases such as the following,
where an unliked form exists side by side with, and many sometimes be preferred
to, a hyphenated one. Compare:
q a quick Look ‘round q a
quick ‘look-round.
A last point to mention, in this section, regarding stress in multi-word
verbs is which made by (Swan:1997:608) : ‘At
the end of a clause, a preposition is usually unstressed, while an adverb particle
is usually stressed. Compare:
q They are ‘called on. (preposition)
q They were called ‘up. (particle) Stress
in Idiomatic Expressions
In any idiomatic expression, we find that one word is always more strongly
stressed (i.e. spoken with more force) than others.
In most cases this is the last ‘full’ word (i.e. noun, adjective, verb
or adverb) in the phrase or clause:
q Make onself ‘useful
q Cakes and ‘ale
q Make sth ‘work
The above examples follow a general rule.
In other words, most idioms are used in speech just like any other phrase
or sentence, i.e. the word with the main stress is the last noun (not pronoun),
verb (not auxiliary), adjective or adverb. For
example in the idiomatic expressions ‘a rough ride’, ‘take the biscuit’ and ‘run
for it’, the words ride, biscuit and run are stressed.
Notice that some idioms have an unusual or unpredictable stress. From the ‘Inside back cover’ of OALDCE under
‘stress in idioms’, we read the following: ‘Most
idioms are shown in the dictionary with at least one main stress: q find
one’s ‘feet. The
learner should not change the position of this stress when speaking, for the special
meaning of the idiom may be lost. Intonation
in Idiomatic Expressions and Multi-word Verbs General
Introduction
Intonation is the word for the ‘melody’ of spoken language: the way the
musical pitch of the voice rises and falls. Intonation
systems in language are very complicated and difficult to analyse, and linguistics
disagree about how English intonation fits in with what comes before and after.
For instance, a speaker may raise his or her voice when taking over the
conversation from somebody else, or to indicate a change of subject. A rise or fall on a particular word may show that this is the ‘centre’
of the message—the place where the new information is being given; or it may signal
a contrast or a special emphasis. When a speaker ends on a falling tone, this often expresses some
kind of conclusion or certainty; a rising tone at the end of a sentence may express
uncertainty, suggest that there is more to be said, or invite another speaker
to take over. Intonation (together with
speed, voice quality and loudness) can also say things about the speaker’s attitude.
For instance, when people are excited or angry they often raise and lower
their voices more. Intonation
in Multi-Word Verbs
Multi-Word Verbs usually follow the general rules of intonation. Consider the following example, which contains verbal combinations
in questions and exclamative form. q Why didn’t you make up the beds? q I did make them up! Intonation
in Idiomatic Expressions
Idiomatic expressions are usually subject to the normal rules of intonation
which allow for a variety in pitch patterns which serve to distinguish between
two or more expressions with the same spelling but different meanings. These pitch movements could be shown below: q Do you ‘mind? = an enquiry as to whether
sb objects to some action or event, … medium rising tone on ‘mind’. q Do you ‘mind? = an expression of objection,
often aggressive to sth which is occurring – a fall-rise tone on ‘mind’. Rhythm
in Idiomatic Expressions and Multi-Word Verbs General
Introduction:
Rhythm is the word for the way stressed and unstressed syllables make patterns
in speech. In sentences, we usually give
more stress to nouns, ordinary verbs, adjectives and adverbs, and less stress
to pronouns, determiners, prepositions, conjunctions and auxiliary verbs. q She was SURE that the BACK of the CAR
had been DAMaged.
Many Linguists feels that the rhythm of spoken English is based on a regular
pattern of stressed syllables. These follow
each other at roughly regular intervals, and are pronounced more slowly and clearly.
Unstressed syllables are pronounced more quickly and less clearly, and
are fitted in between the regular stressed syllables.
If several unstressed syllables come together, these are pronounced even
more quickly so as not to disturb the rhythm.
Compare the following two sentences. The
second does not take much longer to say than the first: although it has three
more unstressed syllables, it has the same number of stressed syllables. If several unstressed syllables come together,
these are pronounced even more quickly so as not to disturb the rhythm.
Compare the following two sentences. The
second does not take much longer to say than the first: although it has three
more unstressed syllables, it has the same number of stressed syllables. She
KNEW the DoCTor. She
KNEW that there was a DOCTor. Note,
however, that time is a very complicated question, and not all experts agree about
the way English rhythm works. Rhythm
in Idiomatic Expressions
A clear manifestation of rhythm in idiomatic expressions could be found
in sayings form which is often made striking and memorable by rhythm, assonance,
… some examples are: q Out of sight out of mind q When the cat’s away, the mice will play Rhythm
in Multi-word Verbs
Since these verbal combinations are composed of verbs + particles and/or
prepositions. The general rule for rhythm
is applicable i.e. verbs received more stress than prepositions and particles. 4.2.1.2
Orthographical Study Of Idiomatic Expressions and Multi-Word Verbs of English
In general, idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs confine to the general
spelling conventions of English. However,
there are some exceptions namely those cases where multi-word verbs are transformed
to nominalized forms, adjectival forms which have varieties of spellings (hyphenated,
solid form (written as one word) or unlinked
forms).
In nominalized forms, there is a considerable difference regarding spelling
and punctuation: The choice of solid (=Linked form) e.g. flypast, unlinked form
a look round or a hyphenated one a look-round.
Regarding the nominalized form which has the pattern particle + verb, it
is important to mention that the British and American practice is to write them
fully joined as in offprint; while nouns exist in two forms (linked and hyphenated)
in British.
Other examples of writing conventions of multi-word verbs are: make
up (verb), make-up (noun) break
down (verb), breakdown (noun).
In adjective transform, one notes the following spelling / punctuation
as they appeared in the examples below:
q He glanced through the article
The quickly glanced-through article…
q He eagerly looked forward to his retirement
His eagerly looked-forward-to retirement.
q We can play the recorded programmes back
The played-back programmes …
Phrasal verbs idioms consisting of two or several words may have related
nominalizations, verbalizations and attribute formations which are written as
one word or in spoken utterances, accentuated as single words e.g.
T bring ‘up (=rear, educate) versus the upbringing; to put in (=commit
for processing – as in computer language) versus ‘the input capacity’ (where input,
here is an attribute) or the input (noun).
In fact, whether the constituents of phrasal verbs are written as one word
or not, or accentuated as one-word items when spoken, appear to make no difference
in their semantic status in the language, since spelling convention as one word
or the accentuation as one word (if spoken) by no mean actually convey the semantic
content of the composite form in question. One-word spellings as well as accentuation
are, then, best regarded as redundancy features of English orthography and phonology. 4.2.1.3
Summary
In this sub-section, an attempt has been made to survey the phonological
and orthographical aspect of idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs of English.
However, this examination reveals that these language components follow
the general rules of phonology and orthography with rare exceptions. 4.2.2
Grammatical Study of Idiomatic Expressions and Multi-Word Verbs of English 4.2.2.1
Introduction
In this section, an attempt will be made to provide the reader with a general
description of the grammatical behaviour of idiomatic expressions and multi-word
verbs of English. Information about the
syntax and morphology of these two components of language is essential for a variety
of reasons. It enables the reader to compare like with like and to build up
a general categorization of idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs. It is also important for the reader to be able
to locate and identify the exact point or points in idiomatic expressions at which
lexical choice can operate. The syntactic
relationship of the parts to the should be made explicit. And finally, how the grammar of an idiomatic
expression can be affected by how idiomatic it is.
Regarding the syntax of idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs the
following questions could be raised:
What kind of pattern(s) an idiomatic expression or multi-word verb correspond(s)
to, how it can be broken into elements smaller than itself, and what other elements
precede, follow or interrupt it?
The semantic and syntactic anomalies of such expressions as kick the bucket
‘die’, spill the beans ‘give away a secret’, or fly the handle ‘become angry’
are of obvious interest for any description of language. How
can kick the bucket mean ‘die’? Do
the literal senses of kick, the, bucket contribute in any way to its grammatical
behaviour?
Why is non literal the bucket was kicked impossible, especially given that
the beans were spilled is perfectly acceptable?
How these idiosyncratic variations best handled by a grammar? And so on.
However, in our presentation and description of the grammatical properties
of idiomatic expressions (including idiomatic multi-word verbs i.e. phrasal verbs),
we shall follow, here, the grammatical categorization provided by Feare 1980 in
his book Practice With Idioms, who had originally drawn on Cowie et al’s texts,
Oxford Dictionary of Idioms (1993) and Oxford dictionary of Phrasal Verbs, 1993
(for the original treatment see appendix 2a and b).
Their treatment and categorization could be summarized as follows: 1.
Verbal Idioms: These are
multi-word verbs which are idiomatic (phrasal verbs) 2.
Nominal, adjectival and adverbial idioms. 4.2.2.2
Verbal Idioms
Verbs are basic part of English grammar which are often used in idiomatic
expressions. Some verbs are called transitive
because they are followed by an object, which is always a noun phrase.
Some verbs are called intransitive because they are not followed by an
object. In general, we can distinguish and discuss
below six categories of these verbal combinations.
Category
1 Intransitive
Verbs with particles
Intransitive verbs can be followed by other parts of grammar such as around,
on, through and up. Such words are called
particles because they cannot be separated from the verbs by adverbial forms.
If we look carefully at the following sets of sentences we can figure out
some of the grammatical rules governing the above type of verbal combinations.
(An asterisk (*) means that a sentence is incorrect): 1.
*The student got ahead his school. 2.
The old man got around with difficulty. 3.
*The company fell through its plan. 4.
The student got ahead in school. 5.
The company’s plan fell through.
In the incorrect sentences above (#1 and #3), the verbal idioms were followed
by objects, which is not possible for intransitive forms. But other parts of grammar, such as adverbs
and prepositional phrases, often occur with these verbal idioms.
By the same token, if we examine the following set of examples we can arrive
at a certain rule. 1.
*My friend caught slowly on. 2.
*The chairman showed early up. 3.
My friend caught on slowly. 4.
*The Chairman early showed up. 5.
My friend slowly caught on. 6.
The Chairman showed up early.
The rule which could be formulated from the above examples indicates that,
in general, no adverb can be placed between the verb and article: The verb and particle are one unit of grammar. Only a manner adverb, which tells how something
was done (quickly, quietly, slowly), can be placed both before and after the verb
+ particle, if it ends in (-ly). A manner adverb such as ‘well’ cannot be placed before the verb
+ particle. Most adverbs, including time
adverbs such as ‘early’ are placed after the idiomatic verbal combination. Thus ‘*my friend well caught on’ is incorrect
while ‘my friend caught on well’ is correct. Ø Other Grammatical forms of Intransitive Verb + Particle
: Transformation
To be able to use verbal forms, in many different situations, you should
know how to transform these verbal combinations into other grammatical forms. In this sub-section we shall look at some of
the most important forms. Nominalized
Forms
Sometimes it is useful to change a verbal idiom into a nominalized form. An intransitive verb + particle can combine
to form a noun. Examples: q
I was late because the bus broke down.
I was late because of a bus breakdown. q
The pilot took off smoothly.
The pilot made a smooth take-off. q
Did the plane take off smoothly?
Did the plane have a smooth take-of? q
The baseball players warmed up before
the game.
The baseball players had a warm-up before the game.
q We stopped over at the nice motel on our
trip.
We made a stopover at the nice motel on our trip.
Note that only some intransitive verb + particle combinations can use this
transformation. Passive
Forms
However, since there is no object in this verbal combination it does not
admit passive transformation. Emphatic
Transform
This transform is used when one wants to make emphasis and this could be
done through simple change of word order: putting words in initial position etc.
q The snow down thick and fast.
Down came the snow thick and fast. Category
2 Intransitive
verbs with prepositions
In this sub-section, we shall look at verbal idioms that are composed of
intransitive verb + prepositions. The
preposition is followed by a noun phrase, and together they form a prepositional
phrase. Example: q The lecturer touched on many interesting
ideas.
Considering the above example, ‘on’ is a preposition which forms a unit
of meaning with the intransitive verb, but a unit of grammar with the following
noun phrase. The prepositional phrase, “on many interesting
ideas” is a unit of grammar; the verbal idiom ‘touch on’ is a unit of special
meaning.
An intransitive verbal idiom, as the term suggests, is never used with
an object. For more clarification let’s study the examples
below: 1.
The teacher touched quickly on many ideas. 2.
*Because she is my friend, I believe in. 3.
The teacher quickly touched on many ideas. 4.
Because she is my friend, I believe in her. 5.
*The teacher touched on quickly many ideas. 6.
The guests finally showed up.
From the above examples, one observes that adverbs many not be placed between
a preposition and noun phrase, which shows that the preposition and noun phrase
are a grammatical unit (#5). But adverbs
may be placed between the intransitive verb and preposition (#1).
To conclude, this description of the grammatical rules of intransitive
verb + preposition, we summarize the main points as follows : ·
The prepositional phrase is a unit of grammar; the verbal
idiom is a unit of special meaning. ·
Adverbs may be placed between the verb and preposition. Dddd Ø Other Grammatical Forms of Intransitive
Verb + Preposition: Transformation Nominalized Forms
q He glanced through the article quickly.
He gave the article a quick glance-through. Passive
Forms
The noun phrase in this verbal combination (intransitive verb + preposition)
may be moved to subject position after the unimportant subject has either moved
to the end of the sentence or removed completely. The verbal idiom would be changed
from the active to the passive form, just as regular verb would. Examples
are:
q The police looked into the murder.
The murder was looked into by the police.
The murder was looked into.
q He glanced through the article quickly.
The article was glanced through quickly.
Not all idioms can be put into a passive form, simply because some idioms
sound strange or awkward in such form. Notice
the unacceptability of the following sentence: *Mary’s
mom is taken after (by Mary) (as
transformed from: Mary takes after mom). There
is really no simple explanation as to why some verbal idioms can easily be made
passive and others can’t. We simply have to acquire this knowledge by
paying attention to and carefully learning the uses of this passive construction
as we learn new and different verbal idioms. Adjective
Transform
q He glanced through the article quickly.
The quickly glanced – through article … Emphatic
Transform
q You can cope with these few extra people
easily.
With these few extra people you can cope easily. Relative
Transform
q You can cope with these few extra people
easily.
These people with whom you can cope easily. Category
3 Intransitive
Verb + Particle + Preposition Ø The verbal idioms in this category are
composed of an intransitive + particle + preposition. The preposition is followed by a noun phrase, forming a prepositional
phrase. Example:
John came up with a fine solution. In
the above example ‘up’ is a particle and ‘with’ is a preposition.
For more details about the grammatical
behaviour of the above type of verbal idioms, consider the following set of sentences: 1.
A student’s question came up. 2.
*A student came up a question 3.
A student came up with a question. 4.
I greatly look forward to my vacation 5.
*I look greatly forward to my vacation 6.
I look forward greatly to my vacation 7.
*I look forward to greatly my vacation.
From those examples the rules as given below are figured out: ·
The verbal idiom is not followed by an object but a prepositional
phrase. ·
The verb, particle and preposition are all connected in
meaning but that, in grammar, the particle is connected to the verb and the preposition
to the noun phrase. That is why an adverb,
especially a manner adverb, can sometimes be placed between the particle and the
preposition (#6). Ø Other Grammatical Forms of Intransitive
Verb + Particle + Preposition:
Transformation Nominalized
Form
This type does not admit nominalization. Adjective
Transform
He eagerly looked forward to his retirement
His eagerly looked-forward-to retirement…. Emphatic
Transform
He just scraped along on this low salary.
On this low salary he just scraped along. Relative
Transform
He just scraped along on this low salary
This low salary on which he just scraped along … Passive
Transform
The students had to put up with the
noise
The noise had to be put up with (by the students)
Many people looked up to the famous
professor.
The famous professor was looked up to (by many people)
He eagerly looked forward to his retirement
His retirement was eagerly looked forward to (by him). But
the following sentence does not admit passivization:
We went in for soccer
*Soccer was gone in for.
After presenting and illustrating the intransitive verbal combinations
(categories 1,2,3) we turn, in the following pages, to the transitive verbal combinations
(categories 4,5,6). Category
4 Transitive
Verbs with Movable and Immovable Particles
Some verbs are called transitive because they are followed by an object,
which is always a noun phrase. In this
section, we shall discuss verbal combinations which are composed of transitive
verb + movable particle and those which consist of transitive verb + immovable
particle. Transitive
Verbs with Movable Particles (Reversible) Example:
The president cleared up the problem.
The president cleared the problem up. In
this example the particle may placed on either side of the object, but not anywhere
else in the sentence.
Consider the following for further clarification and illustration: 1.
The president cleared up the problem carefully. 2.
*The President cleared carefully up the problem. 3.
The President cleared the problem up carefully. 4.
*The President cleared up carefully the problem. 5.
The President carefully cleared up the problem.
In the above sentences an adverb may not be placed between the verb + particle
or between the particle and object because the verb + particle are connected in
both meaning and grammar.
Also another rule concerning transitive verb + movable could be figured
out from the sentences below: 1.
The president cleared up the problem. 2.
*The president cleared up it. 3.
The president cleared it up. 4.
The lawyer stuck to his argument. 5.
The lawyer stuck to it. 6.
*The lawyer stuck it to.
The general rule for pronouns is that they always precede particles, but
always follow prepositions. Ø Other Grammatical Forms of Transitive
Verb + movable Parties:
Transformation
This pattern by its nature (movable particle) can be transformed using
the simple operation of changing word-order:
She made up her face.
She made her face up.
However, as was true for other verbal idioms, it is important to know how
to transform transitive verb + movable particle into other grammatical forms in
order to be able to use them in different situations. Nominalized
Forms
Many transitive verb + movable particle combinations can be used in a nominalized
from. Most forms combine without using
a hyphen (-), but some do, so we have to memorize the different cases as we learn
them. Consider the following:
q We tried the new machine.
We gave the machine a tryout.
q She made up her face.
She put on makeup.
q The company gave away many gifts.
The company had a gift giveaway.
q The military took over the country.
The country suffered a military takeover.
q How many students make up this class?
What is the makeup of this class?
What is the make-up of this class? q We can play the recorded programmes back.
/
We can play back the recorded programmes.
We can do a play-back of the recorded programmes. Passive
Forms
Sometimes the subject of a verbal combination (here transitive verb + movable
particle pattern) is not very important, and we want to stress the object of the
sentence. Objects can move to subject
position after the unimportant subject has either been moved to the end of the
sentence or removed completely. Examples: q We tried the machine out carefully.
We tried out the machine carefully.
The machine was tried out carefully. q We can play the recorded programmes (them)
back. /
We can play back the recorded programmes.
The recorded programmes can be played back. Adjective
Transform q We can play the recorded programmes (them)
back./
We can play back the recorded programmes.
The played-back programmes… Grammar
of Transitive Verbs with Immovable Particles (Non-reversible)
As the heading suggests the verbal constructions here are composed of a
transitive verb + immovable particle. In
this pattern, however, there are two different types of verbal combinations as
the following examples indicate: Type
A
My friends kicked my suggestion around.
Here the particle should come after the object.
Thus I cannot say:
*My friends kicked around my suggestion. Type
B
Five rooms make up this house. (Here, the particle should come before the
object). So I cannot say
*Five rooms make this house up.
With verbal combination type A, as the sentences below illustrate, the
particle many only be placed after the object.
The verb and particle are connected in both meaning and grammar, so an
adverb cannot be placed anywhere between them. 1.
I can tell the twins apart easily. 2.
*I can tell apart the twins easily. 3.
I can easily tell the twins apart 4.
*I can tell easily the twins apart 5.
*I can tell the twins easily apart. While
with type B, the particle may only be placed before the object.
The student found out the answer quickly.
not *The student found the answer out quickly. However,
when a pronoun object is used, the particle can only be placed after it.
The student found it out quickly.
*The student found out it quickly.
Concerning the adverb position in relation to the verbal idiom in type
B the following point can be made:
Since the verb and particle are connected in meaning and grammar, an adverb
may not be placed between them. Consider
in this respect the following sentences:
The student found out the answer quickly.
The student quickly found out the answer
*The student found quickly out the answer.
*The student found out quickly the answer. Ø Other Grammatical Forms of Transitive
Verbs with Immovable Particles:
Transformation Nominalized
Forms Type
A: (Verb + Object + particle)
q I want to walk you through (the ghost
scene)
I want to do a walk-through of the ghost scene. Type
B: (verb + particle + Object noun)
q This is the reel which takes up the film.
This is the take-up reel. Passive
Forms Type
A: (Verb + Object + particle)
q You should do your work over soon.
Your work should be done over soon.
q The technician will run that bit of tape (it) through again
That bit of tape will be run through again. Type
B: (verb + particle + Object noun)
q Five rooms make up this house.
This house is made up of five rooms.
q Unemployment brought down the last Government.
The last Government was brought down by unemployment. Category
5
Transitive Verbs with Prepositions.
Under this heading one can distinguish three types: Type
1: In this type the verb collocates
with special preposition. e.g.
The executive devoted much time to her work. Type
2 : Here, the verb comes with special
object. Each verbial idiom in this type can only occur with one ‘special’
object. e.g. The baby
sister kept an eye on the child. Type
3 : Each verbal idiom in this type
can occur with one special noun in the noun phrase following the preposition. e.g.
The instructor took my illness into account.
According to Cowie and Macking 193 : P.X. these three types are called
complex idioms:
‘A complex idiom is a verb + particle or a verb + preposition (or a verb
+ particle + preposition), but it always contains one or more other words as well’
…
For more details let us discuss each of
the above types in turn: Type
1 : Regarding the grammatical behaviour
of this type, consider the sentences below: 1.
The president left the work to his secretary. 2.
*The president left to the work his secretary. 3.
The senator put the bill through Congress. 4.
*The senator put the bill Congress through.
In this type, the transitive verb will be followed by an object, and the
proposition will be followed by a noun phrase.
From the above sentences we figure out the following rules: ·
A preposition may not be placed before the object because
the proposition is connected to the following noun phrase in grammar.
The preposition introduces the prepositional phrase, so it may not be placed
after the noun phrase. ·
Concerning the position of adverbs, we find that it is
unusual for an adverb to precede the preposition this verbal combination because
an object follows the transitive verb. The
normal position for an adverb, here, is at the end of the sentence, although manner
adverbs ending in – ly are often put before the verb. The following examples are further illustration
of the above-mentioned rules: q The Senator put the bill through Congress
quickly. q The Senator quickly put the bill through
Congress. q The Senator put the bill through Congress
last year. q *The Senator last year putt he bill through
Congress. q UThe Senator put the bill quickly through Congress
(Unusual). Ø Other Grammatical Forms of Transitive
Verb + preposition pattern:
Transformation Transitive
Verb with Preposition (Type 1) q The executive devoted much time to her
work. q Peter foists all his problems on his unfortunate. Nominalized
Forms
This verbal combination does not admit nominalization. So the above 2 sentences could not be transformed. Passive
Forms
q His friends held the crime against Joe.
The crime was held against Joe (by his friends).
q Peter foists all his problems on his unfortunate
friends.
All his problems are foisted on his unfortunate friends. Transitive
Verb with Preposition (Type 2)
 
As it has been said in the general
introduction to this category each verbal idiom in this type can only occur with
one ‘special’ object. The noun form in
the object cannot change in any way (e.g. singular plural). Very often an adjective form can be placed in front of the noun.
1.
I carefully kept an eye on the child. 2.
I kept a careful eye on the child 3.
*I carefully kept eyes on the child. 4.
Tom unfairly took advantage of his friends. 5.
Tom took unfair advantage of his friends 6.
*Tom took unfair disadvantage of his friend. „ Other Grammatical Forms (of type 2): Transformation Nominalized
Forms
I have taken careful note of your remarks.
Here, this type of verbal idiom does not admit nominalized transformation
because the object (note) is part of the verbal idiom. Emphatic
Transform
q I have taken careful note of your remarks.
Of your remarks I have taken careful note. Relative
Transform
q I have taken careful note of your remarks.
Remarks of which I have taken careful note. … Passive
Forms
As is true with other verbal combinations some transitive verbal idioms
can more easily be made passive than others; at times a passive form sounds very
awkward, as in the following examples: q I lost track of my pen.
*Track was lost of my pen. q I have taken careful note of your remarks.
*Your remarks have been take careful note of. Transitive
Verbs with Prepositions: Type 3
Each verbal idiom of this type can occur with one special noun in the noun
phrase following the preposition. e.g.
The instructor took my illness into account. The
mom (in noun phrase) cannot change form or order I any way.
Consider the following sentences. 1.
Mary put her scholarship to good use. 2.
*Mary put her scholarship to good uses. 3.
The criminal brought the truth into the open. 4.
*The Criminal brought into the truth the open. ·
As it is true for transitive verbal idioms, adverbs should
not be placed anywhere inside the verbal idiom because an object is used. *May
put her scholarship successfully to god use. „ Other Grammatical Forms of Verbs + Preposition
(Type 3): Transformation Nominalized
Forms
Since ‘a special noun’ in the noun phrase is a basic part of the verbal
idiom (integrated element), this type of verbal combination does not admit nomnalization. Passive
Forms
q The teacher brought the idea into focus.
The idea was brought into focus (by the teacher.)
But we cannot transform the following sentence, for example, into passive: q Bob had many problems on his mind.
*Many problems were had on bob’s mind.
(simply because it sounds awkward, strange etc) Category
6 Transitive
Verbs with Particles and Prepositions
Here, we will deal with verbal idioms which are composed of a transitive
verb + particle + preposition. An object
will follow the verb and a noun phrase will follow the preposition. e.g. The participants
got many ideas of the conference.
For the grammatical rules of this verbal combination, consider the following
sentences. 1.
You should set aside time for a meeting. 2.
You should set time aside for a meeting. 3.
I got many ideas out of the conference. 4.
*I got out many ideas of the conference. 5.
I turned it over to my associates 6.
*I turned over it to my associates. From
the above examples, the following rules could be deduced: ·
The normal position for the object is before the particle
but with certain verbal idioms the object may follow the particle (This issue
has been discussed in this study in detail, under Transitive Verbs + (im)movable
particles). ·
A pronoun form will always be placed before the particle
(#5). „ Other Grammatical Forms of Transitive
Verbs + Particle + Preposition: Transformation Nominalized
Forms
q We eventually brought around to our point
of view.
They had a brought – around – to our point of view … Emphatic
Transform
q We eventually brought them around to our
point of view.
To this point of view we knew we would eventually bring them around. Relative
Transform
q We eventually brought them round to our
point of view.
A point of view to which we eventually brought them round… Passive
Forms
q We brought Joe around to our way of thinking.
Joe was brought around to our way of thinking.
q We eventually brought them round to our
point of view.
They were eventually brought round to our point of view. Summary
and Conclusion for the Grammatical Behaviour of Multi-Word Verbs of English
To summarize and conclude this section, about the grammatical behaviour
of multi-word verbs of English, it might be useful to provide the reader with a) an overview of the six grammatical patterns
in which multi-word verbs occur as well as their transformations. (This summary
is according to Cowie et al. 1993). b)
an emphasis of the prepositions/particles and idiomatic/non-idiomatic distinction(s). a)
Overview of Verb Patterns and their Transforms Category
1
[vp] Verb + particle
The pilot took off smoothly.
The snow came down thick and fast.
[vp nom] nominalized form
The pilot made a smooth take-off.
[vp emph] emphatic transform
Down came the snow thick and fast. Category
2
[vpr] Verb + prepositional Phrase
He glanced through the article quickly.
You can cope with these few extra people easily.
[vpr nom] nominalized form
He gave the article a quick glance – through.
[vpr pass] passive transform
The article was glanced through quickly.
[vpr adj] adjective transform
The quickly glanced-through article. …
[vpr emph] emphatic transform
With these few extra people you can cope easily.
[vpr rel] relative transform
These people with whom you can cope easily. Category
3
[vp pr] verb + particle + prepositional phrase
He eagerly looked forward to his retirement
He just scraped along on his low salary.
[vp pr pass] passive transform
His retirement was eagerly looked forward to.
[vp pr adj] adjective transform
His eagerly looked-forward-to retirement.
[vp pr emph] emphatic transform
On this low salary he just scraped along.
[vp pr rel] relative transform
This low salary on which he just scraped along. Category
4
[vn
 
p]
verb + object noun + particle
We can play the recorded programmes (them) back.
We can play back the recorded programmes.
[vn p nom] nominalized
form
We can do a play-back of the recorded programmes.
[vn Pass] passive
transform
The recorded programmes can be played back.
 
[vn p adj] adjective
transform
The played-back programmes…
[vn p] verb + object noun + particle
I want walk you through (the ghost scene).
The technician will run that bit of tape (it) through again
[vp.p nom] I want to do a walk – through of the ghost scene.
[vn p pass] That bit of tape will
be run through again.
[vp n] verb + particle + object noun.
Unemployment brought down the last Government
This is the reel which takes up the film.
[vp n nom] This is the take-up
reel.
[vp n pass] passive transform
The last Government was brought down by unemployment. Category
5
[vn pr] verb + object nun + prepositional
phrase.
Peter foists all his problems on his unfortunate friends.
I have taken careful note of your remarks.
[vn pr pass] passive transform]
All his problems are foisted on his unfortunate friends.
[vn pr pass o] passive transform
(object of preposition)
Your remarks have been taken careful note of
[vn.pr.emph] emphatic transform
Of your remarks I have taken careful note.
[vn pr rel] relative transform]
Remarks of which I have taken careful note. Category
6
[vn p pr] verb + object noun + particle + prepositional phrase.
We eventually brought them round to our point of view.
[vn p pr pass] passive transform
They were eventually brought round to our point of view.
[vn p pr emph] emphatic transform
To this point of view we knew we would eventually bring them round.
[vn p pr rel] relative transform
A point of view to which we eventually brought them round. b)
Particles / Prepositions and Idiomatic / Non-idiomatic distinction
After presenting, illustrating and discussing the grammatical behaviour
of multi-word verbs, in the light of Cowie et a. 1993 scheme of the six patterns
of phrasal verbs and their transformation, we shall try in the following paragraphs
to emphasize some salient points in respect of the grammar of multi-word verbs
of English.
These points are: ·
(Adverb) particles / prepositions distinction and their
position in clauses, sentences in relation to objects etc. ·
The grammar of idiomatic multi word verbs (phrasal verbs)
verses non-idiomatic ones (literal verbal combinations). (Adverb)
Particles / Prepositions distinction q I ran down the road (preposition)
Please sit down (particle). q He is in his office (preposition).
You can go in (particle) q Something’s climbing up my leg (preposition)
She’s not up yet. (particle).
In the expressions down the road, in his office and up my leg, the words
down, in and up are prepositions: they have objects (the road, his office and
my leg). In sit down, go in and she’s not up, the words
down, in and up have no objects. They
are adverbs not prepositions. Small adverbs
like these are usually called adverb(ial) particles: they include: above, about,
across, ahead, along, (a)round, aside, away, back, before, behind, below, by,
down, forward, in, home, near, off, on, out, over, past, through, under, up.
Many words of this kind can be used as both adverb particles and prepositions,
but there are some exceptions: for example back, away (only adverb particles);
from, during (only prepositions). This
particles/ prepositions distinction is crucial.
Suppose that one wishes to know whether a multi-word verb containing particle
can also be used with a preposition. He/she
may have seen an example like this (where ‘in’ is a particle).
‘Her train pulled in ten minutes early’ and he/she wants to know whether
he/she wants to know whether he/she can also say the following sentence (where
into is a preposition).
Her train pulled into Bristol ten minutes early. „ The Distinction between Idiomatic Multi-word
verbs (Phrasal Verbs) and Non-
Idiomatic ones (literal verbal combinations)
The fact that a particular combination of verb + particle, for example,
is idiomatic need not affect its grammar. The
combination make up as used in she made up her face is quite clearly an idiom
(a unit of meaning). Yet the grammar of the idiomatic make up is similar in many
respects to the grammar of the non-idiomatic carry away. For instance, the direct object can be changed
around in both cases:
She made up her face/ She made her face up.
Bill carried away the rubbish/ Bill carried the rubbish away.
Similarly, it is equally possible to move the particle to the front and
the subject to the end of the sentence whether you use come down idiomatically
(The prices came down/Down came the prices) or non-idiomatically (The ceiling
came down / Down came the ceiling). 4.2.2.3
Grammatical behaviour of Nominal, Adjectival and Adverbial Idioms: Idiomatic
Expressions other than verbal combinations
In the previous pages, we have tried to generally describe the grammatical
behaviour of multi-word verbs of English (encompassing verbal combinations whether
they are idiomatic or not). In what follows
an attempt will be made to cover the grammatical aspect of idiomatic expressions
(other than idioms). These include: ·
Nominal idioms ·
Adjectival idioms ·
Adverbial idioms „ Nominal Forms: Pairs of Nouns
The nominal idioms are formed from different parts of grammar, such as
verbs, prepositions, and real nouns. These
idioms can be used as subjects, objects, or as noun phrases after prepositions. Examples: q Ups and downs are a part of life (prepositions)
(Subjects) q The athlete put his heart and soul into
it (nouns)
(Object) q Marriage is a matter of give and take
(verbs)
(Noun Phrase)
With these Idiomatic Expressions, the pair of forms can only be joined
by the conjunction ‘and’. In addition,
the order of the forms is fixed. The two
words cannot exchange position in any situation.
Consider the following sentences: The
manager put his heart and soul into his work (correct conjunction). *The
manager put his heart or soul into his work (incorrect conjunction). The
car suffered a lot of wear and tear. (correct order) *The
car suffered a lot of tear and wear (incorrect order) It
is also important to remember that the singular forms can never be made plural
and, likewise, that the plural forms cannot be made singular.
I accomplished a lot of odds and ends (correct plural form).
*I accomplished an odd and end. (incorrect singular form).
These people are my flesh and blood (correct singular form)
These people are my fleshes and bloods (incorrect plural form)
Regardless of whether these idioms were formed from verbs, prepositions,
or nouns, the pairs joined by and are considered to be real noun forms. This fact, along with the fact that these forms
have special meanings is why we call them idioms. Various
Adjective + Noun Combinations
Beside the above pairs of nouns we can find another type of nominal forms. This type of nominal idioms is composed of
various adjective + noun combinations. These
combinations can be used as subjects, objects, or as noun phrases after prepositions. Examples: White
lies are never good. Subject That
was a very close call!
Object I’m tired
of small talk
Noun phrase
Because these combinations are idioms, certain unexplainable rules are
used, just as was the case with all various types of idiomatic expressions. One rule is that some of the nouns must be
used in the plural, while others must be singular, and still others may vary in
form. I
had second thoughts about marriage (plural form) *I
had a second thought about marriage. (singular form incorrect) Joe’s
actually full of hot air (singular form) *Joe’s
actually full of hot airs (plural form: incorrect) I
had a close call I have
had many close calls. (both singular and plural form are correct)
Another point is that the adjectives in these idioms are restricted in
form. In general, only one particular adjective can
be used with any noun form to create a special idiom, and this form usually cannot
be deleted or altered in any way. The
race-car driver had many close calls (correct form) *The
race-car driver had many closer calls (no alteration possible) He’s
really an eager beaver about work (correct form) *He’s
really a beaver about work (no deletion possible) „ Adjectival Forms Pairs
of Adjectives
The adjectival idioms in this part are formed from different parts of grammar,
such as prepositions, verbs, nouns and real adjectives. Examples:
The judge’s decision was quite fair and square (adjectives)
The heart operation was touch and go. (Verbs)
The race was neck and neck all the way. (nouns)
Mary will be up and about in two weeks. (prepositions)
With the above type of idioms, the pair of forms can only be joined by
the conjunction ‘and’. In addition the
order of the forms is fixed. The two words
cannot change position in any way. The
judge’s decision was quite fair and square (correct conjunction) The
judge’s decision was quite fair or square (wrong conjunction) The
lecturer’s speech was short and sweet (correct order) The
lecturer’s speech was sweet and short (incorrect order).
With some of these pairs of adjectives, the adjective form may be placed
before the noun if hyphens (-) are used; in other cases, this is not possible. Examples: 1.
Our vacations were few and far between. 2.
*We had few-and-far –between vacations. 3.
Joe’s attitude towards work was free and easy 4.
Joe had a free-and-easy attitude towards work.
To conclude this treatment of the grammar of pairs of adjectives, the following
point is to be mentioned and emphasized: Regardless
of whether these idioms were formed from verbs, prepositions, nouns, or real adjectives,
the pairs of forms are considered to be real adjective forms.
This is one reason why they are called idioms (among other reasons is that
they have special meaning). Adjective
forms: Various Compounds Under
the heading: ‘Adjectival Forms’, we can deal also with another type: various compounds
i.e. clear-cut: we have to reduce wasteful spending and increase productivity. q Tom, at least, made a half-hearted attempt
to offer some help. q Jane remained close-mouthed about her
dismissal from work.
Although the adjectival forms, here, are made from different parts of grammar,
as adjectives they cannot be changed in any way. 1.
Jill is quite level-headed (correct
order) 2.
*Jill is quite headed-level (incorrect order) 3.
Tom and Jerry had a man-to-man talk (correct singular form) 4.
Tom and Jerry had a men-to-men talk (incorrect plural form) „ Adverbial Idioms Various
Adverbial Forms
The adverbial idioms and related forms, treated in the following paragraphs,
are formed from various parts of grammar, such as nouns, adjectives, prepositions,
and real adverbs. Although most use the
conjunction ‘and’ other forms also occur. Examples:
He makes the same mistake time and again (noun and adverb)
I go to work day in and day out (nouns and prepositions)
Little by little Tom’s grades improved (adjectives & preposition)
All at once it started to rain. (adjective, preposition & adverb).
The adverbial idioms cannot be changed in form in any way. This rle also applies to the related forms.
I like to go to the beach now and again (correct conj.)
* I like to go to the beach now or again (incorrect conj.)
Day in and day out, Bob stays at home (correct order)
* Day out and day in, Bob stays at home (incorrect order)
Because each adverbial idiom is composed of more than one word, it is almost
never anywhere in the middle of a single sentence: the normal positions are either
at the beginning or at the end of a sentence or clause.
I like to go to the beach now and again (correct position)
Now and again I like to go to the beach (correct position) I
like to go now and again to the beach (incorrect position) For
now Tom wants to save his money (correct position) *
Tom wants to save for now his money (incorrect position)
The exception to the above rule is the idiom high and low, which can occur
in the middle of a sentence, after the verbs search and look. 4.2.2.3 Summary
for the Grammatical behaviour of Idiomatic Expressions and Multi- Word Verbs of English.
From the Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms 1993 (1997 ed): General Introduction:
p.xi we quote the following: as a summary of the grammatical treatment idiomatic
expressions as well as indication of the six patterns scheme of the verbal combinations
in English.
‘To turn from volume 1 to volume 2 is to be reminded of the enormous structural
variety of English idioms. Those treated
in the first volume could be allocated to six related patterns those deal with
here are fond in phrase patterns – a bargain basement, easy on the eye, in the
nick of time – subjectless clause patterns – cut one’s losses, paint the town
red, pay sb a compliment – and simple or complex sentence patterns – one swallow
does not make a summer, give sb an inch and he’ll take a mile. This is to give but small sample of the great
range of construction types represented….
The spread is considerably, yet the majority of entries can be classified
under two general headings – phrase idioms and clause idioms. Within these major groupings are several dominant sub-categories: …The
most common clause patterns spanned by idioms, for instance, are the following: Verb
+ complement
go berserk Verb
+ direct object ease
sb’s conscience / mind Verb
+ direct object + complement paint the town red Verb
+ indirect object + direct object
do sb credit Verb
+ direct object + adjunct take sth amiss
While the most commonly occurring phrase patterns are these: Noun
phrase
a crashing bore Adjective
phrase
free with one’s money etc Prepositional
phrase
in the nick of time Adverbial
phrase
as often as not (Cowie
et al 1993: Introduction)
Regarding the grammatical behaviour of Multi-Word Verbs especially the
Phrasal Verbs six categories, we round off the discussion with quoting the following
from the OUP Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. With rare exceptions, the phrasal verbs,
etc. treated in the dictionary can be shown to function in one or more of six
simple, active sentences patterns. These
basic patterns can be divided into two groups according to transitivity (i.e.
according to whether or not they contain a Direct Object). Intransitive sentences are labeled [V] and
transitive sentences [Vn]. Within teach
of [V] and [Vn] the sentence patterns are further subdivided into [P], [Pr] and
[P.Pr] according to whether they contain a particle, a preposition, or a particle
and a preposition.
The whole system of six basic patterns can be represented schematically,
and illustrated, as follows:
Intransitive Transitive
Particle [Vp] [Vn.P]
Preposition
[Vpr] [Vn.pr]
Particle + Preposition
[Vp.pr] [Vn.p.pr]
[Vp] The electricity supply went off
[Vpr] We were backing on a change of
heart.
[Vp.pr] The committee fall back on an earlier
plan.
[Vn.p] The awful food turns people off.
[Vn.pr] Peter foists all his problems on his
unfortunate friends.
[Vn.p.pr] You can put the shortage down to bad
planning. 4.2.3
A General Stylistic Study of Idiomatic Expressions and Multi-Word Verbs
of English
In this section an attempt is made to provide the reader with a general
description of the stylistic aspect of idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs
of English. 4.2.3.1
A General Stylistic Study of Idiomatic Expressions
No lexiographer can be content with simply detailing the meaning and grammatical
properties of idiomatic expressions. As
the readers will come to realize many idiomatic expressions are restricted to
particular group of users or particular occasions of use, or indicate the speaker’s
attitude to the persons or events denoted, or are used to perform special functions
(for example, greeting or warnings). The native speaker knows for instance that
expressions such as drive sb crazy or be no great shakes are more likely to crop
up during relaxed conversation between friends than in an official document or
formal essay, while stand easy and mark time (in a non-figurative sense) suggest
the specialized language or register of military commands.
The style of an idiom is regarded as the religion of certain variable factors
in situations in that idiom is normally used.
Among the most significant of those are: i.
The social relationship between the speakers or correspondents
(which may be that of friend to friend, or employer to employee, etc). ii.
The setting (communication may take place over a drink in a bar,
or at an official reception). iii.
The degree of seriousness, lightheartedness, etc adopted by the
speaker – possibly as imposed or suggested by the setting (compare the pre-match
banter in a changing-room with discussion at a board-meeting).
So, idioms can be said to differ along a scale from formal to informal
according to the variation in the above factors considered together thus: i.
A ‘formal’ idiomatic expression will tend to reflect a distant
rather than a close relationship; be more likely to be associated with an official
setting; and tend to suggest a serious or elevated tone: e.g.
(make answer / reply)—
He presented an Address from the House of Commons to which her Majesty
was graciously pleased to make reply. ii.
An ‘informal’ idiomatic expression reflects an intimate rather
than a distant relationship; a domestic rather than an official occasion; an easy,
relaxed attitude; e.g. take it easy. q
You make a mistake in answering him back, though, mate.
He doesn’t like that, old Frank doesn’t.
Just take it easy, q
Myra, love, you’d better take it easy. (Here
both examples are of reported conversation between close acquaintances; mate and
love are indicators of intimacy).
Readers should note that most idioms are stylistically neutral in the sense
that they fall somewhere between the limits represented by the labels (formal)
and (informal). They should bear in mind
/ note also that stylistic values are
constantly shifting, and that the conventions observed by individual speakers
and writers differ considerably.
It is important also that idioms should not be confused with colloquial
language or slang. Colloquial language
is used when people are speaking informally and it may contain idioms, but not
necessarily. Slang means informal words
or expressions used by a particular group of people (e.g. young people) usually
to distinguish themselves from others. Again,
Slang often contains idioms, but not necessarily. So idioms are not something ‘special’ or ‘sub-standard’ : They are
a vital part of the standard language.
In the following paragraphs we shall treat briefly some important issues
related to style: register, provenance and currency. Register
The occupational or professional fields with which certain expressions
are particularly associated are not ranged along a scale, and the labels used
… generally designate separate areas. The
examples below show a selection of register variations/categorizations: oul
play (sport) even odds
(horse racing) break
even (commerce) a closed-shop
(industrial relations) grievous
bodily harm (legal) make
(sth) fast (esp. nautical) give
sb etc his marching orders (military) Provenance
and Currency
Some idioms have different forms in British and American English. Note the American equivalent for each of these
British idioms) 1.
be left holding the baby (B.E.)
be left holding thebag. (A.E.) 2.
have green fingers (B.E.)
have a green thumb (A.E.) 3.
throw a spanner in the works. (B.E.)
throw a monkey wrench in the works. (A.E.) 4.
be all fingers and thumbs (B.E.)
be all numbers (A.E.) 5.
blow your own trumpet (B.E.)
blow your own horn (A.E.)
However, there are idiomatic expressions which are solely,
or principally, American which have a marginal status in British English.
These are idioms which though not fully established in British usage, and
still regarded as “American” by some speakers, are nonetheless used often enough
to merit attention and consideration. 4.2.3.2
A General Stylistic Study of Multi-Word Verbs of English
Here, we shall try to provide the reader with a general description of
the style aspect of multi-word verbs of English.
Since learners often find it difficult to identify, or use in right contexts,
items which are restricted in style, evaluation or technical field, a clear indication
of their labeling/markings should be presented to help them. Style markings/labelings given to multi-word
verbs (in dictionaries) reflect various factors in the situations in which they
are normally used. The most important
of these factors are: ·
The relationship between the speakers or correspondents
(remote or official, or intimate and relaxed). ·
Whether one is speaking or writing (compare a spoken commentary
o a football match with a newspaper report of it). ·
The level of seriousness, detachment etc. suggested or
imposed by the occasion (compare a speech at an official banquet with one given
at a farewell party for a personal friend).
Considering the above factors, multi-word verbs can be said to differ along
a scale (formal, informal, etc.) So
we can distinguish the following categories: Formal
Reflecting distant rather than a close relationship; used when speaking
a writing in a serious or official context (e.g. in a letter to a civil servant
or a bank manager): accrue (to) (from) … Interest at 8.5% accrues to us from a
building society account. Informal
Intimate rather than distant; spoken rather than written; relaxed and casual
rather than grand or imposing: e.g. pass out:
I’d only have to point a gun at him and say bang, and the little twerp
(=unworthy person) would pass out cold from fright. Slang
Usually met in (and invariably derived from) the spoken language; suggesting
an easy and intimate relationship between the speakers; serving to establish and
reinforce the ‘togetherness’ of particular sub-groups in society, eg. the police,
the criminals, etc. and their distinctness from other groups; tending to date
quickly, and therefore needing to be used with care by foreign speakers: e.g.
bang up: He said sex was no fun if you
couldn’t get a girl banged up. Taboo
‘Swear words: highly informal; generally avoided by educated male speakers
when in the company of women and children, though conventions vary greatly from
speaker to speaker, as well as from one social group to another, often expressing
tension, irritation, anger, etc: best avoided by foreign speakers: e.g. bugger
off:
If you’ are going to be rude you can bugger off!
To conclude this section about the stylistic behaviour of multi-word verbs
the following points might be necessary. ·
We should note that it is impossible to assign fixed stylistic
values to most items which call for marking of some kind. The
boundary between ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ usage is constantly shifting, and the
conventions observed by individual speakers and writers differ very considerably. ·
It is often said that multi-word verbs tend to be rather
‘colloquial’ or ‘informal’, and more appropriate to spoken English than written,
and even that it is better to avoid them and choose single-word equivalents or
synonyms instead. Yet in many cases multi-word
verbs and their synonyms have different ranges of use, meaning, or collocation,
so that a single-word synonym cannot be substituted for a multi-word verb.
Single word synonyms are much more formal in style than multi-word verbs,
so that they seem out of place in many contexts, and students using them run the
risk of sounding pompous or just unnatural. ·
This stylistic difference between single-word verb and
its equivalent multi-word could be shown by presenting and examining the following
examples: (Note that in the first example, ‘bring up’ is mostly used for the moral
and social training that children receive at home while educate is used for the
intellectual and cultural training that people get at school and university). q
Lucy was brought up by her grand parents and educated
at the local secondary schools q
What time are you planning to turn up (multi-word verb:
informal) Please let
us know when you plan to arrive? (Single-word verb more formal) q
Just keep on till you get to the crossroads (Multi-word
verbs: informal) Continue
as far as crossroads (single-word verb: formal) Sometimes
a particular multi-word verb is only used in formal or technical contexts, or
it is found mainly in either British English or American English. 4.2.3.3
Summary
In the previous paragraphs, we have tried to provide the reader with a
general description of the stylistic behaviour of idiomatic expressions and multi-word
verbs of English. However as a conclusion
for this section, it might be useful to mention the following two points which
will be of particular interest to advanced foreign students and teachers: ·
The first point focuses on the feature that proverbs and
catchphrases may be structurally shortened for a variety of reasons and with a
number of effects. Traditional saying
of a given structural type tend to be used in a narrow and stereotyped set of
functions. Thus a stitch in time saves
nine and the early bird catches the worm are typically used to comment approvingly
on timely or judicious action or to reinforce a recommendation. Often it will be felt sufficient to hint at
the whole by the use of a part, as in such utterances, as ‘A stitch in time, you
know! Sometimes, the fragment will take
on a life of its own as a phrase idiom, as is the case with an early bird. This co-exists in present-day usage alongside
the saying from which it originated. ·
A second point is the creation of idiomatic expressions
and the achievement of humorous effects by the manipulations of them normally
regarded as fixed calls for a degree of cultural or literary awareness possessed
only by mature native speakers of the language. Consider in this respect the following catchphrases: The
buck stops here and if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen which
were first spoken by the Late President Truman; and their association with him,
combined with the vigour and freshness of his language, ensured that they were
taken up and repeated more widely. As in many similar cases, both the function
taken up and repeated more widely. As
in many similar cases, both the function and form of these catchphrases are varied
from time to time, as the following quotation from an article on the Vietnam war
makes clear: The
harsh truth is that the buck started here (i.e. in the US) and that it stops here
as well. This example of nonce variations in an expression
whose original form is well-known brings us to the point that sentence idioms
in particular are commonly refashioned by native speakers to achieve a variety
of striking effects. Ddd 4.3
A DETAILED SEMANTIC STUDY OF IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS AND MULTI-WORD
VERBS OF ENGLISH
In this section an attempt will be made to cover the following points: ·
Definition of idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs
of English. ·
The relationship between idiomatic expressions and multi-word
verbs of English ·
Lexico-semantic study of idiomatic expressions and multi-word
verbs of English. 4.3.1
Definition of Idiomatic Expressions and Multi-Word Verbs of English
Why the two terms idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs are chosen
as basic components in the title of this study?
Before presenting and discussing the different definitions of idiomatic
expressions and multi-word verbs of English, I would like to account briefly for
choosing these two terms as basic components of the title of this study.
For the first one, idiomatic expressions, is preferable to the term idioms
since it suggests that they are composed of more than one word: they are expressions
– multi-word items. The second one, multi-word verbs, is chosen
because of its breadth of coverage and focus.
It includes idiomatic verbal combinations (known usually as phrasal verbs)
and those which are non-idiomatic (literal verbal combinations). So, the term multi-word verbs has advantage
over other terms such as ‘phrasal verb’, ‘two-parts verbs’ etc. The reader should be reminded that, in general,
‘phrasal verbs’ and ‘idioms’ are used interchangeably with the terms ‘multi-words
verbs’ and ‘idiomatic expressions’ respectively throughout the relevant literature,
but the researcher tried to confine himself to the later pair, i.e. idiomatic
expressions and multi-word verbs whenever it is possible and appropriate for context.
There is a wild diversity and disagreement over the exact definitions of
idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs of English.
The precision of the wording varies. So
too, enormously, does the interpretation as Wood (1980) put it.
However, in the following pages, there will be a presentation and discussion
of some of the definitions of idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs of English: (Note
that some of the definitions provided in this section have been presented and
discussed in chapter two of the present study). 4.3.1.1
Definition of Idiomatic Expressions
It is apparent that many of the disagreements over how best to account
for the nature and behaviour of idioms can be traced back to an initial disagreement
over what actually is an idiom and why. It
seemed more valuable therefore to work out, carefully and thoroughly a definition
of idiomatic expression and its implications.
In respect of the issue of diversity, disagreement etc. let us quote from
Wood 1980: Introduction:
‘… The wild diversity is also both an effect and a cause of disagreement,
over the exact definition of ‘idiom’ and its interpretation. The vast majority of idiomatologists, after more or less reflection,
settle for a definition along the lines of a complex expression/phrase whose meaning
is not a compositional function of/not made up of the meaning of its parts’: The
precision of he wording varies. So too, enormously, does the interpretation.
Must the meaning of the whole be completely unrelated to the meanings of
the parts, or only not completely predictable? Need
the expression be ambiguous? Must
the unit be a phrase and the parts words, or is a word related non-compositionally
to its constituent morphemes an idiom? And so on’: (Wood 1980: Introduction) 1.
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary Definition of Idiomatic Expressions IDIOM
(Only sense 3 is relevant to our term).
1. The style of writing, music, art, etc.
associated with a particular period, individual or group; today’s idiom, popular/religious/classical
idiom.
2. The language or dialect of a group of
people or a country: have an ear for Irish idiom.
3. A phrase or sentence whose meaning is
not clear from the meaning of its individual words and which must be learnt as
a whole unit, e.g. give way, a change of heart, be hard put to it. (OALDCE,
5th ed. 1996:589) IDIOMATIC
(adj): 1. a.
Using or containing expressions that are natural to a native speaker of
a language:
She speaks fluent and idiomatic French. b.
Containing an idiom (sense 3 above) or idiom: an idiomatic expression/language. 2. appropriate to the style of writing or
music associated with a particular period, individual or group:
an idiomatic rendering of a piano concerto (ODALDCE,
1996:589)
A more clarification of the term ‘idioms’ is given at Study Page A6 (between
page 278-279) of the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English. Under ‘What are Idioms’ we can read the following:
‘An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is difficult or sometimes impossible
to guess by looking at the meanings of the individual words it contains. For example, the phrase be in the same boat
has a literal meaning that is easy to interpret, but it also has a common idiomatic
meaning: I found the job quite difficult at first. But everyone was in the same boat; we were
all learning. Here, ‘be
in the same boat’ means: to be in the same difficult or unfortunate situation. Some
idioms are colourful expressions, such as proverbs and sayings: q
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. (= It is
better to be content with what one has than to risk losing everything by trying
to get much more). q
Too many cooks spoil the broth. (= If too many people
are involved in something, it will not be done well). If
the expression is well-known, part of it may be left out: Well,
I knew everything would go wrong – it’s the usual story of too many cooks! Other
idioms are short expressions that are used for a particular purpose: q
Hang in there! (used for encouraging somebody to remain
firm in difficult circumstances). q
On your bike! (used
to tell somebody to go away). Other
idioms make comparisons: „ as light as air. „ As hard as nails
Many idioms, however, are not vivid in this way.
They are considered as idioms because their form is fixed: „ for certain „ in any case…’ In
OALDCE (P.XXVI), we can read also the following: ‘…
knowledge of the meaning and correct use of expressions such as make up one’s
mind, be all ears, with all one’s heart etc. These
are called ‘idioms’ or idiomatic expressions. They are groups of two or more words which
must be learnt as a whole because the meaning of the expression may be different
from the meanings of its parts. An example
is: hit the nail on the head, which means guess right’. 2.
Ball’s (1958) definition:
‘… The use of familiar words in an unfamiliar sense’ seems to me to be
as adequate a definition as the foreign student is likely to need, and it has
the merit of giving him a simple standard by which he can discriminate idiom from
non-idiom. For instance, he knows the
meaning of both words in Sunday Week, but unless he knows the idiom, its meaning
of not next Sunday, but the Sunday after that will escape him. In the same way the use of it is unfamiliar
in the question Who is it? : this is the way to challenge someone to give his
name, who has just knocked at the door”.
The above precise brief wording of the definition given by Ball is preceded
by his consideration of seven features of language that are embraced by that definition (Ball: 1958:1):
1. Ordinary Grammatical Usage
Consider, for instance, the tense usage in the following:
It’s time we went home (simple past). When you come tomorrow, I will pay
you back the one pound I owe you (present simple).
(both expressing future situations.)
2. Deviations from Strict Grammar Many colloquial uses are strictly speaking
“ungrammatical”. But it must not be assumed
that all deviations from grammar are bad English. Thus we normally say:
It’s me (him, her, ..) and not It’s I (he, she, …) We
say:
It’s ages since we met.
3. Allusive Expressions
There is a kind of expression that appears to have straightforward interpretation,
but idiomatically means something quite different.
It is usually impossible to guess its meaning. Here are a few examples:
That will do (=enough)
Let’s call it a day (=Let’s stop work now).
4. Conventional Phrases of Many Kinds
Most of these are phrases which we use unthinkingly e.g.: the greeting
How d’ you do? (to which the correct response is the same
phrase) does not ask about your health or how you are getting on.
5. Many Uses of the Phrasal Verbs
A few examples of this very important feature of colloquial idiom must
suffice:
I can’t make out what he is doing.
Don’t let on what I told you.
I can’t put up with it any longer.
6. The Phenomenon of English Word Order
English has lost most of its inflections and so has to rely on word order
for meaning. Compare
It may be well ahead of time.
and
It may well be ahead of time.
7. The picturesque and Metaphorical Types
of Idioms
English people are less fond of the picturesque idiom (e.g. It rains cats
and dogs) but the next largest class of idioms is that of well established sayings
and proverbs. Some examples are:
Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.
Don’t wash your dirty linen in public. 3.
Charles Hockett’s Definition
Hockett in his 1958 ‘Course in Modern Linguistics’ is the first of the
modern western grammarians to give serious consideration on the definition of
idiom and its consequences. His discussion
is worth quoting at length:
‘Let us momentarily use the term ‘Y’ for any grammatical form the meaning
of which is not deducible from its structure.
Any ‘Y’, in any occurrence in which it is not a constituent of a larger
‘Y’ is an idiom. A vast number of composite
forms in any language are idioms. If we
are to be consistent in our use of the definition, we are forced also to grant
every morpheme idiomatic status, save when it is occurring as a constituent of
a larger idiom, since a morpheme has no structure from which its meaning could
be deduced.
‘… The advantage of this feature of our definition, and of the inclusion
of morphemes as idioms when they are not parts of larger idioms is that we can
now assert that any utterance consists wholly of an integral number of idioms. Any composite form which is not itself idiomatic
consists of smaller forms which are.’ (Hockett 1958:172).
Idioms will thus range from morphemes to proverbs or even poems, taking
in pronouns, proper names, figures of speech, and private family languages. Idioms formation is a constant process, and
Hockett makes the significant point that:
‘The less productive a pattern is, the more likely it is that if a new
form does not get coined by the pattern, it will have idiomatic value’. (Hockett 1958:308).
Hockett’s definition offers some interesting contrasts with later ones: Firstly, idiomaticity is taken to be
completely pervasive (=present and seen or felt everywhere) of language. Secondly, Hockett deliberately and
carefully admits morphemes to idioms status. (While all the other definitions
we shall look at exclude single morphemes (by referring to ‘morphemes arrangements’,
‘a group of morphemes’, or specifying an idiom as a complex, a morpheme as a complex
expression) or even words). And thirdly, it is not particular forms
which are idioms but occurrences of forms in the context of particular utterances. 4.
Katz and Postal’s (1963) Definition
In their ‘Semantic Interpretation of Idioms and Sentences Containing Them:
1963, the standard non-compositionality definition makes its first appearance:
‘The essential feature of an idiom is that its full meaning …is not a compositional
function of the meanings of the idiom’s elementary grammatical parts’. (Katz
and Postal 1963:275) 5.
Alan Healey’s (1968) Definition
He defines an idiom as ‘a group of two or more morphemes and
an equal or greater number of tagmemes whose meaning as a whole is not deducible
from the meanings of its component morphemes and tagmemes or any subgrouping thereof’. (Healey
1968:73) 6.
Wallace Chafe’s (1970) Definition ‘A semantic unit--… one which does
not have a direct symbolization of its own but which trades on the symbolization
of another or (others) – can be called idiom’ (Chafe
1970:44) 7.
Bruce Fraser’s (1970) Definition
He claims that an idiom is ‘a constituent or series of constituents
for which the semantic interpretation is not a compositional function of the formatives
of which it is composed’. (Fraser
1970:22) 8.
Uriel Weinreich’s (1972) Definition
‘… Idiomaticity – a phenomenon which may be described as the use of segmentally
complex expression whose semantic structure is into deducible jointly from their
syntactic structure and the semantic structure of their components’. (Weinreich
1972:89) 9.
Adam Makkai’s (1972-1973) Definitions ‘… almost every linguist, or philologist
for that mater, who considered the problem, saw something else in idiomaticity.
To some, it was a mater of UNSUSUAL ENCODING, that is, a PHRASEOLOGICAL
problem; to others a matter of MISUNDERSTANDABILITY, that is AMBIGUOUS DECODABILITY;
and again to others the failure to understand a form despite previous familiarity
with the meanings of its constituents, and so forth’. (Makkai
1972: Preface) ‘An idiom is an entry in the ecological
dictionary of English whose number of cross references is twice the number of
its constituent words (once for every lexeme as expression carrier, and once for
every lexeme as to its belonging to a certain semantic nest) plus its own idiomatic
meaning which is not deducible from its components’. (Makkai
1973:12) 10.
Ruhl’s (1977) Definition ‘An idiom is a construction whose words
occur elsewhere but never with the same meaning as in this construction.
This definition allows the possibility that the words may contribute to,
yet not fully account for, the meaning of the construction’. (Ruhl
1977:455) 11.
Michael Swan’s (1980) Definition
Under ‘what are Idioms’?
He writes, ‘An expression like turn up (meaning
‘arrive’) break even (meaning ‘make neither a profit nor a loss’) or a can of
worms (meaning ‘a complicated problem’) can be difficult to understand, because
its meaning is different from the meanings of the separate words in the expression,
(If you know break and even this does not help you at all to understand ‘break
even’). Expressions like these are called idioms.
Idioms are usually special to one language and cannot be translated word
for word (though related languages may share some idioms’). (Swan
1980:243).
On pages (243-4), in a sub-title: Collocations: (Conventional Combinations)
we read the following:
‘We can talk about a burning desire or a blazing row, but, we don’t say
*a blazing desire or *a burning row. Somebody
can be a heavy smoker or a devoted friend, but not *a devoted smoker or *a heavy
friend. Expressions like these are also idiomatic,
in a sense. They are easy to understand, but not so easy for a learner to produce
correctly. One can think of many adjectives
that might be used with smoker to say that somebody smokes a lot – for example
big, strong, hard, fierce, mad, devoted. It just happens that English speakers have
chosen to use heavy, and one has to know this in order to express the idea correctly.
(A learner who uses the wrong words for an idea like this may be understood, but
he or she will not sound natural). (Swan
1980: 243-4)
From the same reference above, we quote – under the heading ‘Situational
Language’ – the following:
The expressions that are used in typical everyday situations are often
idiomatic in the same sense. With the
help of a dictionary and a grammar, one could invent various possible ways of
expressing a particular idea but generally there are only one or two ways that
happen to be used by English speakers and one has to know what they are in order
to speak or write naturally. Some examples
are: q
Could you check the oil? (More
natural than Could you inspect the Oil? Or Could you see how much oil there is
in the engine?). q
Is it a direct flight or do I have to change? (More
natural than Does the plane go straight there or do I have to get another one?). q
Sorry I kept you waiting. (More
natural than Sorry I made you wait) q
Could I reserve a table for three for eight O’ clock? (More
natural than Could you keep me a table for three persons for eight O’clock?). (Swan
1997) 12.
Ronald E. Feare’s (1980) Definition
In his book ‘Practice with Idioms, page xvii, he provides the following
definition for idiom:
‘What exactly is an idiom? This
is not an easy question to answer, because many parts of speech be called idioms. In general, however, an idiom is an expression
which has a special meaning, and this meaning cannot be understood completely
by looking at the individual words in the idiom’. (Feare
1980:xvii) 13.
Jennifer Sedil and W.McMordie (1909)
‘In their book “English Idioms” 1988 (5th ed): they give the
following definition: (under the sub-heading ‘What is an idiom?’), we read:
‘It is important to realize that idioms are not only colloquial expressions,
as many people believe. They appear in
formal style and in slang, in poetry, in the language of Shakespeare and the Bible. What then is an idiom? An idiom can be defined as a number of words
which, when taken together, have a different meaning from the individual meanings
of each word’. (Sedil
and McMordie 1909:123) 14.
The Dictionary of American Idioms’ Definition
It gives the following definition, in its preface:
‘An idiom is the assigning of a new meaning to a group of words which already
have their own meaning’. 15.
A Dictionary of Problems: Words and Expressions’ Definition
On page 27 under the heading: ‘Idiomatic Usage’, it provides the following
definition:
‘The words idiom and idiomatic come from Greek terms the key meaning of
which is “peculiar or individual”. Idiomatic
expressions confirm to no basic principles in their formation and are indeed laws
into themselves’. 16.
Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary’s Definition Sense
3
‘An expression in the usage of a language, that is peculiar to itself either
in grammatical construction or in having a meaning which cannot be derived as
a whole from the conjoined meanings of its elements’. 17.
Michael J. Wallace’s 1982 Definition
‘One of the problems is the problem of definition: the word idiom is often
used in different ways to mean different things.
Let us try, therefore, to establish a working definition. Here are some idioms with their meanings: Let
the cat out of the bag (= reveal a secret); lick someone’s boots (= humble oneself
to gain someone’s favour); rain cats and dogs (= rain heavily)’ Storm in a teacup
(= fuss about something that is not really important); Off the cuff (= not prepared
before hand). ·
First, these expressions are fixed collocation. … However,
some collocations are fairly loosely related … With
idioms, this freedom of collocation is much more restricted. Using
the examples, we have noted, it would be odd to say:
They have let several cats out of bags (= revealed several secrets); he
goes about licking people’s sandals; yesterday it rained dogs and cats; the teacup
has just had a storm; he made an off his-cuff remark, and so on. Generally speaking, however, idioms operate
in some ways as if they were compound words, and the number of changes that can
be made are very limited. ·
The second important thing which all idioms have in common
is that they cannot be decoded (understood) from the literal or ordinary meaning
of the words they contain: we can say that they are semantically opaque.
Going back to our examples, we can take let the cat out of the bag or rain
cats and dogs. The meanings of these expressions have no obvious
connection with cats, dogs or bags!
However, it could be suggested that a practical definition of ‘idiom’ for
teaching purpose will contain three elements: 1.
Idioms consist of more than one word: 2.
Idioms are fixed collocations; and 3.
Idioms are semantically opaque. (Wallace
1982: 116-118) 18.
Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms 1993 Definition
Under Functional Idioms: Saying and Catchphrases p.xi, we read:
‘… What such expressions have in common is that they are idioms; generally
of sentence length, and often long established in usage, which are used to perform
communicative functions (speech acts) of various kinds. These features can be illustrated by considering
the form of the following catchphrase and its explanatory gloss: did he fall or
was he pushed? (catchphrase) a humorous or ironic enquiry into the cause of some
apparent injury or accident (originally a music hall joke).
The two categories can be further distinguished as follows: (i) Sayings – Whose form is often made striking
and memorable by rhythm, assonance etc. are used to make comments and recommendations,
or issue warnings and prohibitions, which enshrine traditional values and sanctions.
Out of sight is out of mind. (Usually a comment on sb or sth that can easily
be forgotten, or on sb of a forgetful nature). (ii) Catchphrase: are expressions often originating
with a person prominent in public life, or in the world of entertainment etc,
and which on passing into more general currency acquire other functions or are
used with reference to other events: diamonds are a girl’s best friend (diamonds,
or gifts with a lasting cash value, esp. from a lover or succession of lovers,
are an insurance for one’s future). (Oxford
Dictionary of English Idioms 1993.xi) 19.
Mary McGee Wood (1981) Definition of Idiomatic Expressions
Wood (1981) precedes her definition by considering two terms: Compositionality
and productivity.
‘… Semantic compositionality constitutes a continuum, shading by gradual
degrees from total non-compositionality to fully regular combination, for both
phrases and compound words. True idioms
must be wholly non-compositional, in contrast to collocations and other semi-compositional
expressions. (This criterion is preferable
to that of ambiguity, rles out decomposition of an idiom in the lexicon, and admits
expressions with an opaque cranberry – constituent as idioms).
Productivity of for is similarly shown to be gradient, forming a continuum
from complete frozenness to full freedom of combination: the term ‘idiom’ is (again)
restricted to zero point. Structurally
opaque expressions qualify as idioms, and compound words are not excluded. Our definition is therefore: An idiom is a complex expression which
is wholly non-compositional in meaning and wholly non-productive in form’. (Wood
1981:6)
After quoting from Wood 1981 : synopsis, we shall turn to the conclusion
of her text (A definition of Idiom) for more clarification of her definition.
‘… Our definition of idiom will invoke two principles,
compositionality of meaning and productivity of form.’
She continued to formulate her definition.
‘We are now in a position to attempt our own definition of idiom. Let us therefore recapitulate the decisions
reached on the various questions and criteria we have discussed. 1.
True idioms are wholly non-compositional, or opaque in meaning. 2.
Ambiguity is a common but not a necessary feature of idiomaticity. 3.
The meaning of an idiom should not be distributed over the entries
of its constituents in a lexicon. 4.
Form with a unique constituent need not be idioms, but those
containing a cranberry-form are. 5.
True idioms can be opaque in structure. 6.
True idioms are wholly non-productive in form. 7.
Single compound words can be idioms.
It is neither necessary nor appropriate to specify all the seven points
in the wording of a definition. Most are
implications or consequences …
An idiom is a complex expression which is wholly non-compositional in meaning
and wholly non-productive in form’. (Wood
1981:95) Summary
A comprehensive definition of idiomatic expressions is articulated in Cowie
et al 1993, which might serve as summary and conclusion for this subsection:
‘The best-known approach to the definition of idiomaticity, and one which
linguists as well as dictionary – makers have helped to popularize, fastens on
the difficulty of interpreting idioms in terms of the meanings of their constituent
words. Definitions such as the following
are representative of this approach.
… groups of words with set meanings that cannot be calculated by adding
up the separate meanings of the parts.
… peculiarity of phraseography … having meaning not deducible from those
of the separate words …
However, defining idioms in a way which throws emphasis on ease or difficulty
of interpretation leaves a great deal unsaid …
However, an approach based simply on the semantic opaqueness (or transparency)
of whole combinations yield a very small class of idioms. It leaves out o account, for example, an important group of expressions
which have figurative meanings (in terms, of the whole combination in each case)
but which also keep a current literal interpretation. Among such ‘figurative idioms; are catch fire
and close rank. There is other evidence,
too, especially the fact that a small number of words can be substituted in expressions
often regarded as opaque (consider burn one’s boats or bridges), that idioms are
not divided as a small water – tight category from non-idioms but are related
to them along a scale or continuum.
A view of idiomaticity which does full justice to the rich diversity of
word-combinations in English must recognize that the meaning of a combination
may be related to those of its components in a variety of ways, and must take
account also of the possibility of internal variation, or substitution of part
for part. The application of both criteria together produces
a complex categorization: i. Pure idioms : Though discussions
of idiomaticity at both a technical and non-technical level are usually limited
to the type illustrated by blow the gaff and kick the bucket (surely the most
often quoted idiom of all), idioms in the strict sense comprise only one, and
certainly not the largest, a of a spectrum of related categories. Historically, pure idioms form the end point
of a process by which word-combinations first establish themselves through constant
re-use, then undergo-figurative extension and finally petrify or congeal. ii. Figurative idioms : This category
has already been identified. It is idiomatic
in the sense that variation is seldom found (though note act that part or role;
a close, narrow shave) and pronoun substitution unlikely (though consider Bill
had a narrow shave and Fred an even narrower one). The merging of this group into
that of pure idioms is illustrated by such expressions as beat one’s breast and
(again) burn one’s boats. The literal senses of these expressions do
not survive alongside their figurative ones in normal, everyday use and for some
speakers they may indeed be unrelatable. For
such speakers these expressions fall into the category of pure idioms. iii. Restricted Collocations : In such
combinations, sometimes referred to as ‘semi-idioms’, one word (i.e. in the case
of two-word expressions) has a figurative sense not found outside that limited
context. The other element appears in
a familiar, literal sense (cf. the verb and noun, respectively, in jog one’s/sb’s
memory) and the adjective and noun in a blind alley. Some members of this category allow a degree
of lexical variation (consider, for instance, a cardinal error, sin, virtue, grace),
and in this respect ‘restricted’ collocations resemble ‘open’ ones. Another point of similarity is that the ‘literal’
element is sometimes replaced by a pronoun’. 4.3.1.2
Definition of Multi-Word Verbs of English
One approach would be to use the familiar term ‘phrasal verb’ (itself indicating
unity) to refer to idiomatic verbal combinations of various types though not to
the non-idiomatic ones. But, ‘phrasal
verb’ is understood in different ways by different grammarians and teachers etc,
and must be used with some care. However,
in what follows an attempt will be made to define the broadcast term ‘multi-word
verbs’. 1.
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English’s Definition ‘a simple verb combined with an adverb
or a preposition, or sometimes both, to make a new verb with a meaning that is
different from that of the simple verb, e.g. go in for, win over, blow up’. OALDCE
(5th ed): 1996:869
Also in the same reference mentioned-above (A2 Study page) between pp.278
and 279, under What are Phrasal Verbs we read:
‘look at the verbs in the sentences below: „ Jan turned down the offer of a lift home. „ Buying that new car has really eaten into
my savings „ I don’t think I can put up with his behaviour
much longer.
Phrasal verbs (sometimes called multi-word verbs) are verbs which consist
of two, or sometimes three, words. The
first word is a verb and it is followed by an adverb (turn down) or a preposition
(eat into) or both (put up with). These
adverbs or prepositions are sometimes called PARTICLES’. 2.
Michael Swan’s (1980) Definition
Swan 1980 (1997 ed:15), under the heading Phrasal Verbs, writes: ‘Adverb particles often join together
with verbs to make two-word verbs, sometimes with completely new meanings (e.g.
break down, put off, work out, give up). These are often called ‘phrasal verbs’. On page 243 of the same reference,
we read: ‘Common short verbs like bring, come,
do get, give, go, have, keep, make, put and take are very often used with prepositions
or adverb particles (e.g. on, off, up, away) to make two-word verbs.
These are called ‘prepositional’ verbs’ or ‘phrasal verbs’, and many of
them are idiomatic. Can you look after the cats while I’m
away? She just doesn’t know how to bring
up children.
I gave up chemistry because I didn’t like it. (Swan
1997:243)
For more details about multi-word verbs (phrasal and prepositional verbs
as Swan referred to them) let us quote the following:
Under ‘Verbs with Prepositions and Particles’: 1.
Two-Word verbs
Many English verbs can be followed by prepositions or adverbs particles: q
Alan walked down the road without looking at anybody. q
Do sit down
Some verbs and prepositions / particles are regularly used together: for
example look at, listen to, stand up, switch off.
These combinations are rather like two-word verbs.
They are often called ‘phrasal verbs’ in grammars.
The meaning of a two-word verb is sometimes very different from the meaning
of the two parts taken separately: „ Could you look after the kids while I’m
out?
(Look after is not the same as look + after) „ We had to put off the meeting till Tuesday.
(put off is not the same as put + off.)
Then Swan mentioned another type of multi –word verbs –i.e. a three word
verb under the heading “verbs with prepositions and particles together”:
‘Some verbs can be used with both an adverb particle and a preposition’:
I get on with her quite well.
If you’re on the road on Saturday night, look out for drunk drivers. 3.
A.P. Cowie and R. Mackin’s Definition (1993)
Under the sub-heading
What is a Phrasal Verb? Cowie and Mackin, in their Oxford Dictionary of
Phrasal Verbs’, provide the following definition:
‘In English, verb are often put together with short adverbs (or particles)
as in run back, put (the dish) down, warm (the milk) up. Verbs
often combine with PREPOSITIONS too, as in come into (the room), drop (the vase)
on (the floor), translate (the play) into (French). All
these combinations are easy to understand, because you can work out their meanings
from those of the individual verbs and particles or prepositions.
(So, put the dish down means place the dish in a lower position).
But sometimes the combinations are more difficult to understand. Look at the combination break out (verb + particle)
as it is used in this sentence: Cholera
broke out in the north of the country. In
this example, the verb break doesn’t have the meaning it has in phrases like break
a window or break a stick. And ‘out’ doesn’t mean ‘outside in the open’.
The combination has to be understood as one unit of meaning ‘start suddenly
or violently’. When a verb + particle (or a verb + preposition)
is a unit of meaning like this it is a phrasal verb. Sometimes
you will find a verb, a particle and a preposition combining to form one unit
of meaning. A well-known example is ‘put up with’ (meaning ‘tolerate’). This too is a phrasal verb’. Cowie
and Mackin 1993 (3rd impr 1994); xi.
The same reference above (page 423) provides the following in defining
phrasal verbs:
‘The basic requirement that expressions have to meet for inclusion in this
volume is a simple one; all consist of, or include, a verb and a particle or preposition
(i.e. one of the words down, for, in, off, on, up, with, etc). Most entries consist of simple combinations
of verb + particle or verb + preposition, e.g. back down, fall through, clog up,
puzzle out; abide by, come across, run into, take to; but there is a sizeable
group containing both a particle and a preposition – put up with, set down as,
take out on. A considerable number of
entries, too, deal with more complex types, many with a noun, and sometimes also
an adjective, as fixed elements in addition to the verb and preposition or particle:
get access to, give scope for, let off stream, lose track of, make a mental note
of …’ (Cowie & Mackin
1993:423) 4.
Michael J. Wallace’s (1982) Definition
In his book: ‘Teaching Vocabulary’, he provides the following definition:
‘A multi-word verb is a verb plus a particle (i.e. preposition or adverb),
or, sometimes, a verb plus two particles, which join to form a new structural
unit. Here are some examples of multi-word
verbs: abide
by cave in move
down take in add
up cross off own
up take on become
of do without parcel
up while away burn
down give up puff
away work out
come down with
cut back on
get off with
stand up to (Wallace
1982: 119). „ What is not a multi-word verb?
An important point to mention, before concluding this sub-section, (in
respect of the definition of multi-word verb) is: What is not a multi-word verb? Take
for instance, the verb + adjective combination which is very similar to multi-word
verbs.
Compare
He put the cloth straight
He put it out;
where only ‘put out’ is considered a multi-word verb. Both
combinations form close units but the adjectives in the verb-adjective combinations
have their individual meaning and their grammatical properties consider:
John didn’t put the table cloth as [straight] as Mary.
*out Adjectives
in combinations like cut short, rub dry, scrub clean, set free, dye red, wash
clean, work loose etc., selected from a rather restricted range of adjectives
are not multi-word verbs. „ Conclusion for the Definition(s) of
Idiomatic Expressions and Multi-word Verbs
Of English Idiomatic
Expressions Definition(s)
After considering the various definitions of idiomatic expressions the
researcher is for Wood 1981 definition which is as follows: ‘An idiom is a complex expression which
is wholly non-compositional in meaning and wholly non-productive in form’.
The researcher also found Michael Wallace’s (1982) definition as one of
the comprehensive and working definitions:
‘… However, it could be suggested that a practical definition of idiom
for teaching purposes will contain three elements: 1. Idioms consist of more than one word; 2. Idioms are fixed collocations and 3. Idioms are semantically opaque’. (Wallace
1982:118)
The reader is also referred to Cowie et al’s (1993) definition which seems
comprehensive and valid. Multi-word
verbs’ & Definition(s)
Regarding multi-word verb the definitions below seem adequate and comprehensive: ·
OUP Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs 1994
‘In English verbs are often put together with short adverbs or (particles)
as in run back, put (the dish) down and warm (the milk) up. Verbs often combine with prepositions, too, as in come into (the
room)…’ ·
M. Wallace 1982
‘A multi-word verb is a verb plus a particle (i.e. preposition or adverb),
or, sometimes a verb plus two particles, which join to form a new structural unit.
Here are some examples of multi-word verbs:
… add up,
… take on,
… work out’. (Wallace
1982:119) ·
Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of current English’s
definition represents one of the most adequate and comprehensive definitions of
multi-word verbs: ‘a
simple verb combined with an adverb or a preposition or sometimes both, to make
a new verb with a meaning that is different from that of the simple verb, e.g.
go in for, win over, blow up.’ (OALDCE
5th ed. 1995:869)
Also in the same reference (A2 Study Page) under “what are phrasal verbs”,
we read:
‘Phrasal verbs (sometimes called multi-word verbs) are verbs which consist
of two or sometimes three, words. The
first word is a verb and it is followed by an adverb (turn down) or a preposition
(eat into) or both (put up with). These
adverbs or prepositions are called PARTICLES’. (OALDCE
5th ed: 1996: between 278-9) 4.3.2
What is the relationship between idiomatic expressions and multi-word
verbs of English?
On encountering the title “Teaching and Learning of Idiomatic Expressions
and Multi-Word Verbs of English (in the context of Sudan)” – the title of this
research, the reader may well ask why idiomatic expressions and multi-word are
brought together: What is the relation between these two parts? This section is a brief reply of some sort
to this question.
In short, some of the idiomatic expressions are multi-word verbs particularly
those which are termed phrasal verbs. Not
all idiomatic expressions are phrasal verbs: there are other different idiomatic
constructions: nominal, adjectival and adverbial categories. One can say that not all idiomatic expressions
are multi-word verbs (there are others as indicated above) and not all multi-word
verbs are idiomatic expressions: there is another type – beside the phrasal verbs
– which is literal or non-idiomatic verbal combinations.
This relation between idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs could
be diagrammed as follows: (The shaded area is the shared area between the two
components)
Wallace (1982:124) indicates
explicitly the relationship between idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs: Idioms
and multi-word verbs present many similarities in treatment from a teaching and
a learning point of view largely because they occupy overlapping areas in language.
… There
are many phrasal verbs, of course, which are complete idioms … Show
someone up (=humiliate) (make
something up (=invent) smoke
someone out (=expose) and so on. (Wallace
1982:124) However, the
relation between idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs could be clarified
further by considering the following pairs of examples: q
He took off the table-cloth (multi-word verb:literal/non-idiomatic) q
He took off the Prime Minister to perfection (Multi-word
verb: idiomatic/phrasal verb). q
It was a relief to take off our wet boots (a multi-word
verb:literal/non-idiomatic) q
The plane took off at 7. (Multi-word verb: a phrasal verb/idiomatic). To
sum up, idiomatic expressions are not always multi-word verbs; multi-word verbs
are not always idiomatic expressions i.e. idiomatic expressions include other
categories than verbal combinations : these are nominal, adjectival
and adverbial idioms while multi-word verbs encompass, besides the idiomatic verbal
combinations, literal constructions. 4.3.3
A Lexico-Semantic Study of Idiomatic Expressions and
Multi-Word Verbs of English
In this section, we will try to provide the reader with a brief account
of the lexico-semantic properties of idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs
of English. The
section will attempt to cover the following issues in respect of those two components
of vocabulary.
a. Approach to a lexico-semantic description
b. Idiomaticity and non-idiomaticity
c. Collocation d.
Synonymy, antonymy 4.3.3.1
Lexico-semantic study of multi-word verbs of English
As an introduction to this sub-section, I will demonstrate and show that
multi-word verbs carry meaning, in general, and particles/prepositions in particular,
often have meanings which contribute to a variety of verbal combinations. In English, verbs are often put together with
short adverbs (or particles), as in run back, put (the dish) down, warm (the milk)
up. Verbs often combine with prepositions
too, come into (the room), drop (the vase) on (the floor), translate (the play)
into (French). All these combinations
are easy to understand, because you can work out their meanings from those of
the individual verbs and particles or prepositions (so, put the dish down means
‘place the dish in a lower position’). But sometimes the combinations are more difficult
to understand. Look at the combination
‘break-out’ (verb + particle) as it is used in this sentence: Cholera
broke out in the north of the country: In this example, the verb break doesn’t
have the meaning it has in phrases like break a window or break a stick.
And out doesn’t mean outside in the open.
The combination has to be understood as one unit, meaning ‘start suddenly
or violently’.
The component multi-word verbs in constantly growing and changing. New combinations appear and spread. Yet combinations are rarely made on a random
basis, but form patterns which to some extent can be anticipated. Particles/prepositions often have particular
meanings which they contribute to a variety of combinations and which are productive,
that is, these fixed meanings (of particles/prepositions) are used in order to
create new combinations.
However, in the remaining of this sub-section we will consider the following
headings: a.
Approach to a lexico-semantic description of multi-word of English. b.
Idiomaticity and non-idiomaticity of multi-word verbs of English. c.
Collocation in multi-word verbs d.
Synonym / Antonym a.
Approach to a lexico-semantic description of multi-word verbs of English
In an attempt to present a kind of a lexico-semantic description of multi-word
verbs of English, it might be useful to summarize the discussion appeared in Quirk
et al 1998:811-13, based on the following two sets of examples: Set
1 q
John called the man. q
John called up the man q
John called on the man q
John put up with the man Set
2 q
John called from the office q
John called after lunch q
John called from under the table.
The difference between the first set and second can be stated in terms
of ‘cohesion’. In the first the adverbial
or prepositional particle (up, on, up with) forms a semantic and syntactic unit
with the verb; in the second set, the prepositional particle (from, after, from
under) is more closely connected with the head of the prepositional phrase.
The semantic unity in this type of multi-word verbs (the first set) can
be manifested (tested) by substitution with (a) single-word verb(s), for example:
visit for call on, summon for call up, omit for leave out, see for look at, etc. Furthermore,
these verbs combinations often have composite meanings which are not normally
deducible from their parts, for example, make out (‘understand’), take in (‘deceive’)
come by (‘obtain’).
Multi-word verbs are not, however, restricted to such idiomatic combinations,
we can distinguish three subclasses within the first set: a. The verb and the particle keep their individual
lexical meanings, as in ‘look over’ (‘inspect’), set up (‘organize’).
The individuality of the components appears in possible contrastive substitution:
bring in
take out
turn on
switch off b. The verb alone keeps its basic lexical
meaning and the particle has ‘intensifying’ function:
Find out (discover), sweep (up) the crumbs, spread out… c. The verb and the particle are fused into
a new idiomatic combinations, the meaning of which is not deducible from its parts
for example, bring up (‘educate’), come by (‘obtain’), put off (postpone), turn
up (‘appear’) and come in for (‘receive’).
In such combination above there is no possibility of contrastive substitution:
there are no pair above there is no possibility of contrastive substitution: there
are no pair such as bring up / down, put off / on, give up / down, give in / out,
etc. the adverbial, lexical values of
the particles, in this type, have been lost, and the entire verb particle combination
has acquired a new meaning.
In some cases the same verb-particle combination can belong to more than
one subclass with a corresponding difference in meaning:
„ John went into the house (literal meaning)
The problem (figurative meaning)
„
John put up with Mary (stay
with)
both are non-literal
(tolerate) b.
Idiomaticity / non-idiomaticity of Multi-Word verbs of English
Idiomaticity is largely a semantic matter, and that it is manifested in
much the same way in expressions of different structural types.
However, a tentative and simple
answer to the question why idiomaticity is largely a semantic mater could be:
because it is an area where considerations of meaning carry particular weight.
Clearly, the fact that very many verbs with particles or prepositions are
used idiomatically is the central issue that we have to deal with in mastering
this important area of the vocabulary. In
addressing the crucial question of idiomaticity some complex issues are raised
and it will be best to consider these under separate headings: 1. How in practice do we determine whether
a given expression is idiomatic or not? We may sense for example that put up as used in the sentence:
They’re having a memorial put up to him by public subscription is not idiomatic,
whereas put up in A well-wisher had put up the money (for the scheme) is idiomatic.
What kinds of criteria can we call upon in support of our intuitions?
In respect of the distinction of idiomatic/non-idiomatic, let us quote
Cowie and Mackin 1993:
‘How do we know whether the words ‘fall out’ as used in ‘I was pleased
with the way things had fallen out’ forms a unit of meaning (an idiom) or not? One
test is to ask whether one word can be substituted for the phrase fall out.
(We can substitute ‘happen’ and ‘occur’.)
Another test is to ask whether the second word can be deleted (it can’t).
We can see from these tests alone that fall out cannot be broken up: its
form is fixed… These
are clear indications that the combination is a unit of meaning (a phrasal verb). (Cowie
& Mackin 1993) 2. Is the distinction between non-idioms
and idioms clear-out, or does the one type shade off gradually into the other? 3. What criteria in particular determine
the inclusion of some items in a dictionary of idioms and the exclusion of others? 4. Finally, how should the conclusion we
reach affect the grammatical labeling of the idiomatic combinations? If a combination such as put up (in the second
example at 1) is shown to be a unit of meaning, should we not reflect this in
the name we give to the combination? (The terms ‘phrasal verb’ is already available
for this purpose). c.
Collections in multi-word verbs
One of the simple definitions of collocation is “the co-occurrence of lexical
items”: Collocation could be ‘normal’ or ‘abnormal’: q
sudden death (normal) q
delicious death (abnormal) Collocation
is a feature of all language: this is what some people mean by language being
‘idiomatic’. However, some collocations are fairly loosely related. When someone is trying to sell a house, for
example, he or she might advertise it as a ‘desirable residence’ although this
is a common collocation, it is not fixed. One
could, for example, use the words in all kinds of structures, such a ‘residence
which many people would reckon to be desirable’; or the word ‘desirable’ could
be used with another word, as in ‘desirable property for sale’ and soon.
To illustrate further this issue of collocation let us quote the following:
From the Oxford Dictionary of phrasal verbs (1993:xvi) under what is collocation?
‘A native English speaker will know that it is a natural and normal to
say carry out an investigation not ‘*carry on an investigation’. On the other hand, we normally say carry on a conversation Not *
carry out a conversation.
Combinations of words that are natural and normal to native speakers are
called collocations. The actual nouns
etc. that can combine with a particular phrasal verb are called its collocates. (So ‘conversation’ is one of the collocates
of ‘carry on’) Some of the collocates
of ‘carry out’ are ‘experiment’, test, research, investigation’ among others which
can be used as direct objects of that phrasal verb. And the collocates of ‘carry on’ besides ‘conversation’
are ‘talk’, ‘discussion’. With ‘carry
on’ it is possible to use words that related in meaning as ‘debate’ and ‘negotiations’
(both of which are types of discussion). But look at the following example:
Police are keeping the suspects under observation. Here
instead of ‘observation’ we could use ‘scrutiny’ or ‘surveillance’. But
it would not seem normal and natural to say keep under view, examination or watch,
even though those words are related in meaning to observation. (Cowie
& Macking 1993:xvi) d.
Synonymy/Antonymy and Multi-word verbs
Generally speaking, synonyms are words which mean almost the same as each
other, and antonyms are words which mean the opposite.
There are very few cases where two words or expressions mean exactly the
same as each other. There may be differences
in grammar as well as differences in meaning (between synonyms).
Many multi-word verbs have synonyms which are single words but these words
are much formal e.g. bring up /educate.
Antonyms describe opposite processes such as: putting on/taking off; coming
in / going out.
To illustrate and clarify further the above point regarding synonymy in
multi-word verbs, let us look at shell out as used in this example:
I hate shelling out money on house repairs. Instead
of ‘shell out’ here we could use ‘fork out’, with no change of meaning or style
(both are formal multi-word verbs). These two multi-word verbs are very close synonyms
(they can be submitted for each other in various sentences without the cognitive
and stylistic meanings of those sentences being affected as a result).
There also may be synonymous multi-word verbs but different in other ways,
for instance in style, grammar, suppose that we have encountered the following
sentences: ‘If we keep
calm and stick together we shall be all right’. ‘Stick
together’ can be replaced by ‘stand together’ with change of the style of the
sentence making it more formal.
A last point to mention in respect of synonymy of multi-word verbs is that:
particles and prepositions themselves have synonyms which alternate after verbs: Examples
are: ·
Synonymous particles: ‘about, around/round’. ·
Synonymous prepositions (on, over, upon).
Also we find as other examples the particle in and the preposition into
which are similar in meaning as well as form, often alternate alter a verb. Similarly on alternates with onto and out with
out of. So we have: breaking in.. (or
into a house) 4.3.3.2
A Lexico-Semantic Study of Idiomatic expressions
In this section, we shall try to treat the lexico-semantic aspect of idiomatic
expressions under the following headings: a.
Approach to the lexico-semantic aspect of idiomatic expressions. b.
Idiomaticity/non-idiomaticity of English expressions c.
Collocations d.
Synonymy/Antonymy and other sense relations a.
Approach to the lexico-semantic aspect of Idiomatic expressions
Approaching the lexico-semantic properties of idiomatic expressions, let
us start by the following statement: ‘If
you do not know the meaning of a word or an expression call it an idiom’. But
idiomatic expression has meaning and one its meaning is established an idiom is
unequivocal and (provided it is used in the right context) it means the same thing
to every body. However,
the reader could bear in mind the following points when approaching the lexico-semantic
aspect of idiomatic expressions: 1.
The meaning of an idiomatic expression is more than the aggregate of words. 2. An idiomatic expression is a mutually
sense – selecting construction, where each member has a sense that is possible
only in construction with another item; an expression which has a meaning different
from the meanings of its constituents; semantically an idiom behaves like one
lexical item but grammatically the constituents behave like common words.
For example:
Kick the bucket (die); Kicked the bucket; *Kick the bucketed. b.
Idiomaticity / Non-idiomaticity of English Expressions
To highlight the distinction between idiomaticity and non-idiomaticity
of English expressions, it might be useful to consider the following questions: 1.
How can idiomaticity itself be recognized and defined?
Idiomaticity is largely a semantic matter, and that it is manifested in
much the same way in expressions of different structural types.
How then can idiomaticity itself be recognized and defined? Here
it will be best to consider under separate headings the rather complex issues
that face the analyst, the dictionary – maker, the teacher, etc.
How in practice do we decide whether a particular expression is idiomatic
or not? We may sense that fill the sink as used in
she filled the sink with hot water is not idiomatic, while fill the bill (be satisfactory
or adequate for a purpose) as in sometimes solid food doesn’t fill the bill is
idiomatic. What kinds of criteria can
be called upon in support of our intuitions? 2. Is the distinction between idioms and
non-idioms clear-cut, or do the two categories shade off into each other? Where do we draw the line between idioms
and non-idioms? 3. What criteria in particular must expressions
satisfy to merit inclusion in idioms’ dictionaries?
In respect of the above questions, the following definitions and views
of idiomaticity might help in clarifying the concept. ‘The
best-known approach to the definition of idiomaticity, and one which linguists
as well as dictionary – makers have helped to popularize, fastens on the difficulty
of interpreting idioms in terms of the meanings of their constituent words.
Definitions as the following are representatives of this approach: …groups of words with set meanings
that cannot be calculated by adding up the separate meanings of the parts. (Bolinger
1975) …peculiarity of phraseology … having
meaning not deducible from those of the separate words … (The
Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English 1982)
However, defining idioms in a way which throws emphasis on ease or difficulty
of interpretation leaves a great deal unsaid.
This characterization does, it is true, identify what is odd about an expression
such as blow the gaff (or kick the bucket).
An approach based simply on the semantic opaqueness (or transparency) of
whole combinations yields a very small class of idioms. It leaves out of account, for example, an important group of expressions
which have figurative meanings (in terms of the whole combination in each case)
but which also keep a current literal interpretation. Among such ‘figurative idioms; are catch fire
and close ranks. There is other evidence,
too, especially the fact that a small number of words can be substituted in expressions
often regarded as opaque (consider burn one’s boats or bridges), that idioms are
not divided as a small number of words can be substituted in expressions often
regarded as opaque (consider burn one’s boats or bridges), that idioms are not
divided as a small water-tight category from non-idioms but are related to them
along a scale or continuum.
A view of idiomaticity which does full justice to the rich diversity of
word-combinations in English must recognize that the meaning of a combination
may be related to those of its components in a variety of ways, and must take
account also of the possibility of internal variation, or substitution of part
for part. The application of both criteria together produces
a complex categorization: (i)
Pure Idioms Though discussions of idiomaticity
at both a technical and non-technical level are usually limited to the type illustrated
by blow the gaff and kick the bucket (surely the most often quoted
idiom of all), idioms in the strict sense comprise only one, and certainly not
the largest of a spectrum of related categories. Historically, pure idioms form the end-point
of a process by which word-combinations first establish themselves through constant
re-use, then undergo figurative extension and finally petrify (i.e. develop). (ii)
Figurative Idioms This category is idiomatic in the sense
that variation is seldom found (though note act the part or role; a close,
narrow shave) and pronoun substitution unlikely (though consider Bill
had a narrow shave and Freud an even narrower one). The merging of this group into that of pure
idioms is illustrated by such expressions as beat one’s breast and burn
one’s boats. The literal senses of
these expressions do not survive alongside their figurative ones in normal, everyday
use and for some speakers they may indeed be unrelatable. For such speakers these expressions fall into
the category of pure idioms. (iii) Restricted Collocations In such combinations, sometimes referred
to as semi-idioms, one word (i.e. in the case of two-word expressions)
has a figurative sense not found outside that limited context.
The other element appears in a familiar, liteal sense (compare the verb
and noun respectively, in jog one’s/sb’s memory and the adjective and noun
in a blind alley). Some members of this category allow a degree
of lexical variation (consider, for instance,
a cardinal error, sin, virtue, grace), and in this respect ‘restricted’ collocations
resemble ‘open’ ones. (iv) Open Collocations Most sharply and easily distinguished
from idioms in the strict sense are combinations such as fill the sink and a broken
window. The
use of the terms ‘open’ ‘free’ or ‘loose’ to refer to such collocations reflects
the fact that, in each case, both elements (verb and object, or adjective and
noun) are freely recombinable, as for example in fill, empty, drain the sink and
fill the sink, basin, bucket. Typically
also, in open collocation each element is used in a common literal sense.
In the previous paragraphs, we have discussed the nature of idiomaticity
in some depth to throw light on the problem of deciding which word-combinations
to consider as idiomatic. In the spectrum of categories set out earlier in this
section, two were identified as idiomatic: pure idioms and figurative ones. C.
Collocation To
begin this sub-section the reader is reminded of one of the simple definitions
of ‘collocation’: ‘The
co-occurrence of lexical items’. Words
which combine with other words, or with idioms in particular grammatical constructions
are said to collocate (to form collocations) with those words or idioms. So utterly,
totally and violently, for instance, collocate as adverbs with the verb disagree,
while restore, retrieve and squander are among the verb collocates of the idiom
the family fortune(s).
One case of the importance of information about collocation is where a
word selected from a particular set of collocates (the set may be long or short)
forms an integral part of the idiom itself. In
the expression make a good etc. showing, for example, an adjective from a list
which includes good, splendid, poor, unsatisfactory, must be chosen if the idiom
is to be complete: *make
a showing is unacceptable. A
second case is where the set of words which can combine with an idiom at a given
point is restricted. An example is catch
etc. sb’s imagination, where in addition to forming a set from which a selection
must be made to give an acceptable idiom, the list, capture, seize, grip, fire
virtually exhausts the possibilities of choice at catch. The
third type is one in which the idiom, while collocating fairly freely with verbs,
say, combines much more regularly and predictably with some than with others.
Among the verb collocates of at a glance, for instance, know, realize,
see and tell will suggest themselves most readily to native speakers, though,
understand and gather are not unacceptable and certainly make sense. With
idioms, this freedom of collocation is much more restricted: it would be odd to
say: q
they have let several cats out of bags (= revealed several
secrets); q
he goes about licking people’s sandals; q
yesterday it rained dogs and cats; q
the teacup has just had storm; q
he made an off-his cuff remark;
In general, collocation as a lexical issue determines lexical choice… etc. d.
Synonymy / Antonymy etc. in Idiomatic Expressions
As illustration of sense relations in idiomatic expressions, we can discuss
in this sub-section synonymy and antonymy: Synonymy Consider
the following examples. q
A saving grace … (= sth which prevents, saves one from
being altogether bad). No
one is completely evil, darling. They all have some saving grace, even the Templars. q
A redeeming feature … (a characteristic in sb/sth that
(partly) atones for other faults or shortcomings). He’s not so bad as my mother makes
out. When she dislikes anybody she doesn’t
allow them a single redeeming feature.
Many idioms which are explicitly linked as in the above two examples are
close synonyms in the sense that they are interchangeable in given sentences without
the cognitive or emotive meanings of these sentences being thereby affected. It
should be noted, however, that few idioms are exactly equivalent.
Even when they share the same stylistic or emotive overtones, two synonymous
idioms will be found to differ in one or more particulars.
Thus while a redeeming feature usually denotes a characteristic of a person
or thing, a saving grace normally refers only to a personal characteristic.
The reader / learner should be alert to these fine differences when comparing
synonymous idiomatic expressions. q
Backward(s) and forward(s) ¢ back
and forth ¢ to and fro. q
Odds and bobs/sods ¢ bits
and bobs ¢ bits and pieces.
It might useful to discuss, in this sub-section, false friends (= expressions
which are similar in form but not in meaning), (and so are apt to give rise to
errors) and to show some important relations of meaning between idiomatic expressions,
other than synonymy. False
Friends
Errors can arise in the use of idioms whenever one expression is sufficient
close to another – either in the words which make it up or in the arrangement
of those words – to be confused with. When,
for example, two idioms are so close in form as to be almost indistinguishable
they may be used in place of each other. Thus,
it is possible for the learner to say bargaining counter (‘sth used in the process
of negotiations’) when what he means is bargain counter (= a part of the store
where bargains can be had).
Apart from the case just quoted, which one idiom is almost indistinguishable
from another, the following types of false friends should be noted: i. One idiom may contain a word or words
present in another and yet to be quite related in meaning to it: q
Be damned (sb / sth mentioned or suggested … is to be
defied, rejected, refused, ignored). q
I’ll be / I am damned = exclamation of pleased or displeased
astonishment. ii. Two semantically unrelated idioms may
contain the same words in different arrangements. q
The end justifies the means = (If
the result is considered to be important enough, then any method of achieving
it … should be welcomed and pursued). q
A / the means to an end. = (The
way(s), or process(es) that need to be adopted in order to achieve a particular
result). iii. Two idioms which are closely similar in
form may differ to the extent that one idiom has two or more meanings: q
Hold sb’s hand: clasp or grasp another’s hand. = comfort
or support sb during difficult or trying period. q
Hold hands: sit/walk etc beside another person with both
or nearest hands linked, usually as a sign of affection. Antonymy
and other Semantic Relations
In the previous paragraphs mention was made to idioms that related in meaning
(synonymy etc). There are, however, many
idioms that are semantically related, in various ways, and it is equally important
to point these to the reader. Therefore,
the discussion below involved two groups: The first group is made up of pairs
of expressions which are opposite in meaning (Antonyms). Some of these contain adjectives, most
of which, almost contrast when used non-idiomatically: q
Early on …•– later on q
(the big time •– (the
small time) q
have a closed mind … •–
have an open mind Some
idioms which are opposite in meaning contain contrastive verbs: q
gain ground •– give/lose ground (to sb/sth) q
open one’s mouth •– shut one’s mouth q
Start the rot •– stop the rot. Note
that the verbs, and expressions of which they are part, denote a ‘reversing’ process:
one loses ground … only to gain it again – or gains it only to lose it.
A smaller sub-group contrastive idioms depend for their oppositeness on
nouns. q
by accident •– by design. q
in the past •– in
future, in the future. q
a matter of fact •– a matter of opinion
The second group is made up of pairs of idioms such as black(en) sb’s eye
(for him) and have etc a black eye, in which the meaning of one can be said to
follow from, or be implied by, that of the other. (if someone blackens my eye,
I have a black eye!) Other
examples are: run
short of (sth) …„ short of sth… raise
one’s / sb’s spirits …„ one’s spirits
rise. raise the question
etc. (of sth) …„ the question of (sth) arises … 4.4
COMPARISON / CONTRAST OF IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS AND MULTI-WORD VERBS
OF ENGLISH TO THE SPEECH OF SUDANESE LEARNERS The present section tries to compare
and contrast idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs of English to the Speech
of Sudanese learners of English (the population of this study) in terms of: ·
metaphors ·
colloquial (informal) language ·
slang ·
proverbs / saying and catchphrases As it has been indicated in the previous
chapter, the dominant speech of our subjects (Sudanese learners of English) is
the Sudanese Colloquial Arabic – A variety of the standard classical Arabic.
However, it is not far from the classical Arabic since Arabic is preserved
or maintained by religious practices and it is the language of QURAN. Generally speaking, Quran and the saying
of the Prophet Mohammed serve as a major source of idiomatic expressions used
and understood by the Sudanese. Moreover,
idiomatic expressions are found in and drawn from Sudanese culture and traditions.
Regarding multi-word verbs, one can observe that they are less used and
formulated in Sudanese Colloquial Arabic hence only few examples could be found. However, in the following pages general
and brief definitions of metaphors, colloquial language and slang etc. are given
(in order to provide a theoretical background for comparing / contrasting idiomatic
expressions and multi-word verbs of English to the speech of the subjects of this
study) as well as the comparison/contrast itself. 4.4.1 Metaphors Let us start by the following definition
of metaphors: ‘The imaginative use of a word or phrase
to describe sb/sth as another object in order to show that they have the same
qualities and to make the description more forceful. e.g.
‘She has a heart of stone’. Another
term, however, related to metaphors is ‘figurative’: ‘A word, phrase etc. used in an imaginative
or metaphorical way that is different from the usual or basic meaning ‘He exploded
with rage’ shows a figurative use of the verb explode’. ‘Kick the bucket’ is often cited as
the classic example of an obscure metaphor which also completely non-compositional
in meaning. Ruhl’s (1975) claim the ‘kick’
related systematically to dying is liable to be met with derision but it is true
since we see that to end the life of … somebody it might be through the method
of kicking using different instruments (eg. Stick, …). In general, English writing and speech
abound in metaphors and consists of large number of common sayings which form
part of the verbal background of the English people and are metaphorical or have
a metaphorical content. By
the same token, sayings and metaphorical expressions are used by Sudanese in their
speech. 4.4.2 Sudanese Learner’s Speech and Informal (or
Colloquial) Idiomatic Expressions and Multi-Word Verbs To begin this sub-section, it might
be useful to clarify the distinction between formal and informal expressions.
Formal expressions are usually only used in serious or official, especially
written language and would be inappropriate in normal everyday conversation. Informal expressions are used between friends or people who know
each other well, in a relaxed or unofficial context. They are not appropriate for formal situations. Many people confuse idioms with slang
and colloquial (informal) language. Slang
and colloquial language are both informal kind of speech. Colloquial expressions can be used by anyone,
but not usually in formal situations. There
is a very large number of idioms which are not colloquial; and not all colloquial
language consists of idioms. It is important to realize that idioms
are not only colloquial expressions, as many people believe. They appear in formal style and in slang, in
poetry, in the Language of Shakespeare and the Bible. In sum, in the Sudanese speech we find
informal idiomatic expressions while multi-word verbs are not exist in their usage. 4.4.3
Comparing and Contrasting Idiomatic Expressions and Multi-Word Verbs
of English with the Speech of Sudanese Learners in terms of Slang Slang is very informal language mainly
used in speaking and sometimes restricted to a particular group of people, e.g.
those who have similar interests or do the same job. Examples are: dope (= illegal
drugs), the fuzz (= the police), lolly (=money), naff (= worthless). The
use of slang signifies a close and informal relationship between speakers, its
chief characteristic is its function in identifying and reinforcing membership
of particular sub-groups in society (e.g. criminals, the police, students, the
military etc.) Once
slang terms become widely known outside the groups with which they originate they
no longer serve this essential purpose and tend to merge into the wider category
of informal usage. Nevertheless, a considerable
number of slang idioms retain their currency with ‘insiders’ despite their widespread
use by outsiders: Splice the main brace(nautical slang), six of the best (dated
school slang). Regarding the use and usage of idiomatic
expressions in the slang of our subjects (Sudanese students of English), we observe
that those expressions are widely used in their speech: e.g. sb ate ‘neem’ meaning he
/ she was fooled or tricked. The
above example is idiomatic slang since it is meaning is not deducible from the
meanings of the words it contains: (neem is a kind of tree), and it (i.e. the
expression) is used by ‘particular’ group (here, students). 4.4.4
Comparing / Contrasting Idiomatic Expressions and Multi-Word Verbs of
English with the Speech of Sudanese Learners in Terms of Proverbs, Sayings and
Catchphrases In comparing/contrasting Idiomatic
multi-word verbs of English to the speech of the Sudanese learners, of English,
in terms of proverbs etc., it might be useful to equip the reader with the following
definitions of these terms which could serve as a background for this task.
In general, the above terms (proverbs, saying and catchphrases) are idiomatic
in the broadest sense. „ Sayings Saying are well known fixed or traditional
phrases, such as proverbs, that are used to make a comment, give advice, issue
a warning etc., e.g. q
Look before you leap; q
You’re only young once. However, our subjects speech is rich
with sayings. Some examples are typically
Sudanese make-up and others are borrowed from other neighbouring Arab Countries
or from other Languages esp. English. From the typical Sudanese sayings and
proverbs, the following could be given: q Stretch
your legs according to your mattress length (= meaning behave and spend etc.,
according to your status (economic, social, etc). q They
come to help him in burying his father body, he hid the (digging) instruments.
(meaning that he didn’t help those who tried to help him and went further putting
the obstacles on their ways) q Whose
hand is in the cold water is not the same as whose is in the hot water. (meaning
that who is not in trouble or not suffering will not feel the same feeling as
those who are in that situation). A related term to sayings is ‘proverbs’
and sometimes it is used interchangeably with it. „ Proverb(s) A short well-known sentence or phrase
that states a general truth about life or gives advice e.g. better safe than sorry
or don’t put all your eggs in one basket. However, in the speech of our subjects
we encounter a variety of examples. In
the following pages a (representative) list of saying and proverbs which are used
by Sudanese people. The Arabic equivalent
scripts will not be given here for practical reasons (typing etc.)
The notions, concepts and meanings expressed by these sayings and proverbs
are well known to the subjects of this study and some could be translated.
– literally or non-literally --
from Sudanese Colloquial Arabic to English and vice versa. This shows that the subjects have command of
this important aspect of their language through use and practice. A
list of some sayings and proverbs used by Sudanese in their speech This collection of English proverbs
/ sayings has, more or less, their Arabic equivalent, in terms of the concepts
and meaning they carry. They
are given in the hand in an alphabetical order: 1. A
bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. 2. A
drowning man will clutch (or catch) at straw 3. A
fox is not taken twice in the same snare 4. A
friend in need is a friend in deed. 5. A
man is known by the company he keeps 6. A
secret between more than two is no secret. 7. A
word to a wise man is enough 8. Absence
makes the heart grow fonder 9. All
is not gold that glitters 10. Barking dogs seldom
bite 11. Better an (open)
enemy than a false (ignorant) friend 12. Better a devil you
know than a devil you don’t know. 13. Birds of a feather
flock together 14. Curiosity killed
the cat 15. Cleanliness is next
to godliness 16. Diamonds cut diamonds 17. Early to bed and
early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise 18. East or West, home
is best 19. Even Homer sometimes
nods 20. Everything comes
to him who waits 21. Forbidden fruit is
sweet 22. God (or Heaven) helps
them who help themselves 23. History repeats itself 24. Hunger is the best
cook / sauce. 25. If you want a thing
well done do it yourself 26. It is no use crying
over split milk 27. Let bygones be bygones 28. Like father, like
son 29. Love is blind 30. Man proposes and
God disposes 31. Misfortunes (or troubles)
seldom come singly 32. Necessity has (or
knows) no law 33. Necessity is the
mother of invention 34. Never put of till
tomorrow what can be done today 35. Never too old to
learn (or seek knowledge from cradle to grave) 36. One man’s meat is
another man’s poison 37. People who live in
glass house should not throw stones 38. Poverty is no sin 39. Prevention is better
than cure (or an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure) 40. Put your trust in
God, but keep your powder dry 41. Rome was not built
in a day 42. Short debts make
long friends 43. Silence gives consent 44. Speech is silver,
but silence is gold 45. Still waters run
deep 46. Strike while the
iron is hot. 47. The early bird catches
the worm 48. There is nothing
impossible under the sun 49. When the cat is away
the mice will play 50. When you are at Rome
do as the Romans do. „ Comparing
/ Contrasting Idiomatic expressions and Multi-Word Verbs of English to the Speech
of Sudanese Learners in respect of Catchphrases Catchphrases are well-known expressions
that were often originally used by a public figure, an entertainer etc. and have
now passed into more general use e.g. The buck stops here. Catchphrases and sayings have in common
that they are idioms, generally of sentence length, and often established in usage,
which are used to perform communicative functions (speech acts) of various kinds.
These features can be illustrated by considering the form of the following
catchphrase and its explanatory gloss: Did
he fall or was he pushed? a
humorous or ironic enquiry into the cause of some apparent injury or accident
(originally a music – hall joke). Catchphrase(s) can be further distinguished
as follows: Catchphrases
are expressions often originating with a person prominent in public life, or in
the world of entertainment etc, and which on passing into more general currency
acquire other functions or are used with reference to other events: Diamonds
are a girl’s best friend Diamonds,
or gifts with a lasting cash value, esp. from a lover or succession of lovers,
are an insurance for one’s future … (from a song in the musical comedy GENTLEMEN
PREFER BLONDES, 1949). In Oxford Dictionary
of English Idioms 1993, we read: p.xv. ‘Catchphrases normally originate with a
popular entertainer when they serve much the same purpose as a signature tune
or with a well-known public figure: The buck stops here and if you can’t
stand the heat, get out of the kitchen were first spoken by the late President
Truman; and their association with him, combined with the vigor and freshness
of his Language, ensured that they were taken up and repeated more widely. As in many similar cases, both the function
and form of these catchphrases are varied from time to time, as the following
quotation from an article on the Vietnam war makes clear: The
harsh truth is that the buck started here (i.e. in the US) and that it stops here
as well. After this background about catchphrases
in English, we can turn to contrast and compare them to the speech of our subjects
– the Sudanese Learners of English. The following catchphrases from the students use and usage could
illustrate this point: q
One of the Sudanese Presidents, when took over, described
the country as a sea dead body meaning that ruling the country in that time is
not a desired or rewarding task except for those who are compelled to do so (the
relatives of the drowned/dead person) since the dead body, in this case, would
be in bad condition and has a terrible smell. q
Also we can mention in this respect what is said by ALI
BN ABI TALIB – (The 4th Khalifa (ruler) after the Prophet Mohammed)
who is famous for his eloquence and brevity.
‘If poverty is a man, I will kill him’.
The catchphrase is known by the majority of Arabic speakers and well-established
in their usage – it is a part of their religious and cultural literacy. 4.4.5 Summary for Section 4.4 The speech of Sudanese people – Colloquial
Sudanese Arabic – contains idiomatic expressions of different kinds (fixed collocations,
saying / proverbs, catchphrases etc). and these expressions are used widely by them.
They are part of our subjects speech.
However, multi-word verbs few in classical Arabic thus in Sudanese colloquial
Arabic. Therefore, the notion and the concept of the
multiplicity of the words of verbs are not clear for the majority of our subjects.
The researcher himself (helped by other native speakers) couldn’t provide
more than one or two examples of those verbal constitutions from classical Arabic. This claim is borne out by the questionnaire
given to the students who were not able to give even a couple of examples of multi-word
verbs in Arabic. As an example of a multi-word
verb in Arabic, we can take the verbal combination ‘Araagib…an’ = do not
like / believe in, as in the verse from Quoran (SURAT Maryan: 46) which has the
translation: ‘Art thou shrinking from my gods, O Abraham? If thou forbear not, I will indeed
stone thee….’ Here,
the verb (äraagib) + the particle (an) have a meaning which is different
if we combine the same verb with another particle e.g. (fi) it will give the opposite
meaning, in this case ‘like’. 4.5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION In the present chapter, I have dealt
with the linguistic aspect(s) of IEX / MWV. These
multi-word lexical units have been surveyed and discussed considering the following
levels: orthographical / phonological, grammatical (syntactic / morphological)
and stylistic. Moreover, there has been
an attempt to provide a semantic study of these 2 vocabulary components in some
detail, covering the heading below: ·
definition(s) of IEX/MWV and the relation between them ·
a lexico-semantic study In
addition to the above linguistic survey and study, we have presented, in this
chapter, a contrast and comparison of these multi-word lexical items with the
native speech of the Sudanese learners in terms of metaphors and proverbs, colloquial
(informal) language and slang. However,
the linguistic study of IEX/MWV revealed that they have that they have their special
linguistic properties. At the phonological
level, IEX / MWV follow the general phonological principles and rules of the
English phonology with the exception of the stress and accent in some verbal combinations.
They have special stress patterns as the following examples demonstrate. In normal speech particles / prepositions are
not usually given stress but with phrasal verbs the particle normally receives
stress. Compare Look for that number – that’s the number
to ‘Look for’ Call up’ that number – that’s the number
to ‘call up’ Also
in respect of MWV stress, it is worth mentioning that the particle in verbal combination
is normally stressed and, in final position, bears the nuclear tone, whereas the
preposition in verbal constructions is normally unstressed and has the ‘tail’
of the nuclear tone on the lexical verb only” He called ‘up the man – the man
was called up. He ‘called on the man – the man was
‘called on. As for the orthographical level, in
general, idiomatic expressions and multi-word verbs confine to the general spelling
conventions of English. However, there
are some exceptions namely those cases where multi-word verbs are transformed
to nominalized forms, adjectival forms which have varieties of spellings (hyphenated,
solid form (written as one word) or unlinked forms).
In nominalized forms, there is considerable difference regarding spelling
and punctuation: the choice of solid (= Linked form) e.g. flypast, unlinked form
a look round or a hyphenated one a look-round. Regarding the nominalized form which
has the pattern particle + verb, it is important to mention that the British and
American practice is to write them fully joined as in offprint; while some nouns
exist in two forms (linked and hyphenated) in British. Other examples of writing conventions
of multi-word verbs are: make up (verb), make-up (noun) break down (verb), breakdown (noun) In adjective transform, one notes the
following spelling / punctuation as they appeared in the examples below: q He
glanced through the article „ The quickly
glanced-through article… q He
eagerly looked forward to his retirement „ His eagerly looked-forward-to retirement. The second major section in Chapter
4, deals with the grammatical aspect of IEX/MWV. Here, an attempt has been made to provide the reader with a general
description of the grammatical behaviour of these multi-word lexical items. Information
about the syntax and morphology of these two vocabulary components is essential
for a variety of reasons. It enables the reader to compare like with and like and to build
up a general categorization of IEX/MWV. It
is also important for the reader to be able to locate and identify the exact point
or points in IEX/MWV at which lexical choice can operate. The syntactic of the parts to the whole would
be made explicit. And finally, how the grammar of an IEX can be altered by how
idiomatic it is. The grammatical behaviour of MWV could
be summarized by presenting the following overview of the grammatical patterns
in which these verbal combinations occur as well as their transformations.
MWV can function in one or more of six simple, active sentence patterns. These basic patterns can be divided into two groups according to
transitivity (i.e. according to whether or not they contain a Direct Object). Intransitive sentences are labeled [V] and
transitive sentences (Vn). Within each
of [V] and [Vn], the sentence patterns are further subdivided into [P], [Pr] and
[P.Pr] according to whether they contain a particle, a preposition, or a particle
and a preposition. The whole system of six basic patterns
can be represented schematically, and illustrated, as follows: TABLE-3 OUP
DICTIONARY OF PHRASAL VERBS’ SCHEME OF THE SIX PATTERNS
OF MWV
| |
Intransitive |
Transitive |
|
Particle | [Vp] | [Vn.P] |
|
Preposition | [Vpr] | [Vn.pr] |
|
Particle + Preposition | [Vp.pr] | [Vn.p.pr] |
[Vp]
The electricity supply went off [Vpr] We were backing on a change of heart [Vp.pr] The committee fall back on an earlier plan [Vn.p] The awful food turns people off [Vn.pr] Peter foists all his problems on his unfortunate friends [Vn.p.pr] You can put the shortage down to bad planning As for the grammatical aspect of idiomatic
expressions, the following point should be emphasized. The grammatical behaviour of IEX reminded us
of the enormous structural variety of English expressions. The patterns deal with in this respect are
found in: ·
Phrase pattern – a bargain basement, easy on the eye,
in the nick of time. ·
Subject-less clause patterns – cut one’s losses, paint
the town red, pay sb a compliment and ·
Simple or complex sentence patterns – one swallow does
not make a summer, give sb an inch and he (will)’ll take a mile. This
is to give but small sample of the great range of these construction(s) types.
The spread is considerably, yet they can be classified under 2 general
headings: Phrase Idioms and Clause Idioms. Within
these major groupings are several dominant sub-categories. …The
most common clause patterns spanned by idioms, for instance, are the following: dd TABLE-4 OUP
DICTIONARY OF IDIOMS CLASSIFICATION ON THE CLAUSE PATTERNS
OF IEX
| Verb
+ complement |
go
berserk | |
Verb
+ direct object | ease
sb’s conscience / mind |
|
Verb
+ direct object + complement | paint
the town red | |
Verb
+ indirect object + direct object | do
sb credit | |
Verb
+ direct object + adjunct | take
sth amiss | While the most commonly occurring phrase
patterns are these: TABLE-4 OUP
DICTIONARY OF IDIOMS CLASSIFICATION ON THE PHRASE PATTERNS
OF IEX
| Noun
phrase |
A
crashing bore | |
Adjective
phrase | free
with one’s money etc. | |
Prepositional
phrase | in
the nick of time | |
Adverbial
phrase | as
often as not | In our survey of the grammatical behaviour
of IEX/MWV we have also discussed the distinction between idiomatic multi-word
verbs (phrasal verbs) and non-idiomatic ones (literal verbal combinations) and
the influence of this distinction on the grammar of MWV. The fact that a particular combination of verb
+ particle, for example, is idiomatic need not affect its grammar. The combination make up as used in she made
up her face is quite clearly an idiom (a unit of meaning). Yet the grammar of
the idiomatic make up is similar in many respects to the grammar of the non-idiomatic
carry away. For instance, the direct object
can be changed around in both cases: She made up her face / She made her
face up. Bill carried away the rubbish / Bill
carried the rubbish away. Similarly, it is equally possible to
move the particle to the front and the subject to the end of the sentence whether
you use come down idiomatically (The prices came down / down came the prices)
or non-idiomatically (The ceiling came down/Down came the ceiling). After having provided a general linguistic
survey of IEX/MWV at the phonological / orthographical and the grammatical levels,
we have offered in subsequent paragraphs a treatment of the stylistic aspect of
these multi-word lexical units. In these paragraphs, we have tried to provide the reader with a
general description of the stylistic behaviour of idiomatic expressions and multi-word
verbs of English. However, in this section,
it might be useful recap the following points which will be of particular interest
to advanced foreign students and teachers: Regarding the stylistic behaviour
of multi-word verbs the following points might be necessary: ·
We should note that it is impossible to assign fixed stylistic
values to most items which call for a marking of some kind. The
boundary between ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ usage is constantly shifting, and the
conventions observed by individual speakers and writers differ very considerably. ·
It is often said that multi-word verbs tend to be rather
‘colloquial’ or ‘informal’, and more appropriate to spoken English than written,
and even that it is better to avoid them and choose single-word equivalents or
synonyms instead. Yet in many cases multi-word
verbs and their synonyms have different ranges of use, meaning, or collocation,
so that a single-word synonym cannot be substituted for a multi-word verb.
Single word synonyms are much more formal in style than multi-word verbs,
so that they seem out of place in many contexts, and students using them run the
risk of sounding pompous or just unnatural. This
stylistic difference between single-word verb and its equivalent multi-word verb
could be shown by presenting and examining the following examples: q
Lucy was brought up by her grand parents and educated
at the local secondary schools. q
What time are you planning to turn up, (multi-word verb:
informal) Please let us know when you plan to
arrive? (single-word verb more formal) Note
that in the first example, ‘bring up’ is mostly used for the moral and social
training that children receive at home while ‘educate’ is used for the intellectual
and cultural training that people get at school and university. As for the stylistic behaviour of
IEX, the 2 points below could be emphasized: ·
The first point focuses on the feature that proverbs and
catchphrases may be structurally shortened for a variety of reasons and with a
number of effects. Traditional saying
of a given structural type tend to be used in a narrow and stereotyped set of
functions. Thus a stitch in time saves
nine and the early bird catches the worm are typically used to comment approvingly
on timely or judicious action or to reinforce a recommendation.
Often it will be felt sufficient to hint at the whole by the use of a part,
as in such utterances, as ‘A stitch in time, you know! Sometimes,
the fragment will take on a life of its own as a phrase idiom, as is the case
with an early bird. This co-exists in present-day usage alongside the saying from which
it originated. ·
A second point is the creation of idiomatic expressions
and the achievement of humorous effects by the manipulations of them, normally
regarded as fixed calls for a degree of cultural or literary awareness possessed
only by mature native speakers of the language. Consider in this respect the following catchphrases: The
buck stops here and if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen which
were first spoken by the Late President Truman; and their association with him,
combined with the vigour and freshness of his language, ensured that they were
taken up and repeated more widely. As in many similar cases, both the function
and form of these catchphrases are varied from time to time, as the following
quotation from an article on the Vietnam war makes clear: The
harsh truth is that the buck started here (i.e. in the US) and that it stops here
as well. This example of nonce variations
in an expressions whose original form is well-known brings us to the point that
sentence in particular are commonly refashioned by native speakers to achieve
a variety of striking effects. Another major concern of this chapter
is a detailed semantic study of IEX/MWV. A considerable space and time have been devoted to the semantic
aspect of these multi-word lexical items since idiomaticity is largely considered
as a semantic matter. In dealing with
the semantic properties of these two vocabulary components, we have tried to cover
some basic issues such as: ·
The definitions of IEX/MWV and the relation between them ·
Meaning of IEX/MWV ·
Idiomaticity or non-idiomaticity ·
Collocation ·
Synonyms/Antonyms and other semantic relations. For the definition(s) of IEX / MWV,
let us start by those of the IEX. After
examining different and various definitions of this vocabulary component, we have
opted for/singled out the following ones: The comprehensive definition which
is articulated in Cowie et al. 1993:
‘The best-known approach to the definition of idiomaticity, and one which
linguists as well as dictionary-makers have helped to popularize, fastens on the
difficulty of interpreting idioms in terms of the meanings of their constituent
words. Definitions such as the following
are representative of this approach:
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