Teaching and Learning of Idiomatic Expressions and Multi-word Verbs of English in The Context of Sudan

Appendix – 2b

Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms Treatment of Grammatical

Behaviour of Idiomatic Expressions

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Under ‘Grammatical Patterns and Codes’ of Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms 1993 (5^th imp; 1997): pages xxvii-xxxvii, we can print the following, regarding the grammatical behaviour of idiomatic expressions, since it seems comprehensive and useful.

‘The Dictionary of Idioms, …, contains a good deal of grammatical information. For the most part this is information about syntax. The student is helped to determine what kind of pattern an idiom corresponds to, how it can be broken down into elements smaller than itself, and what other elements precede, follow or interrupt. A simple scheme has been devised to show, for instance, that the idiom force sb’s hand matches a clause pattern – though without the subject – and that it consists of a verb and a direct object. The student can be shown, too, that an idiom such as a damsel in distress spans a unit smaller than a clause (a noun phrase), that it has a plural form damsels in distress and that it characteristically functions as the object of such verbs as rescue and save.

As these examples will perhaps make clear, information about syntax and

grammar is essential for a variety of reasons. First, it enables the student to

compare like with like and to build up a general categorization of idioms.

Growing familiarity with the dictionary and with the scheme of grammatical abbreviations and codes will reveal that a fairly narrow range of clause and phrase types accounts for the great bulk of idioms treated here.

Secondly it is important for the learner to be able to locate and identify the exact point or points in idioms at which lexical choice can operate. In the idiom give sb etc. a good hiding etc, for instance, the user can substitute a limited number of items for the first word and the last, and this can be made clear; but the learner must be shown, too, that the first set of substituted words are verbs, while the second are direct objects, and this is done by means of conventional abbreviations (v and o). In this way the syntactic relationship of the parts to the whole is made explicit.

Such guidance has the further advantage that it helps to explain structural changes, or transformations. A sentence such as Bill gave Fred a good hiding is systematically related to a sentence containing get, thus: Fred got a good hiding (from Bill) and this can be shown by reference both to the sentence patterns and to the verbs which function in them.

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There are four main types of code, corresponding to the difference between

(i) clauses (simple sentences) containing objects and / or complements;

(ii) ‘possessive’ clauses – those introduced by one of the verbs get, have, give;

(iii) phrases having a noun, adjective, preposition or adverb as the central or, ‘head’ word;

(iv) phrases in which a particular class of word is repeated (thus, noun + noun).

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It will be noted that, for the most part, codes consist of, or contain, abbreviations of familiar grammatical terms (O=direct object, adj=adjective). The codes are illustrated and explained in a tabular treatment below………………………………………………………… Notes following each table explains various syntactic changes and show, where appropriate, how the grammar of an expression can be affected by how idiomatic it is.

Clause Patterns

The order in which the tables of clause patterns are set out below is as follows

[v+comp] verb + complement verb.

[v+O] verb + direct object pattern.

[v+O+comp] verb + direct object + complement pattern.

[v+Io+O] verb + indirect object + direct object pattern

[v+O+A] verb + direct object + adjunct pattern

[v+comp] verb + complement pattern :

Sl.No.	Subject	(aux+)	Verb	complement: adj. phrase/n phrase
1	Your measurements	must	be	dead right
2	A friend	wold	be	good for her
3	You	would	get	high on this stuff
4	The oil market	has	gone	berserk
5	The suspects	should	come	clean about themselves
6	Bill	would	get	even with the gang
7	Peter		was	a dab hand at carpentry
8	Their greatest explorer	had	gone	native

Notes

(a) The place of the complement in this pattern may be “filled” by an adjective phrase (examples 1-6) or a noun phrase (7 and 8).

(b) Some verb + complement expressions correspond to expressions which fit the [v+O+comp] pattern and contain a transitive verb such as get, drive or send:

1. Your measurements must be dead right.

You must get your measurements dead right.

2. The oil market has gone berserk.

These fluctuations have sent the oil market berserk.

(c) In some cases an adjective occurring as complement in this pattern may be used in the comparative form, as in

2. A friend would be better for her.

5. The suspects should come a little cleaner about themselves.

Where 2 contains a relatively unidiomatic and 5 5 a relatively idiomatic example…..

[v+O] verb + direct object pattern:

Sl.No.	Subject	(aux+)	verb	direct object
1	The police	have	cleared	all our characters
2	An article		caught	his attention
3	The state	should	foot	the bill
4	The minister	can’t	blink	the fact any longer
5	You		led	a cat and dog life
6	They		play	a tiresomecat-and-mouse game
7	Fred	must have	dished	the dirt
8	George	had	spilled	the beans

(a) Expressions of this structural type which undergo the passive transformation have the code [v+O pass]. The syntactic changes – with the direct object of the active pattern becoming the subject of the passive one – are shown in:

1. The police have cleared all our characters.

All our characters have been cleared (by the police).

There is no straightforward relationship between how idiomatic a [V+O] expression is and whether it can be made passive. Thus example 8, which contains a highly idiomatic expression, allows the passive transformation, while sentence 3 – containing a less idiomatic item – does not:

8 The beans had been spilled by George.

3 *The bill should be footed by the state.

(b) In some cases the nature of whatever is denoted by the direct object can be questioned:

6 What sort of a cat-and-mouse game are they playing?

Where, however, the meanings of verb and object are totally merged – as in examples 7 and 8 – such questions cannot be formed:

8* What kind of beans had George spilled?

[v+o+comp] verb + direct object + complement patern:

Sl.No.	Subject	(aux+)	verb	Direct object	complement:adj phrase / n.phrase
1	The children		drive	their mother	mad
2	I		took	Martin	unaware
3	David		counts	himself	fortunate
4	The chancellor		made	his strategy	plain
5	The boss		caught	Steve	napping
6	His demands	have	bled	the family	white
7	The crew	had	painted	the town	red
8	John	has	made	his colleagues	laughing-stock
9	The matron		made	their lives	a misery

Notes :

a) The place of the complement in this pattern may be filled by a adjective (phrase), as in examples 1-7 or noun (phrase), as in examples 8 and 9.

b) Some expressions with this pattern have corresponding intransitive forms.

Compare:

8 John has made his colleagues a laughing-stock.

His colleagues have become a laughing stock.

c) Idioms in this pattern for which a passive transformation is possible have the code [v+O+comp pass]. To form the passive pattern from the active, the direct object is moved to front position and the form of the verb phrase modified. Cf:

5 The boss caught Steve napping.

Steve was caught napping (by the boss)

The passive transformation is generally not possible when the direct object is an integral part of the idiom. However, in some cases the object forms a continuous unit with the verb and complement the passive is found:

9 Their lives were made a misery by the matron.

d) When the direct object does not form part of a larger idiom (for example, in 7 and 9 above, the town and their lives are necessary parts of their respective idioms) and is long relative to the complement, it may be possible to transpose these two elements:

4 The chancellor made plain the strategy on which his Budget is based.

Where the complement is a noun phrase after the verb make, a different pattern is found:

8 John has made a laughing stock of his colleagues.

e) In some cases an adjective functioning as complement in this pattern can be compared:

3 David counts himself even more fortunate.

Generally, however, this is not possible when verb and complement are a highly idiomatic unit:

6 ? His demands have bled the family even whiter.

[V+Io+O] verb + indirect object + direct object pattern:

Sl.No.	Subject	(aux+)	verb	Indirect object	Direct object
1	This exhibition	doesn’t	do	the artist	credit
2	I		bore	Bolshaw	little ill-will
3	You	had better	blow	daddy	a kiss
4	The firm	has	sold	you	a real pup
5	You	must	show	these guys	who’s boss
6	The old chap		paid	you	a great compliment
7	Mary		sets	us all	a good example
8	The salesman		spun	me	a terrific yarn

Notes :

a) May expressions which fit this pattern can also be used in a construction without the indirect object Consider:

3 You had better blow a kiss.

5 You must show who’s boss.

b) Two passive transforms are associated with this sentence pattern. Compare

The postman handed me a letter

I was handed a letter (by the postman)

A letter was handed to me (by the postman)

However, when the direct object is part of an idiomatic expression, the second passive transform (that in which the direct object of the active sentence becomes, the subject of a passive one) is rarer than the first (in which the indirect object becomes subject). Compare (as transforms of example 4):

You have bee sold a real pup.

?A real pup has been sold you.

Where a ‘pup’ is idiomatically linked to be verb ‘sell’.

c) A common variant of the pattern illustrated in the table is one in which the indirect object is moved to the end, after the preposition ‘to’:

7 Mary sets us all a good example.

Mary sets a good example to us all.

d) When the direct object can be modified, as how much credit, how many kisses, it is possible to form questions, thus:

1 How much credit does this exhibition do the artist?

3 How many kisses do you blow daddy?

[V+O+A] verb + direct object + adjunct pattern :

Sl.No.	Subject	(aux+)	verb	Direct object	Adjunct: adj /adv.
1	The neighbours	had	taken	our suggestion	amiss.
2	Janet		took	everything	too hard.
3	A doctor	has to	put	his patients	first.
4	You	have	cast	your net	wide.
5	The explanation		blows	the myth	sky-high.
6	The writer		sells	his characters	short.
7	The newspapers	won’t	play	it	straight.

Notes :

a) Idioms for which the passive transformation is possible have ‘pass’ as part of their code, thus:

[v+O+A pass]. The syntactic changes are as follows:

5 The explanation blows the myth sky – high.

The myth is blown sky-high (by the explanation)

Note that idioms may become passive even when the object (as in examples 4 and 7) is part of a larger expression.

b) When the direct object is relatively long and the adjunct relatively short, they can sometimes be transposed:

3 A doctor has to put first his poorer patients and their families.

When the object is itself part of the idiom, however, such transportation is usually not possible:

4* You have cast wide your net.

c) In a few cases the final adjunct (whether adjective or adverb) can be moved into initial position in its own clause:

4 How wide have you cast your net? I notice how wide you have cast your net.

2 How hard did Janet take everything?

Possessive Clause Patterns

An important grouping of clause idioms is identified by the grammatical code [possess]. These are ‘possessive’ idioms in the sense that they make use of the same verbs (principally get, give and have) as ordinary non-idiomatic sentences concerned with ownership or change of ownership. Compare these two groups of sentences:

John got a brand-new bicycle.

Father gave John a brand-new bicycle.

John now has a brand-new bicycle.

John got a good idea of the problems.

Father gave John a good idea of the problems.

John now has a good idea of the problems.

Here, the second group closely parallels the first in structure and in the choice of verbs; the difference is that the second set contains an idiom:

Get

Give sb an idea of sth

Have

The purpose of the following two tables is to show the patterns which underlie the above examples, and to help the user understand how they are related.

[possess] Possessive clause pattern (i)

Sl.No.	Subject	(aux+)	verb:get	Direct object
1	The leaders		got	a taste of their own medicine
2	Everybody		gets	a fair share of the cake.
3	That club	is	getting	a bad name
4	The customer	was	getting	cold feet
5	The economy		got	a quick shot in the arm

Notes :

a) The verb get (= ‘receive’, ‘acquire’) in idioms can often be replaced by have (= ‘possess’).

There is a closely similar pattern, for some idioms, containing the preposition with:

4 The customer had cold feet

The customer with cold feet…

b) A corresponding possessive pattern which should be studied carefully is one containing the verb give, which takes an indirect as well as a direct object.

As the following table shows, the indirect object in this pattern, (ii) corresponds to the subject of get (and of have in pattern (i)):

[possess] Possessive clause pattern (ii)

Sl.No.	Subject	(aux+)	verb	Indirect object	Direct object
1	The voters		gave	the leaders	a taste of their own medicine.
2	The firm		gives	everyone	a fair share of the cake.
3	Drug pushers	are	giving	that club	a bad name.
4	The excess tariff	was	giving	the customer	cold effect
5	The Chancellor		gave	the economy	a quick shot in the arm.

Note :

By comparing the tables carefully, the student should be able to derive a give pattern from a get pattern, and vice-versa.

Phrase Patterns

The following tables show the arrangement of constituent words (adjectives, nouns etc) in four types of phrase idiom….

[NP] Noun phrase

Sl.No.	Determiner	adjective	Noun	Prep. Phrase/clause
1	a	blue	fit
2	his	blue-eyed	boy
3	the	common	touch
4		easy	terms
5		either	way
6	a	false	alarm
7	a		feather	in one’s cap
8	the	good	things	in life

Functions of noun phrase idioms:

The commonest functions…are as follows:

[O (NP)] as the direct object of a clause:

3 He lacks the common touch.

[comp (NP)] as the complement of a clause:

7 It’s a feather in your cap.

[Comp/O] as either a complement or object:

2 John’s his blue-eyed boy.

They have their blue-eyed boys.

[o (NP)] as the object of a preposition:

Sl.No.	Adv. modifier	adjective	Prep. Phrase/infinitive/clause
1	all	right	by me
2	all too	brief	for me
3	as	big	as saucers
4	as	happy	as the day is long
5	absolutely	mad	about football
6	fast	asleep
7	far too	full	of his own importance
8	not	fit	to wash his feet

Functions of adjective phrase idioms

The commonest function is:

[comp (Adj P)] as complement of a clause:

4 They were as happy as the day is long.

7 He’s far too full of his own importance.

Occasionally one finds

[Comp/A(Adj P)] as complement or adjunct:

3 Her eyes were as big as saucers.

Her eyes grew as big as saucers.

[Prep p] Prepositional Phrase

Sl.No.	preposition	Object of preposition
		det	adj	noun
1	above	one’s		station
2	at	one’s	own	discretion
3	in	sb’s		opinion
4	in	the	ordinary	way
5	in	the	same	way
6	of		good	standing
7	under	his		nose
8	under	your	own	steam

Functions of prepositional phrase idioms

Prepositional phrases have very diverse function:

[A (Pre P)] as an adjunct modifying a verb:

2 The police could act at their own discretion.

[Comp/A (Pre P)] as a complement or adjunct:

1 He’d got above his station.

They’ve educated him above his station.

(Disj (pre P)] as a disjunct (a phrase which indicates the speaker’s judgement of the value of his statement):

3 In my opinion, the vertebra is compressed.

[Conj (pre P)] as a conjunct – a connecting phrase:

5 Young athletes need support. In the same way (= similarly) young artists need encouragement.

[Adv P] adverbial phrase

Sl. No.	Adv. modifier	adverb	Prep. Phrase/clause
1	all too	briefly
2	as	fast	as his legs could carry him
3	far	afield
4		full	in the face
5	none too	soon

Functions of adverbial phrase idioms

In almost every case adverbial phrases functions as adjuncts (modifiers of a verb):

[A (Adv P)]

1 The concert ended all too briefly.

3 He traveled far afield.

Noun phrase pattern with repeated element

One sub-grouping of phrases contains a repeated element, which may be a noun, adjective, verb, determiner or adverb. Note for example:

body and soul [n+n non-rev]

fair and square [adj+adj non-rev]

bow and scrape [v+v non-rev]

each and every [det+det non-rev]

hard and fast [adv+adv non-rev]

The salient feature of these combinations is that, in most cases, they cannot be reversed: hence, in the above examples the code non-rev (non-reversible). The code rev is included in those instances where the nouns etc. can be transposed:

Day and night […n+n rev]

Examples of the two commonest patterns are tabulated below, with some indication of their possible functions:

[n+n] noun + noun pattern

1	body and soul
2	(the) deaf and dumb
3	day and night
4	head to tail
5	death or glory
6	airs and graces

Functions

When such phrases have a wide range of functions (as subjects, objects and prepositional objects, for example) they are given the simple code [n+n…]. Some phrases have a more limited function, and this is shown as follows:

[A (n+n non-rev)]

1 She devotes herself to George body and soul.

3 He plays that damned trumpet day and night.

[adj + adj] adjective + adjective pattern

1	bright and early
2	free and easy
3	fair and square
4	(all) hot and bothered
5	slow but sure

Function

The normal function of adj + adj phrases is as the complement of a verb such as be;

Phrases with this function have the code [adj + adj], as above. When, however, a phrase functions as an adjunct, the coding is:

[A (adj + adj non rev)]

1 Don’t forget to wake me bright and early.