Semantic Classification of Phraseological Units
1. Phraseological units referring to the same notion.
e.g.: Hard work - to burn the midnight oil; to do back-breaking work; to hit the books; to keep one’s nose to the grindstone; to work like a dog; to work one’s fingers to the bone.
Compromise – to find middle ground; to go halfway.
Independence – to be on one’s own; to have a mind of one’s own; to stand on one’s own two feet.
Experience – to be an old hand at something; to know something like the back of one’s palm; to know the rope.Ледарювати – байдики бити, ханьки м’яти, ганяти вітер по вулицях, тинятися з кутка в куток, і за холодну воду не братися.
2. Professionalisms
e.g.: on the rocks; to stick to one’s guns; breakers ahead. 3. Phraseological units having similar components
e.g.: a dog in the manger; dog days; to agree like cat and dog; to rain cats and dogs. To fall on deaf ears; to talk somebody’s ear off; to have a good ear for; to be all ears. To see red; a red herring; a red carpet treatment; to be in the red; з перших рук; як без рук; горить у руках; не давати волі рукам.
4. Phraseological units referring to the same lexico-semantic field.
e.g.: Body parts – to cost an arm and leg; to pick somebody’s brain; to get one’s feet wet; to get off the chest; to rub elbows with; not to have a leg to stand on; to stick one’s neck out; to be nosey; to make a headway; to knuckle down; to shake a leg; to pay through the noser; to tip toe around; to mouth off; без клепки в голові; серце з перцем; легка рука.
Fruits and vegetables – red as a beet; a couch potato; a hot potato; a real peach; as cool as a cucumber; a top banana;гриби після дощу; як горох при дорозі; як виросте гарбуз на вербі.
Animals – sly as a fox; to be a bull in a china shop; to go ape; to be a lucky dog; to play cat and mouse; як з гуски вода, як баран на нові ворота; у свинячий голос; гнатися за двома зайцями.
Structural Classification of Phraseological Units
Еnglish phraseological units can function like verbs (to drop a brick; to drop a line; to go halves; to go shares; to travel bodkin), phraseological units functioning like nouns (brains trust, ladies’ man, phraseological units functioning like adjectives (high and dry, high and low,ill at ease, phraseological units functioning like adverbs (tooth and nail, on guard; by heart, phraseological units functioning like prepositions (in order to; by virtue of), phraseological units functioning like interjections (Good heavens! Gracious me! Great Scot!).
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Ukrainian phraseological units can function like nouns (наріжний камінь, біла ворона, лебедина пісня), adjectives ( не з полохливого десятка, не остання спиця в колесі, білими нитками шитий), verbs ( мотати на вус, товкти воду в ступі, ускочити в халепу), adverbs ( не чуючи землі під ногами, кров холоне в жилах, ні в зуб ногою), interjections (цур тобі, ні пуху ні пера, хай йому грець).
Another structural classification was initiated by A.V. Koonin. He singles out Nominative, Nominative and Nominative-Communicative, Interjective, Communicative phraseological units.
Nominative phraseological units are of several types. It depends on the type of dependence. The first one is phraseological units with constant dependence of the elements.
e.g.: the Black Maria; the ace of trumps; a spark in the powder magazine.
The second type is represented by the phraseological units with the constant variant dependence of the elements.
e.g.: dead marines/men; a blind pig/tiger; a good/great deal.
There also exist phraseological units with grammar variants.
e.g.: Procrustes’ bed = the Procrustean bed = the bed of Procrustes.
Another type of the Nominative phraseological units is units with quantitative variants. They are formed with the help of the reduction or adding the elements.
e.g.: the voice of one crying in the wilderness = a voice crying out in the wilderness= a voice crying in the wilderness = a voice in the wilderness.
The next type of the Nominative phraseological units is adjectival phraseological units.
e.g.: mad as a hatter; swift as thought; as like as two peas; fit as a fiddle.
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The function of the adverbial phraseological units is that of an adverbial modifier of attendant circumstances.
e.g.: as cool as a cucumber; from one’s cradle to one’s grave; from pillar to post; once in a blue moon.
Nominative and Nominative-Communicative phraseological units are of several types as well. The first type is verbal phraseological units. Verbal phraseological units refer to this type in such cases: a) when the verb is not used in the Passive voice ( to drink like a fish; to buy a pig in a poke; to close one’s eyes on something ; b) if the verb is not used in the Active voice (to be reduced to a shadow; to be gathered to one’s fathers).
Nominative and Nominative-Communicative phraseological units can have lexical variants.
e.g.: to tread/walk on air; to close/shut books; to draw a red herring across the trail/track; to come to a fine/handsome/nice/pretty pass; to sail close/near to the wind; to crook/lift the elbow/the little finger.
Grammar variants are also possible.
e.g.: to get into deep water = to get into deep waters; to pay nature’s debt = to pay the debt of nature.
Examples of quantitative variants can also be found: to cut the Gordian knot = to cut the knot; to lead somebody a dance = to lead somebody a pretty dance.
Lexico-grammar variants are also possible: to close/shut a /the door/doors on/upon/to somebody.
Interjective phraseological units are represented by: by George! By Jove! Good heavens! Gracious me!
Communicative phraseological units are represented by proverbs and sayings.
e.g.: Rome was not built in a day. An apple a day keeps a doctor away. That’s another pair of shoes. More power to your elbow. Carry me out.
Synonyms in Phraseology
Synonymy in phraseology has been greatly enriched by various processes of the meaning shift, by the influx of foreign words and phrases.
Absolute synonyms which have the same meaning and connotation are comparatively rare.
e.g.: over head and ears = up to the neck;
a pretty kettle of fish = a nice pair of shoes;
байдики бити – давати горобцям дулі.
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Relative synonyms denote different shades of different degrees of common meaning:
e.g.: to come to a conclusion; to jump at a conclusion; to leap at a conclusion.
There is every reason to establish a stylistic differentiation of synonyms. The synonyms of a particular phrase are not always interchangeable with that phrase as their use depends on the linguistic situation, the audience addressed, the speaker’s attitude towards the subject. Some of them are stylistically neutral, others have an emotional connotation. In stylistic synonyms the difference is not so much in the meaning as in the emotional colouring.
e.g.: word of honour (neutral) – as I live by bread (colloquial);
to be in high spirits (neutral) – to be on high ropes (colloquial);
заснути вічним сном (neutral) – простягти ноги (colloquial).
Antonyms in Phraseology
Antonyms can be opposed to each other in their concrete meanings.
e.g.: an old sea wolf – a young calf of a mate; вбити собі в голову – викинути з голови, набитий гаманець – вітер у кишенях свистить.
The elements of the phraseological units-antonyms are expressed by the same part of speech.
e.g.: safe and sound – dead and gone; dead from the neck up – as wise as a serpent, макітра розуму – пустий лоб.
It is not investigated yet whether it is possible to use the negative particle not to form an antonym. We can use the negation in to step into somebody’s boots but we cannot use it in the expression to take a leaf from somebody’s book though it has the same meaning. In the Ukrainian language it is possible to use a negation in the following examples: велике цабе – невелике цабе, з легким серцем – з нелегким серцем.
Proverbs, Sayings
A proverb is a short familiar epigrammatic saying expressing popular wisdom, the truth or a moral lesson in a concise and imaginative way. Proverbs have much in common with phraseological units because their lexical components are also constant, their meanings are traditional and mostly figurative and they are introduced into speech ready-made. That is why some scholars following V.V. Vinogradov think proverbs must be studied together with phraseological units. Another reason why proverbs must be taken into consideration together with phraseological units is that they often form the basis of phraseological units.
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A proverb is always a sentence. Very often they are realised in superphrasal units.
Proverbs may have different contents.
War is condemned: War is sweet to them who know it not. War is the sport of kings.
Fools are laughed at: Fools grow without watering. He who is borne a fool is never cured.
Lazy-bones are criticised: Idleness is the root of all evil.
Proverbs teach to be economical: A penny saved is a penny gained. Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves.
Proverbs teach to work hard: He that will eat the kernel must crack the nut. He that would eat the fruit must climb the tree. He that would catch fish must not mind getting wet. He would search for pearls must dive below.
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