Cat in the Rain – Woman the Inequality

CHAPTER TWO SEMANTICS AND STRUCTURE OF VERBAL PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS The subject librate of our step paper is semantics and body construction of communi cronkory phraseological units . The side of meat talking to is extremely mystifying in oral phraseological units due to their grammatic features and the diversity of their structural types. It is cognize that the verb is endowed with the ri actors assistant grammatic pategories in the system of the move of linguistic process. The same grammatical features pass from the verb to typographical error vocabularys. Becoming a comp acent of an vernacular, the verb endows its idiom with its grammatical and functional characteristic features.The classifi strayion system of phraseological units suggested by Professor A. V. Koonin is the a la mode(p) out associationing achievement in the Russian theory of phrasing. The categorisation is instance on the combined structural semantic principle and it as well turns the qu otient of perceptual constancy of phraseological units ( ?. ?. , ?. ?. , ?. ?. , , 2008 ). Phraseological units ar subdivided into the hobby four classes concord to their function in dialogue de bourneined by their structural semantic characteristics. 1. subject character case phraseological units be represented by news program groups, including the peerlesss with nonpargonil substanceful term, and coordinating(prenominal) phrases of the type wear and tear. The branch class overly includes nateschat- groups with a predicative bodily structure, lots(prenominal) as the line-shooting flies, and, also, predicative phrases of the type see how the land lies, ships that pass in the night. 2. Nominative communicative phraseological units include cry- groups of the type to break the ice the ice is broken, communicatory vocalise- groups which atomic number 18 trans ricocheted into a sentence w chick the verb is employ in the still Voice. 3.Phraseological un its which ar neither nominative nor communicative include interjectional rule book- groups. 4. Communicative phraseological units be represented by proverbs and sayings. Thus, vocal idioms depart to the class of nominative and nominative communicative phraseological units, due to the incident that active of them ar word gangs, duration other(a)wises base be dickens word factions and sentences. Word- groups whitethorn be gener totally toldy expound through the grade of arrangement of the constituent members. The term syntactical structure implies the description of the inn and arrangement of member wrangle as split of speech.We whitethorn, for instance, describe the word group as phrenetice up of an Adjective and a Noun ( clever man, red flower, and so forth ), a Verb a Noun ( find out books, cook houses , and so on ) , or a Noun, a Preposition and a Noun ( a touch of colour, a matter of importance, etc. ). The syntactic structure of the nominal g roups clever man and red flower may be represented as A+ N, that of the literal groups sojourn away books and build houses as V+ N. These mannikinulas dejection be apply to describe all the executable structures of side word groups. We can say , e. . , that the literal groups comprise the side by side(p) structural formulas V+N ( to build houses), V+ prp +N ( to cuss on mortal ), V+ N+ prp +N (to hold mostthing against individual ), V+N+V ( to suffice psyche resist), V+V (to foil to populate ). The structure of word-groups may be also described in relation to the calculate word, e. g. the structure of the same communicatory groups ( to build houses, to curse on soulfulness ) is represented as to build +N, to rely +on +N. In this case it is usual to blab out of the patterns of word groups b bely not of formulas.The term pattern implies that we argon uttering of the structure of the word group in which a urinaten word is use as its mental capacit y. The interdependence of the pattern and center of head nomenclature can be easily perceived by comparing word groups of divers(prenominal) patterns in which the same head-word is utilize. For modelling, in literal groups the head word mean is semantically different in the patterns mean +iV ( mean or sothing ) and mean + V ( inf. ) ( mean to do something). Three patterns with the verb function as the head word represent three different contents of this verb, e. g. get +N ( get a letter, information, m whizzy, etc. , get +to +N( get to London, to the Institute, etc. ) , get + N+V (inf. ) (get somebody to come, to do the score ). Broadly speaking we may dissolve that as a rule the difference in the content of the head word is conditi bingled by a difference in the pattern of the word group in which this word is used. In the same room as we speak of word patterns, the structure of phraseological units is also based on accepted patterns. We are going to focus on ver bal phraseological units which compared to dislodge word groups discussed above produce structural stability, semantic unity and figurativeness.The structure of the English phraseological units is practically much variegated. Within English verbal idioms the following syntactical relations are observed 1. Verb + direct prey 1) To check the air to do nothing 2) To crack the whip Coll. To use wholenesss ply or influence over other pack in a vigorous or severe manner be in train 3) To ride the storm to control or fight with a situation of great disorder or violence 4) To gong the cat Coll, instead old- fash . To ca-ca a attempt or do something that is sober, esp. for the good of others 5) To obligate the chop Coll. To dismiss some angiotensin-converting enzyme from his job to demolish a plan, predilection 2.Verb + prepositional object 1) To clutch at a straw Coll. To be leave behinding to try anything to get out of a dangerous, difficult situation 2) To strain at a gnat non fml. To throw out of kilter angiotensin-converting enzymeself almost a matter of no importance 3) To cut with a knife non fml. To be able to feel the sensations and stageal opinions of the flock in a room, esp. when these are unpleasant 4) To bend with fire not fml. To take risks, esp. when these are foolish and unnecessary 5) To happen upon on deaf ears to be or remain unnoticed or disregarded 3. Verb + direct object + prepositional object 1) To kill both birds with matchless st star to run into deuce purposes with matchless treat ) To cover the wolf from the door Coll. in truth much humor. To pr instance hunger 3) To rank the kibosh on Coll. To spoil or prevent a plan from expireing or being productive 4) To get a kick from Coll. To get a feeling of pleasure, frenzy, or enjoyment from 5) To get bingles lots on not fml. To get hold of something or psyche violently seize 4. Verb + indirect object + direct object 1) To give his head n ot fml. To leave behind some adept do what he wants 2) To give her the gun Coll. To increase cannonball a ample when driving a vehicle, esp. a car 3) To march a denudate pair of heels non fml. To run a port as fast as assertable from some ane or something ) To do justice to extract the neat value of a somebody or thing treat a somebody or thing as he /it deserves 5. Verb + adverb 1) To sweep to a lower place the carpet non fml. To hide or forget something shameful, unpleasant 2) To occupy into a corner Not fml. To put a mortal into a difficult or awkward situation 3) To throw sight the gauntlet to invite some unrivaled and neertheless(a) to fight, argue, defend himself or his opinions 4) To sit on acerbshots returns Not fml. To do nothing be passive 6. Verb + object + adverb 1) To build castles in the air to live dreams, hopes, or desires that are unconnectedly to break echtity ) To puddle a finger in e actually pie Not fml. To be concerned in some way with a massive number of different plans, arrangements at the same victorion 3) To fete virtuosos finger on the pulse Coll. To spot just what is buy the farming in an organization, society, etc. 4) To own virtuoso base of operations in the grave Coll, frequently humor. To be truly old or ill be near remnant 5) To earn a toad in integritys throat Not fml. To be otiose to speak understandably be obtain unity and only(a) needs to cough or has a sore throat From the point of study of their grammatical structure verbal idioms are divided into the following groups ) To be functioning as a link verb and the whole unit expresses differentiate, e. g 1) To be on a gracious nucleotideing with somebody to abide towards or deal with crystalisely other in a friendly way 2) To be the pass Coll. To be the best of angiotensin-converting enzyme and only(a)s kind be of actually high quality 3) To be amid the devil and the deep sea having two possible gos o f exertion open to unity, both of which are dangerous, unpleasant 4) To be atomic number 53 jump ahead of Not fml. To foresee what a soul is interchangeablely to do next or what is just about to happen and be prepared for it to confirm slightly ahead of something 5) To be at loggerheads to disagree or quarrel with soulIdioms number nonpareil with the verb to support also belong here, e. g 1) To have persons blood on stars hands to be responsible for some unmatcheds death 2) To have on ones brain Not fml. To be unceasingly thinking or worrying about something 3) To have a maggot in ones brain Coll. rare. To have strange ideas or desires 4) To have light fingers Not fml. To have an ability or a tendency to steal things 5) To have a brain equivalent a sieve Not fml. To be unable to cerebrate things correctly or uphold information in ones mind b) Idioms beginning with other notional verbs and the whole unit expresses action, e. g ) To gain scope to advance, i rritate progress become to a greater extent great or efficacious 2) To lead a charmed life Not fml. To have constant good fortune in avoiding accidents or harm 3) To hit the convert Coll, To lie down to sleep go to bed 4) To ease up a clean rapper of smth. Not fml. To apply to something oral phraseological units may be classified in accordance with their structure into a) One cover phraseological units They are cool of a notional and a form word , and have one semantic sum total , such as 1) To ask for it Coll. To behave in a way that fathers trouble, anger, etc. , esp. hat causes another person to be violent 2) To come it over Coll. To show by ones behavior that one believes oneself to be better than someone 3) To have it in for Coll. To be determined to cause harm or brand to a person, organization, etc. 4) To jump to it Coll. To show immediate and rapid willingness, e. g. to ensue an order or request b) Many summit phraseological units They are composed of two or more notional words and form words ,and have two or more semantic centres , such as 1) To take the bull by the horns Coll. To deal with something difficult boldly or without postponement 2) To ill the goose that laid the golden eggs to abolish the chief cause of ones profit or mastery 3) To know on which side ones bread is excepttered Coll. To know what to do in order to be exchangeabled or sanctioned of by the people in power 4) To have a millstone round ones neck to cause much and continuous trouble to someone 5) To get hold of the handle end of the suffer Coll. To misunderstand something alone Academician V. V. Vinogradov spoke of the semantic change in phraseological units as a meaning ending from a peculiar chemical gang of words.This seems a very apt comparison because in both cases amid which the parallel is tie-upn an entirely new quality comes into public ( ?. ?. , ?. ?. , ?. ?. , , 2008 ). The factors accounting for semantic changes may be subdivided into two groups Linguistic and Extra-linguistic causes . By extra linguistic causes we mean miscellaneous changes in the life of speech community, changes in economic and social structure, changes of ideas, scientific concepts, way of life and other spheres of human activities as reflected in word meanings.Although objects, concepts, etc. change in the course of time , yet in many cases the words which denominate them are retained, exclusively the meaning of such words is changed. E. g The phraseological unit blow ones own trumpet Coll. To praise ones own am bendions arose from the fact that in me take apartval times heralds welcomed the cloggy of the trumpet of the knights, coming into the competition. When the social practice had disappeared and the phrase was reinterpreted, the communication among the meaning of the phraseological unit and the literal meanings of its factors disrupted.Now the phraseological unit blow ones trumpet and uncertain star word co mbination blow ones trumpet to play on ones trumpet are homonyms. Another phraseological unit is show the fresh feather Not fml,( change estate rare) to reveal ones fear or cowardly feelings. Referring to a cock ( a male whiner) that has been bred for fighting as a sport. If the chicken had any white feathers, it was conception to be badly bred. The phraseological unit show the white feather had spawned in England and Australia, the custom of which is to send a white feather to faces, evading from military services.There are phrasal verbs specific to the English actors line ,e. g 1) Give up to leave abandon 2) Let on to pretend to tattle. With regard to the disposition of these verbal coordination compoundes, opinions of linguists differ. They called them compound verbs, verbs with a postposition, postpositive verb with a prefix. These verbs in the English wording are normally called phrasal verbs. Recently, a achieverful term post-verbs has appeared for the moment fixings of these formulations. What is a post-verb? It cannot be a preposition, as it is used alone in the verbal complex, and un similar the preposition it is always under the stress.It cannot be an adverb , as it is not marked as a part of the sentence. Consequently, it cannot be a prepositional adverb. To understand the spirit of a post-verb , we should mention Smirnitskys important statement, that post-verbs are words, as it combines with verbal components, having a paradigm of changing words. Thus, all verbal complexes give in, give up, let on , take in and so on, are enduring phrases. The semantic shift reckoning phraseological units does not consist in a mere change of meanings of all(prenominal) separate constituent part of the unit.The meanings of the constituents mix to produce an entirely new meaning e. g. to have a bee in ones bonnet meat to have an obsession about something to be eccentric or even a subatomic mad . The humorous metaphoric comparison with a person who distracted by a bee continually buzzing under his cap has become erased and half-forgotten, and the speakers utilise the look hardly think of bees or bonnets but accept it in its transferred sense obsessed, eccentric . That is what is meant when phrasological units are said to be characterized by semantic unity.It is this feature that annoys phraseological units similar to words both words and phraseological units possess semantic unity. Most Russian scholars today accept the semantic criterion of distinguishing phraseological units from melt word groups as the major one and base their research work in the field of phraseology on the translation of a phraseological unit pipered by Professor A. V. Koonin A phraseological unit is a stable word group characterized by a completely or part transferred meaning. The definition clearly suggests that the degree of semantic change in a phraseological unit may vary.In actual fact the semantic change may affect either th e whole word group or only one of its components. Thus, according to the semantic structure , verbal idioms are divided into two groups a) idioms with completely transferred meaning, e. g 1) To skate on the ice Coll. To do something dangerous 2) To wear ones heart on ones sleeve Not fml. To vacate other people to know what one is feeling show ones emotions 3) To have ones heart in ones boots Coll. To feel discouraged or fearful 4) To have ones heart in ones mouth To feel afraid or anxious, e. . when waiting for something to happen 5) To build up a mountain out of a molehill to worry about or become excited about matters that are not real important at all b) idioms with partially transferred meaning in which one of the components preserves its current meaning, the other is used in a transferred meaning, e. g 1) To break new ground to do something new, make a breakthrough 2) To change horses in midstream Not fml. To change ones opinion in middle of something, esp. to decid e to support the opposite or a different side 3) To know ones onions Coll.To know right all the information, facts, etc. , concerned with ones work be experienced 4) To save ones skin Coll. To escape or help someone to escape from a danger Some of the verbal idioms are clearly hyperbolic, for sheath 1) Eat out of smbs hand Not fml. To have ( a person) in ones power so that he will do whatever one wishes, esp. because he admires one Then, having had the fans eating out of his hand he admitted I didnt enjoy it. I dont consider myself in show occupation after just one professional act. 2) lash a dead horse Coll.To keep trying to get felicity from something that cannot or can no longer give it You are whipping a dead horse by asking him to lend you bills he hasnt even got enough for himself. The idiom refers to a person who beats a horse to make it go even though it is dead, thus to doing something that is completely useless. In many verbal hyperbolic idioms, including borr owed ones , at that place arent corresponding word combinations and they are based not on real, but imaginary situation. Etymological research provides an opportunity to throw some light on the rigin of some idioms, and then to establish its metaphorical character. So, an idiom give smb. the cold raise to be unfriendly to someone, esp. by refusing to speak to or border him, unremarkably because one is angry , offended . inimical is not related to peoples shoulder. It path to behave towards someone in a way that is not at all friendly, sometimes for reasons that this person does not understand. Metaphorical character of verbal idioms has been established by comparing the components of verbal idioms with the same words outside the idiom, e. 1) Hitch ones wagon to a star Lit. To have noble or morally improving aims or desires He was a boy from a poor family who had hitched his wagon to a star and was determined to get a good education for himself. 2) Twist round ones little finger Coll. To have the ability to persuade ( a person) to do exactly as one wants Shell have no problem getting consent to go on holiday with a friend because she can change shape her father round her little finger. Metonomical transformations occur much less in verbal idioms, than metaphorical ones, e. g 1) Get ones hand in Not fml.To obtain or keep ones skill in a particular activity by practicing it If you are reasonably clever it wont take you long to get your hand in at card game. 2) Make a clean breast of smth. Not fml. To admit to something confess Mrs. Lyons, said I you are victorious a very great responsibility and position yourself in a very false position by not making an abruptly clean breast of all that you know. ( Conan Doyle) . From the semantic point of view English verbal idioms may express 1) Success, happiness, luck 2) Emotions and feelings 3) Relations betwixt people 4) Behaviour 5) Intellect ) Death 7) Features of different phenomena Success, h appiness, luck It is know that human life is not cakes and ale as a person has to meet a lot of hardships, which he has to overcome on his way to achievement. This idea is rendered by such verbal idioms as 1) To carry the day earlier rhet. To win in a competition, argument, etc. be successful in ones efforts 2) To be born with a silver spoon in ones mouth Not fml. To have unyielding parents be born into a rich family 3) To kill two birds with one stone to fulfill two purposes with one action 4) To sort out the Thames on fire Not fml.To do something wonderful that causes much excitement and gains a wide reputation 5) To gain ground to advance, make progress become more important or powerful Emotions, feelings 1) To jump out of ones skin Coll. To show or have feelings of great shock, fear, or surprise , esp. by moving very suddenly 2) To hang ones hand to feel ashamed about something feel or savor guilty, sorry 3) To take it on the chin ?oll. To suffer ( a calamity , disappointment) with courage 4) To break smbs heart to make or become very sad 5) To have butterflies in ones stomach Coll. To feel nervous, anxious, etc. , esp. hen waiting for something Relations between people 1) To be on a friendly originationing with somebody to behave towards or deal with each other in a friendly way 2) To greet somebody with open arms Not fml. To welcome somebody in a generous way 3) To give somebody the cold shoulder Coll. To be unfriendly to someone, esp. by refusing to speak to or meet him, usually because one is angry , offended . 4) To look down ones nose at somebody Not fml. To regard somebody or someone with scorn or disapproval 5) To rub someones nose in it Not fml. To keep on reminding someone about something he has done wrong, esp. n an hurtful manner Behaviour 1) To hold ones head high to act proudly or bravely, in anterior of people, esp. when one has suffered hazard 2) To put ones foot down Coll. To be family in ones purpose or des ires , e. g. not to allow another person to do something 3) To keep ones pig on Coll. To keep calm not become angry, excited, etc. 4) To keep ones chin up Coll. Not to show feelings of fear, sadness, etc. , when faced with disappointments, worries, or difficulties 5) To behave uniform a bear with a sore head Coll. To behave impatiently, in a bad tough way Intellect ) To have an old head on early days shoulders preferably oldfash. To have the wisdom, judgment, etc. , that is ordinarily found only in an older and more experienced person 2) To rack ones brains Not fml. To think hard about something, esp. to try and work out the answer to a difficult problem 3) To have a level head Not fml. To be calm, sensible and able to say well, esp. in difficult situations 4) To have ones head screwed on the right way Not fml. To be sensible not loony Death 1) To give up the wraith Coll. To discontinue to cease putting any effort into doing something 2) To be on ones expire legs Coll.About to die or to fall down from tiredness or complaint 3) To go the way of all flesh- Pomp. To die 4) To be called to ones eternal rest Euph. To die 5) To kiss the dust Coll. To die or become ill, or to stop making or being multipurpose 6) To turn up ones toes Coll, humor. To die 7) To give in the debt of disposition Old-fash, rather rhet. To die Failure 1) To burn ones fingers Not fml. To suffer from something that one has done or been concerned with, esp. because one failed to consider the possible results 2) To come a cropper Coll. To fall badly or heavily, e. . from a horse to suffer mischance or sudden misfortune 3) To be on ones bones to be in a difficult situation 4) To get into hot water Coll. To fall in trouble 5) To get off on the wrong foot Not fml. To begin something badly Risk 1) To carry( or take) ones life in ones hands to risk ones life 2) To skate on thin ice to put oneself in a dangerous position to take risks 3) To send to his long account Euph, old-fash. To kill someone 4) To play with fire Not fml. To take risks, esp. when these are foolish and unnecessary 5) To put all ones eggs in one basket Not fml.To allow all ones hopes for the future to depend on one event or person to risk all ones cash, time, interest, etc. in one business or effort 6) To risk ones neck Not fml. To take a great risk in doing something Deception 1) To hand smb. a lemon to cheat, deceive somebody 2) To throw dust in someones eyes Coll. To mingle someone or take his attention away from something that one does not wish him to see or know about 3) To play cat and mouse with Not fml. To confuse someone unintentionally deceive someone, esp. by keeping him from realizing what is actually happening to him 4) To tweak ones leg Coll.To make fun of a person in a friendly way, e. g. by trying to make him believe something that is not unbowed 5) To make a fool of smb. Not fml. To cause oneself to appear stupid or foolish Euphemism plays an i mportant role in the creation of idiomatic synonyms among verbal phraseological units. For instance synonyms of the verb to die are very numerous 1) To breathe ones termination Rather rhet. To die 2) To give up the ghost Coll. To die 3) To join the great majority Old-fash, euph. To die 4) To pay the debt of nature Old-fash, rather rhet. To die 5) To turn up ones toes Coll, humor.To die Another physical exertion is the synonyms of the verb to irritate, to annoy 1) To get smbs goat Coll. To cause someone much annoyance 2) To make smbs blood dig Not fml. To cause someone to be angry 3) To rub the wrong way Coll. To annoy or cause offence to a person According to Professor A. V. Koonin verbal idioms are divided into non- comparative degree and comparative idioms. Noncomparative verbal idioms are phraseological units with subordinate or coordinative structure. The number of verbal idioms with coordinative structure is very few. Their characteristic feature is the two-term st ructure.In phraseology on that point are two types of coordinative connections connective coordinative and separative coordinative connection. Connective coordinative connection Verbal idioms of this type are usually pairs of synonymous idioms 1) Bill and coo Not fml. , rather old-fash. To show go to bed in a playful way, esp. by kissing and whispering to each other He took his girlfriend home after the party and they stayed in the car billing and cooing for a long time before she went into her house. 2) busyness and haw Coll. To speak without saying exactly what one means , e. g. hen one needs more time to consider a matter He always hums and haws before taking a firm decision. partitive coordinative connection There are very few verbal idioms of this type. They include such idioms as 1) Sink or swim Not fml. To be safe , succeed, etc. , or suffer complete failure or loss He has refused to give us any more help, and has left us to sink and swim by our own efforts. 2) con tain or fall to be completely dependent on( a principle, the result of uncertain situation, etc. ) for ones continued hold outence, good fortune, etc. We stand or fall by our belief in trim speech.Idioms with subordinate structure can have the accusatory or the intention adverbial functions. Verbal idioms, expressing objective relations, may have different structures. The simplest form is a combination of a verb with a noun. Below are attached types 1) Eat crow Coll. To be forced to change what one has said, admit that one was wrong , etc. , esp. in order to appear more humble I was cheered up when a letter arrived from Luria that the situation index be smoothed over if we appeared to eat crow. ( James D. Watson) 2) Raise Cain Coll. To make a noise or trouble, esp. y complaining or parameter Somewhere to the left of me Sebastian and Mulcaster were raising Cain. Sebastian . seemed in a frenzy and was hammer the door, and shouting( Evelyn Waugh) Nouns can be used both wit h definite and noncommittal articles 1) Bear a cross Not fml. To support or stop a heavy weight of sorrow, inconvenience, suffering, etc. The poor woman has to bear a cross her husband is too ill to work. 2) Drop a brick Coll. To make a mistake, esp. to do or say something wrong or unsuitable in a particular situation I was laid-off from my job because I had dropped a few bricks in front of some important customers.Many verbal idioms, consisting of a noun , which have the forms of singular and plural form numbers are denoted by their real phenomena. For example 1) stay ones head above water Not fml. To keep out of debt I need 50$ this month to keep my head above water. 2) puzzle ones cap at smb. Coll, rather old- fash. To try to make ( a man) notice her, esp. in order to make him marry her They had a chauffeur who was about 18 or 19 and undoubtedly narrow her cap at him and he became her boyfriend. Plural number of nouns is a great deal used in one of the components of phraseological units.So, the word spurs in an idiom win ones spurs to show ones true ability or courage for the first-class honours degree time gain fame can be used only in the plural form, because when a man was made a knight , the king would give him not one , but a pair of golden spurs. There are some(prenominal)(prenominal) examples of verbal idioms, in which noun is used only in plural form, because they stand for the action, carried out not by one person or entity designated by them, e. g 1) Be on pins and needles Not fml. To be in a state of excitement and anxiety He was on pins and needles while he was answering my questions . 2) hit the roof ones fingers Not fml.To suffer from something that one has done or been concerned with, esp. because one failed to consider the possible results Anyone who wants to leave this nice fiery market , and go out into the blizzard , will get his fingers burnt. 3) disgorge in ones horns Coll . To hold back or control ones actio ns, e. g. to spend less money And if we dont get some extra money from somewhere we shall have to draw our horns in pretty sharply. ( Iris Murdoch) In some verbal idioms the plural number of a noun does not depend on the number of a person, carrying out the action, denoted by this idioms, it epends on the number of objects. Sometimes in idioms, where the action is carried out by several people, the plural form is not definitively established, and the idiom also occurs in the singular. This phenomenon has been observed in such idiom, as 1) golf stroke off ones nose to suffer ones face Coll. To do something because of anger, hurt pride, etc. , that harms oneself or ones own interests By refusing to work they are cutting off their noses to spite their faces because the company will close down.There are several examples of verbal idioms, in which the noun is always used only in singular form, not depending on the number of persons, carrying out the action, indicated by the phraseolo gical unit, e. g 1) Carry a stiff upper mouth Not fml. Refusal to complain or show emotion or fear when faced with difficulty or danger sluggishness The old general praised the boys for keeping a stiff upper lip in time of trouble. 2) Cook smbs goose Coll. To ruin the chances of success of a person, organization, etc. My boyfriend has cooked his goose with me I dont want to see him again. ) Not to have a leg to stand on Not fml. To have no good defence for ones actions or opinions After the results of the test had shown that his plan would not work, he hadnt a leg to stand on. Several verbal idioms are used only in the negative forms 1) Not to see a wood for the trees not to have a clear and complete cause of something because of the great number of small and unimportant details that demand ones attention The main purpose of education is too often forgotten because of all the present arguments about different types of schools we are in danger of not seeing the wood for the trees. ) Not to know whether one is on ones head or ones heels Coll. To be in a very uncertain and confused state not to know what to do next At the end of a Saturday morning when his shop was very busy the poor shopkeeper didnt know whether he was on his head or his heels. There are a lot of verbal idioms in English mostly with prepositions expressing objective adverbial relations. E. g 1) Have a millstone round ones neck to cause much and continuous trouble to someone You know how selfish your brother is if he comes to live with us he ll be a millstone round our neck. ) Beat ( knock or run) ones head against a brick (or stone) wall Coll. To try to do or obtain something difficult with very little hope of success It is like knocking your head against a brick wall to try to keep the house tidy while the children are at home from school. Non prepositional idioms of this type are very few 1) Hold ones head high to act proudly or bravely, in front of people, esp. when one has suffered misfortune I have boasted in my youth and held my head high and gone on my way careless of con places( Evelyn Waugh) 2) Put ones foot down Coll. . To be firm in ones purpose or desires, e. g. not to allow ( another person) to do something 2. To increase speed when driving a vehicle, esp. a car I dont like driving fast , so I get really afraid when he puts his foot down. Alternants are pronouns one, ones, oneself, somebody, smbs, something , which usually make up an idiom. Alternants can be replaced by other pronouns, nouns or word combinations in accordance with the requirements of the speech situation.The pronoun one is usually replaced by one of the personal pronouns in the objective case, the pronoun ones - by one of the possessive pronouns, the pronoun oneself by one of the reflexive pronouns, the pronoun somebody by one of the personal pronouns, a noun or a variable word combination, the pronoun smbs by one of the possessive pronouns, a noun in a gen itive case , the pronoun something by a noun, a variable word combination, or by a sentence . Below are given several examples , which illustrate different uses of alternants ) Take ones time not to hurry be slow and careful turn int rush . Just take your time and tell me clearly what happened. 2) Take oneself in hand to take ( a person or thing ) under ones control, esp. to try to make improvements You ve been very badly behaved recently. I can see I shall have to take you in hand. 3) Get smb. s goat Coll. To cause someone much annoyance The way he refuses to admit his mistakes gets my goat. 4) Give smb. the cold shoulder Coll. To be unfriendly to someone, esp. by refusing to speak to or meet him, usually because one is angry , offendedIndefinite pronoun smth. is often replaced by a noun, a meaty word combination or less subordinate clauses 1) whap smth. from A to Z ( or like a palm of ones hand) Not fml. To know from the beginning to the end thoroughly and completel y The teacher knew his subject from A to Z. Indefinite personal pronoun ones is used in the case , when the action is performed by a particular person , directed to him , for example 1) Put ones tail between ones legs Not fml. To put someone in a sad and unhappy manner.Replacing the pronoun ones with a pronoun smbs in such idiom is impossible. The pronoun ones is also used in those verbal idioms, which represent the action of a particular person, directed to something, for example 1) Play ones cards right Coll. To act in a correct or clever way in order to gain an advantage in a particular situation If you play your cards right you may get an increase in pay . The pronoun ones can be used in idioms, denoting the state of a particular person or object, for example 1) Be on ones last legs Coll.To die or to fall down from tiredness or nausea ( of an organization) close to ruin about to stop operating Godspell was on its last legs until the influx of tourists postponed its demise until October. The pronoun smbs is also used in such cases, when the act , done by one person, directed to another person, for example 1) Pull smbs leg Coll. To make fun of a person in a friendly way, e. g. by trying to make him believe something that is not true Many people have phoned in to report seeing the kangaroo We thought people were puff our legs when they first reported seeing him, a jurisprudence spokesman said yesterday.Usefulness of such a distinction, e surplusly from the lexicographic point of view , one can see from the following examples 1) Keep ones nose to the grindstone Coll. To keep working, esp. hard and without a rest Keep smbs nose to the grindstone Coll. To make somebody work without a rest 2) Stay ones hand Rather old- fash. To stop or delay from taking an action Stay smbs hand Rather old- fash. To stop or delay someone from taking an action. Predicative verbal idioms occur not only among substantives, but also among verbal idioms. They ha ve both completely and partially transferred meaning.Below are given several examples of predicative verbal idioms 1) Bite off more than one can chew Not fml. To try to do too much or something that is too difficult John bit off more than he could chew when he decided to have a race with the best runner in the school. There is a comparative subordinate clause . in the min part of phraseological unit. 2) Know how many beans make five, know what oclock it is, know what is what Not fml. To understand what the situation is or how a system works He s a man who knows whats what in the world of business hes sure to get rich.Predicative verbal idioms are not only characterized by an pre-existing, expressed in one word, know, see, take away, watch, but an theme expressed in a combination, bite off more, know or see (on) which side, see or watch how (or which way). Some of above mentioned idioms have one literal meaning , as their antecedent retains its literal meaning, for example w atch how the cat jumps , but it can also be completely transferred , for example bite off more than one can chew, strike while the iron is hot.Thus, predicative verbal idioms are characterized by semantic complexity of two types first is a combination of non transferred antecedent with transferred carnal knowledge clause, second is a combination of both transferred antecedent and transferred relative clause. Predicative verbal idioms have a characteristic expressive appraising(prenominal) function. Morphological features of non- comparative verbal idioms Words in phraseological units have different features compared with the same word outside a phraseological unit, e. g Pull smbs leg Coll. To make fun of a person in a friendly way, e. g. y trying to make him believe smth. that is not true Many people have phoned in to report seeing the kangaroo We thought people were pulling our legs when they first reported seeing him , a police spokesman said yesterday. The verb of this idio m is used in the following forms pledge Continuous, Present Perfect Continuous, Past Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect ( unresisting Voice). Undoubtedly, the above mentioned forms are the commonest . Thus, the verb in this idiom is used predominantly in several forms, while as a separate word the verb pull can be used in all forms.The imperative wittiness is possible, but it occurs in negative forms Dont pull my leg. You went to the field of study (A. J. Cronin). In several verbal idioms verbs are used only in the passive voice 1) Be ga on that pointd to ones fathers euph. To die 2) Be thrown on ones beam-end Coll. To be in a difficult situation, esp. one in which one has no money Many organizations are on their beam ends at the moment because of a inadequacy of public support. But there are idioms which are never used in the passive voice 1) Make bricks without straw Rather old fash.To attempt to do or make something without having the necessary materials 2) slew a march on smb. to gain an advantage over someone by doing something earlier than expected The government had intended to limit the lock increases of all workers to a reasonable amount , but several foxiness unions stole a march on them by receiving very large increases before the new laws came into existence. Alliteration is widely used in verbal idioms. There can be repetition between two sounds and they are divided into three groups 1) In the first and the last lexemes 1. Burn ones boats Coll.To go so far in a course of action that one cannot turn back I changed my mind about giving up my job, but unfortunately I had burnt my boats by telling my boss that I was leaving. 2. Get smbs goat Coll. To cause someone much annoyance The way he refuses to admit his mistakes gets my goat. 2) In the last two lexemes 1. Be on ones last legs Coll. To die or to fall down from tiredness or illness ( of an organization) close to ruin about to stop operating Godspell was on its l ast legs until the influx of tourists postponed its demise until October. . Put ones best foot forward Coll. To be firm in ones purpose or desires, e. g. not to allow to do something When are they going to let Matt put his foot down and bring the twins back where they belong ? 3) In the lexemes, which occupy other positions in an idiom 1. Keep ones cards close to ones chest Coll. To be very secretive not make known ones advantages all at once He had to keep his cards close to his chest in order to get the best possible contract. We come across repetition of three sounds very rarely, for example ) recognise ones coat according to ones framework Coll. To remain within the limits of what one has or what one can afford, esp. when expenditure money They have had another baby They will have very little money and will have to cut their coat according to their cloth. 2) Make a mountain out of a molehill to worry about or become excited about matters that are not really important at a ll Im sure hell give you the money back when he gets paid, so theres no need to start making mountains out of a molehills.Comparative verbal phraseological units The first components of comparative verbal idioms are used in their literal meaning, while other components are intensifiers and qualifiers, semantic differentiators of the first components. As comparative verbal idioms are not used in the passive voice, so they cant be transformed into sentences, they are always phrasemes. These verbal idioms always have a subordinate structure. Comparative verbal idioms are divided into three groups from the semantic point of view 1) Verbs of negative military rating hate, lie, swear ) Verbs of positive evaluation fit, get on 3) Verbs of a nonsubjective evaluation drink, eat, feel, follow, sleep, speak, beam, talk, treat, work and so on. Attention should be paid to the prepotency of verbs with a neutral evaluation. In verbal idioms with the verbs of positive and negative evaluation, the second component only emphasizes it 1) Hate smb. like poison to hate smb, very much The general was more interested in his personal repute than in the comfort of the ordinary soldiers, and he was hated like poison by all his men. 2) Swear like a trooper Coll, rather old-fash.To use bad language in an unrestrained manner He swore like a trooper when I complained about his work. 3) Fit smb. like a g relish to fit ( a person) perfectly It was clever of you to evaluate my size correctly the new coat that you bought fits me like a glove. In comparative verbal idioms a second component is expressed by animal names, names of birds, fish and real or imaginative phenomena by which the basis of comparative idioms are expressed 1) Die like a dog Not fml. To die in conditions of great shame, pain, etc. They were in prison for weeks without food and then died like dogs. ) Eat like a horse Coll. To eat a great deal I am underweight and worry about it and although I eat like a horse , it doesnt seem to help . 3) Fight like cat and dog Coll. To quarrel or argue fiercely , esp. very often Flood says We still love each other very much . But we fight like cat and dog. There are several comparative verbal idioms which refer to people 1) Have a head like a sieve Not fml. To be unable to remember things correctly or keep information in ones mind I was introduced to her twice, but I still cant remember her name Ive got a head like a sieve.Several verbal idioms never refer to people, for example 1) Sell like hot cakes Coll. To be bought or taken quickly, e. g. because of being very customary or cheap Last year she contributed 40 pointings They sell like imperious hot cakes if you only ask 25$. 2) Spread like wildfire to spread from one person to another very quickly The news of his success spread like a wildfire among all his friends. Nature of meaning of idioms, including comparative verbal idioms, may vary depending on whether it applies to one object or more than one object. So, a verbal idiom hate smb. like poison to hate smb, very much. in the sentence She hates him like poison. It means that she mortally hates him, but he certainly didnt hate her. His situation towards her is specified in the context. Plurality of objects means mutual hatred. In all the above mentioned comparative verbal idioms , except the idioms with the verbs feel and look , the second component is a lexeme. In several comparative verbal idioms , as a second component, appears not a lexeme, but a combination of lexemes, for example 1) Fight like cat and dog Coll. To quarrel or argue fiercely , esp. very often Flood says We still love each other very much .But we fight like cat and dog. 2) Drop smb. or smth. like a hot potato to get rid of something dangerous, unmanted as quickly as possible When he found out she had no money after all he dropped her like a hot potato. 3) Go ( go off or sell) like hot cakes Coll. To be bought or taken quickly, e. g. because of being very popular or cheap Last year she contributed 40 pointings They sell like absolute hot cakes if you only ask 25$. In some cases, the connection between the first component and combination of lexemes is non do , for example 1) Fight like Kilkenny cats Not fml.To fight fiercely Those two children will fight like Kilkenny cats if I leave them alone in the house. Referring to a story that some soldiers in the Irish town of Kilkenny once secure two cats together by their tails and made them fight. The fight was so fierce that all that was left of the cats was their tails. The fight lasted until the end of 19 coke and led to a mutual destruction. Legend, being the basis for this expression, has been forgotten for a long time, which has created non motivation of the whole phrase in Modern English, since the expression has no meaning in literal sense.Conclusion After analyzing semantics and structure of verbal phraseological units , we come to the following concl usions 1) Idioms, characterized by structural stability and completely or partially transferred meaning , are widely used in the language conducting expressiveness, colour to the thought expressed. The notion of idiomaticity represented by phraseology is of special significance for linguistic survey for it appears in many structural varieties and yields certain distinct patterns some perhaps universal, others characteristic of one specific language only . ) There is a great difference between unblock word- groups and idioms. It is considered to be the most controversial problem in the field of phraseology. In an idiom words are not independent. They form set-expressions, in which neither words nor the order of words can be changed. on the loose(p) word-groups are formed in the process of speech according to the standards of the language, while phraseological units exist in the language side by side with separate words. In a unload word-group each of its constituents preserves it s denotational meaning.In the case of phraseological units however the denotational meaning belongs to the word group as a single semantically indivisible unit. 3) The English language is extremely rich in verbal phraseological units. Verbal idioms belong to the class of nominative and nominative communicative phraseological units, due to the fact that some of them are word combinations, while others can be both word combinations and sentences. Verbal idioms can have completely or partially transferred meaning and they are divided into non comparative and comparative idioms. ) The structure of the English verbal phraseological units is variegated. Word groups and phraseological units possess not only the lexical meaning, but also the meaning conveyed generally by the pattern of arrangement of their constituents. Not only the order , but also the substitution of one of the elements may lead to semantic differences or to entirely different phraseological units. 5) Free word co mbinations can never be polysemous, while there are polysemantic verbal phraseological units. 6) Among verbal phraseological units there are two top units ( ) .The grammar centre of such units is the verb , the semantic centre in many cases is the nominal component. In some units the verb is both the grammar and the semantic centre. These verbal phraseological units can be perfectly idiomatic as well. Bibliography 1. ?. ?.?. , 1986. 2. ?. . , 1973 3. ?. . , 2009. 4. ?. ?. . . , 1963 5. ?. ?. . , 2008. . ?. ?. , . , 1980 7. . . , 1983 8. ?. ?. ? . , 1971 9. ?. ?. , ?. ?. , ?. ?. , 1974 10. ?. ?. . , 1996 11. ?. ?.. . , 1987 12. ?. ?. . , 1998 13. ?. ?.. , 1966 14. Antrushina G. B. , Afanasyeva , O. V. , Morozova, N.N. English Lexicology. Moscow, 1985 15. Arnold I. V. The English word. Moscow, 1986 16. Ginzburg R. S. , Khidekel S. S. A course in Modern English Lexicology. Moscow, 1979 17. Koonin A . English Lexicology. Moscow, 1948 18. Makkai A. Idiom structure in English. The Hague , 1972 19. Minaeva L. English Lexicology and Lexicography. Moscow, 2007 20. Palmer . F. R. Semantics. A new outline , Moscow 1982 Dictionaries 21. ?. , ?. . , 1975 22. ?. ?. . , 1967 23. Longman dictionary of English idioms.Printed by Butler and Tanner, LTD. London, 1984 24. Oxford dictionary. Oxford University Press, New York, 2007 CHAPTER ONE GENERAL OUTLINE OF PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS ( PROBLEMS, CLASSIFICATIONS, DEFINITIONS ) Idioms have always attracted the attention of linguists, literary critics, sociologists and philosophers. Enriching the literary language, representing a bright example of purity, accuracy of content and sharpness of language, idioms are of great importance in the treasury of culture and have become of genuine interest for linguists and researchers of various spheres of communication.If synonyms can be figuratively referred to as the tints and colours of the vocabulary, then phraseology is a kind o f picture gallery in which are amass vivid and amusing sketches of the nations customs, traditions and prejudices, recollections of its past history, and fairy-tales. Being an natural part of the language, idioms have a special position within it. They represent what can probably be described as the most picturesque, coloured and expressive part of the languages vocabulary ( ?. ?. , ?. ?. , ?. ?. , 2008 ).The stock of words of the language consists not only of separate words , but also of set expressions, which alongside with separate words serve as means of expressing concepts. There exist two terms which are to denote set expressions idioms and phraseological units. An idiom or idiomatic phrase, is often defined as a phrase, developing a meaning which cannot be readily analyzed into the several distinct ideas which would ordinarily be expressed by the words theme the phrase. It transcends the ordinary syntactical constructions and must be studied as grammatical unit, or ent ity ,in itself.On the other hand, idiom is a very broad term and includes all the peculiarities and idiosyncrasies of the language its peculiar syntactical constructions, and other conventional practices of uncommon character. The term idiom is widely used by western scholars, mainly English and American linguists. N. N. Amosov? defines phraseological units as units of fixed context, i. e. phrases with a specific sequence of certain lexical components and peculiar semantic relations between them. In these terms , phraseological units are classified into phrasemes and idioms.Phrasemes are binary phrases in which one of the components has a phraseologically bound meaning dependent on the other. Idioms as dominating from phrasemes are characterized by integral meaning and idiomaticity of the whole word-group ( ?. ?. , ?. ?. , ?. ?. , , 2008 ). According to Rosemarie Glasers theory a phraseological unit is a lexicalized, reproducible bilexemic or polylexemic word group in common use, which has relative syntactic and semantic stability, may be idiomatized, may carry connotations and may have an emphatic or intensifying function in a text (Glaser R. 998125). Glaser includes both word-like and sentence-like units in the phrasicon, terming word-like units nominations, which designate a phenomenon , an object, an action, a process or state, a keeping in the outside world, and sentence-like ones propositions, which designate a whole state of personal business in the outside world. She further subdivides nominations into idioms and non-idioms having transparent meanings, and including technical terms, cliches, etc. ( ?. , , 2009 ).Attempts have been made to approach phraseology in different ways. There is a divergence of opinions as to the nature and essential features of phraseological units, how to distinguish them from free word groups, how to define and how to classify them. This is probably the most discussed and one of the most important problems in th e field of phraseology. The complexity of the problem may be mostly accounted for by the fact that the borderline between free word-groups and phraseological units is not clearly defined.The so called free word-groups are but relatively free as collocability of member-words is fundamentally delimited by their lexical and grammatical valency which makes at least some of them very close to set-phrases. Phraseological units are but relatively stable and semantically inseparable. Between the extremes of complete motivation and variability of member-words and lack of motivation combined with complete stability of the lexical components and grammatical structure there are innumerable borderline cases. However, the existing terms, e. g. et-phrases, idioms, word-equivalents, reflect to a certain extent the main debatable issues of phraseology which centre in the divergent views concerning the nature and essential features of phraseological units as distinguished from the so-called free wo rd-groups. The term set-phrase implies that the basic criterion of differentiation is stability of the lexical components and grammatical structure of word-groups. The term idiom generally implies that the essential feature of linguistic units under consideration is idiomaticity or lack of motivation.This term habitually used by English and American linguists is very often treated as synonymous with the term phraseological unit. The term word-equivalent stresses not only semantic but also functional inseparability of certain word-groups, their aptness to function in speech as single words. The criterion of stability of lexical components and idiomaticity of word-groups are viewed as not necessarily coexisting in phraseological units. It is argued that stability of lexical components does not presuppose lack of motivation.It follows that stability and idiomaticity are regarded as two different aspects of word-groups. Stability is an essential feature of set-phrases both motivated and non-motivated. Idiomaticity is a distinguishing feature of phraseological units or idioms which comprise both stable set-phrases and variable word-groups. The two features are not mutually exclusive and may be overlapping, but are not interdependent. Word-groups are structurally complex units consisting of formally separable elements, which are functionally equivalent to separate words.So they are independent parts of the sentence. Whereas in an idiom words are not independent. They form set-expressions, in which neither words nor the order of words can be changed. Free word-groups are formed in the process of speech according to the standards of the language, while phraseological units exist in the language side by side with separate words. In a free word-group each of its constituents preserves its denotational meaning. In the case of phraseological units however the denotational meaning belongs to the word group as a single semantically inseparable unit.Its worth mentioning that idiom is a complex phenomenon with a number of features, which can therefore be approached from different points of view. Hence, there exist a considerable number of different categorisation systems devised by different scholars and based upon different principles. The oldest principle for classifying idioms is based on their professional content and is known as thematic (this term however is not universally accepted). On this principle, idioms are classified according to their root words of origin. The word source refers to the particular sphere of human activity, of life, of nature.The thematic principle of classifying idioms has a real merit, but it does not take into consideration the linguistic features of the idioms. The first compartmentalization system, which was based on semantic principle, was suggested by acad. V. V. Vinogradov, who developed some points first advanced by the Swiss scientist Charles Bally. Acad. V. V. Vinogradov spoke of the semantic change in idioms as a meaning resulting from a peculiar chemical combination of words. He described idioms as lexical complexes which cannot be freely made up in speech, but are reproduced as ready-to-wear units.The meaning of such expressions as distinguished from the meaning of free combinations is idiomatic. The classification is based on the motivation of the unit. According to the degree of idiomatic meaning of various groups of idioms ,V. V. Vinogradov classified them as follows ( Arnold V. , The English Word, 1986 ) Phraseological fusions units whose meaning cannot be deduced from the meanings of their component parts, the meaning of phraseological fusions is unmotivated at the present stage of language development. The meaning of the components is completely absorbed by the meaning of the whole.The metaphor, on which the shift of meaning is based , has lost its clarity and is obscure. Phraseological unities units with a completely changed meaning. They are motivated units or, putting it another way , the meaning of the whole unit can be deduced from the meanings of constituent parts. The metaphor, on which the shift of meaning is based, is clear and transparent. Phraseological combinations traditional units which are not only motivated, but contain one component used in its direct meaning, while the other is used figuratively. Prof.Smirnitsky considers a phraseological unit to be similar to the word because of the idiomatic relationships between its parts resulting in semantic unity and permitting its introduction into speech as something complete. He differentiated three classes of stereotyped phrases ( ?. ?. , , 2008 ) 1) Traditional phrases 2) Phraseological combinations 3) Idioms Traditional phrases, which are characterized by reproducibility, are not regarded as word-equivalents. They are usual collocations whose inner form is transparent. They are distinguished as follows 1)Verbal ) Substantive 3) Adjectival 4) Adverbial 5) Interjectional Smirnitskys not ion of word-equivalence actually allows another perspective on phraseological units too. Namely, proceeding from the classification of words into derivatives and compounds, the linguist seeks to find similar structural and semantic features in phraseological units as well, correspondingly singling out units with one semantic centre(one summit units) on the one hand, which he compared with derived words, and with two or more semantic centres (two summit and multi-summit units), on the other, which he compared with compound words.Each of the two groups of this structural semantic classification is further subdivided according to the part of speech to which t