Semantic and grammatical peculiarities of adverbial phraseological units

b) verb-nominal phraseological units, e.g. to read between the lines , to speak BBC, to sweep under the carpet etc.  The grammar centre of such units is the verb, the semantic centre in many cases is the nominal component, e.g. to fall in love. In some units the verb is both the grammar and the semantic centre, e.g. not to know the ropes.  These units can be perfectly idiomatic as well, e.g. to burn one’s boats,to vote with one’s feet, to take to the cleaners’ etc¹⁰.

Very close to such units are word-groups of the type to have a glance, to have a smoke. These units are not idiomatic and are treated in grammar as a special syntactical combination, a kind of aspect.

c) phraseological repetitions, such as: now or never, part and parcel , country and western etc. Such units can be built on antonyms, e.g. ups and downs , back and forth; often they are formed by means of alliteration, e.g cakes and ale, as busy as a bee. Components in repetitions are joined by means of conjunctions. These units are equivalents of adverbs or adjectives and have no grammar centre. They can also be partly or perfectly idiomatic, e.g. cool as a cucumber (partly), bread and butter (perfectly).

Phraseological units the same as compound words can have more than two tops (stems in compound words), e.g. to take a back seat, a peg to hang a thing on, lock, stock and barrel, to be a shaddow of one’s own self, at one’s own sweet will.

Phraseological units can be classified as parts of speech. This classification was suggested by I.V. Arnold¹¹. Here we have the following groups:

 I. Set expressions functioning like nouns:

N+N: maiden name ‘the surname of a woman before she was married’; brains trust ‘a committee of experts’ or ‘a number of reputedly well informed persons chosen to answer questions of general interest without preparation’, family jewels ‘shameful secrets of the CIA’.

N’s+N: cat’s paw ‘one who is used for the convenience of a cleverer and stronger person’ (the expression comes from a fable in which a monkey wanting to eat some chestnuts that were on a hot stove, but not wishing to burn himself while getting them, seized a cat and holding its paw in his own used it to knock the chestnuts to the ground); Hob-son’s choice, a set expression used when there is no choice at all, when a person has to take what is offered or nothing (Thomas Hobson, a 17th century London stableman, made every person hiring horses take the next in order).

Ns'+N: ladies’ man ‘one who makes special effort to charm or please women’.

N+prp+N: the arm of the law; skeleton in the cupboard.

N+A: knight errant (the phrase is today applied to any chivalrous man ready to help and protect oppressed and helpless people).

N+and+N: lord and master ‘husband’; all the world and his

wife (a more complicated form); rank and file ‘the ordinary working members of an organisation’ (the origin of this expression is military life, it denotes common soldiers); ways and means ‘methods of overcoming difficulties’.

A+N: green room ‘the general reception room of a theatre’ (it is said that formerly such rooms had their walls coloured green to relieve the strain on the actors’ eyes after the stage lights); high tea ‘an evening meal which combines meat or some similar extra dish with the usual tea’; forty winks ‘a short nap’.

N+subordinate clause: ships that pass in the night ‘chance acquaintances’.

II. Set expressions functioning like verbs: V+N: take advantage

V+and+V: pick and choose V+(one’s)+N+(prp): snap ones fingers at V+one+N: give one the bird ‘to fire sb’

V+subordinate clause: see how the land lies ‘to discover the state of affairs’.

III. Set expressions functioning like adjectives:

A+and+A: high and mighty

(as)+A+as+N: as old as the hills, as mad as a hatter Set expressions are often used as predicatives but not attributively. In the latter function they are replaced by compounds¹².

IV. Set expressions functioning like adverbs:

A big group containing many different types of units, some of them with a high frequency index, neutral in style and devoid of expressiveness, others expressive.

N+N: tooth and nail

prp+N: by heart, of course, against the grain

adv+prp+N: once in a blue moon

prp+N+or+N: by hook or by crook

cj+clause: before one can say Jack Robinson

V. Set expressions functioning like prepositions: prp+N+prp: in consequence of

It should be noted that the type is often but not always characterised by the absence of article. Сf: by reason of : : on the ground of.

VI. Set expressions functioning like interjections:

These are often structured as imperative sentences: Bless (one’s) soul! God bless me! Hang it (all)! ¹³

Thus from the functional point of view phraseological units can be classified into:

1) Verbal phraseological units (functioning like verbs): to run for one's (dear) life, to get (win) the upper hand, to talk through one's hat, to make a song and dance about something.

2) Substantive phraseological units (functioning like nouns): dog's life, cat-and-dog life, calf love, white lie, tall order, birds of a feather, birds of passage, red tape, brown study.

3) Adjective phraseological units (functioning like adjectives): high and mighty, spick and span, brand new, safe and sound. The most expressive are comparative phraseological units: (as) cool as a cucumber, (as) nervous as a cat, (as) weak as a kitten, (as) good as gold (usually spoken about children), (as) pretty as a picture, as large as life, (as) slippery as an eel, (as) thick as thieves, (as) drunk as an owl (sl.), (as) mad as a hatter/a hare in March.

4) Adverbial phraseological units (functioning like adverbs): high and low (as in They searched for him high and low), by hook or by crook, for love or money, in cold, in the dead of night, between the devil and the deep sea, to the bitter end, by a long chalk.

5) Interjectional phraseological units (выполняющие роль междометия): My God/ By Jove! By George! Goodness gracious! Good Heavens!

 

Linguistic Investigation

2.1 Semantics of adverbial phraseological units

As it was shown above, adverbial phraseological units are set expressions functioning like adverbs in sentences. Adverbial phraseological units in terms of their semantic features can be divided into qualitative and adverbial ones¹⁴.

Qualitative adverbial phraseological units describe the process, i.e. characterize it from the qualitative side. They are divided into adverbial phraseological units of mode of action and adverbial phraseological units of degree. For example: on (upon) second thought (s); taking one thing with another; all things considered. Qualitative adverbial phraseological units in their turn include the following groups:

1. Qualitative adverbial phraseological units of mode of action, for example, fair and square. Often they can express the intensiveness of an action, for example:

by hook or by crook – by any means,

by leaps and bounds – very fast,

hammer and tongs – energetically,

tooth and nail – very hard.

Qualitative adverbial phraseological units of mode of action can have meaning of an incomplete action, for example:

by fits and stars – irregularly, from time to time,

of and on / on and off – from time to time, seldom.

The following adverbial phraseological units of mode of action express the completeness of an action:

hook, line and sinker – completely,

lock, stock and barrel – completely,

from A to Z – from the beginning till the end.

Unexpectedness of an action is expressed by the following adverbial phraseological units of mode of action:

out of a blue,

out of a blue /clear sky.

Repeatedness of action can be expressed by the following adverbial phraseological unit of mode of action: time and time again, a single action is expressed by once in a way¹⁵.

Some adverbial phraseological units can include archaic elements, fro example: in a trice – ‘in a flash’.

Phraseological units with the model prep + (d) can also be in this group: (to be born) under the rose – ‘an illegitimate child’; with the bark on –‘ uncouth’.

There are also adverbial phraseological unit of mode of action that are made on the comparative basis, for example:

аs fast as one’s legs will carry one,

(to sleep) аs if killed,

as sly as a fox

2. Qualitative adverbial phraseological units of degree include such phraseological units as in a large measure, to a high degree.

There are also polysemantic qualitative adverbial phraseological units, for example neck and crop that means 1) ‘fast’, ‘hard’ and 2)’completely’. The first one means the mode of action, the second one means the degree.

Adverbial adverbial phraseological units can function as adverbs. They can have meaning of adverbs of a place, condition, manner of action, purpose, etc. 

They can have a structure prep + (d) + N, for example:

up a tree – in a desperate situation;

over the walnut and wine – during an after lunch meeting;

for nuts – completely;

with flowers – beautiful on the surface;

for sour apples – completely;

to the root(s) – to the bone, thorough, in essence;

(to be said) under the rose – without saying a word.

There are several semantic groups of adverbial phraseological units. They are as follows.

1. The adverb of circumstances under which an action takes place. For example:

rain or shine – at any circumstances.

from scratch – from nothing,

by word of mouth – orally.

2. The adverb of place. For example:

from China to Peru – all over the world,

from John o’Groat’s to Land’s End – all over the country¹⁶.

3. The adverb of time. For example:

in a flash – very quickly,

in less than no time – very quickly,

in the twinkling of an eye – very quickly,

in two shakes (of a lamb’s tail) – very quickly,

in the year dot – very long ago.

4. The adverb of cause. For example:

in one’s cups – because of being drunk,

in the heat of the moment – rashly.

5. The adverb of purpose. For example:

on the off-chance – in hope¹⁷.

In the sentence adverbial idioms are the most frequently used as adverbs, for example: Do what you like under the rose, but don’t give a sign of what you’re about… (Ch.Dickens. “Hard Times”, Book II, ch. X) – A rose was a symbol of silence in the Ancient Rome.

We can summarize the information discussed above in a form of a table (see Table 1).

Table 1

Semantic classification of English adverbial phraseological units

Group	Grammatical Classification	Prepositional phrases
Qualitative	1. Of mode of action	as soon as possible, by word and deed,  by fits and starts, under cover of darkness
	2. Of degree	in a large measure, to a high degree, step by step
Adverbial	1. Of circumstances	rain or shine, from scratch, under the rose
	2. Of place	at the heart of, from China to Peru
	3. Of time	around the clock, day and night, year by year
	4. Of cause	in the heat of the moment, in one’s cups
	5. Of purpose	on the off-chance

 

2.2 Grammatical peculiarities of adverbial phraseological units

A.V. Kunin classifies adverbial phraseological units into praseological units with coordinating structure and praseological units with subordinating structure¹⁸. Each type has its own peculiarities and can be divided into some sub-types.

1. The adverbial phraseological units with subordinating structure. There are several types of them. For example many of such phraseological units can include prepositions. For example:

at (in) the (very) nick of time – at the last moment,

by word of mouth –, orally

on one’s own hook – at one’s own,

with all the heart (and soul) – completely,

with flying colors – with a victory.

A preposition can be not only in the beginning, but also in the middle of a phraseological unit, for example:

all in the day’s work – normally, ordinarily,

straight from the horse’s mouth – from the first hand. 

Some adverbial phraseological units with subordinating structure are negative, for example:

not a shot in the locker – without money,

not half bad – good,

no two ways about it – there cannot be 2 opinions.

The praseological units with subordinating structure include adverbial comparisons and semi-comparative phrasemes.

Adverbial comparisons function as adverbs of the mode of action in sentences, they can be both in postposition and preposition to the verb. No commas are used with them. Let us see some examples:

(as) clean as a new pin – ‘very clean’,

(as) quick as a flash – ‘very fast’,

(as) still as a death – ‘silently’,

(as) a nigger – ‘to work very hard’,

as cool as a cucumber – ‘calmly,

as fast as one’s legs can – ‘very fast’,

as soon as possible – ‘in the fastest way’.

The semi-comparative phrasemes can start with conjunctions like or as if.  They form the second element of a comparison. The full comparison is made in the process of speech. For example:

like a cat on a hot bricks – ‘to be nervous, feel uncomfortable’,

like a drowned rat – ‘very wet’,

like water of a duck’s back – ‘easily’,

as if by magic – ‘unexpectedly’, ‘in a strange way’,

as if touched with a wand – ‘unexpectedly’.

Adverbial adverbial phraseological units with coordinating structure can be classified in accordance with the number of components they include. So they can be two-component or three-component, etc.

The examples of two-component adverbial phraseological units are:

hammer and tongs – ‘energetically’,

high and low – ‘everywhere’,

off and on – ‘from time to time’,

by fits and starts – ‘irregularly’.

The examples of three-component adverbial phraseological units are:

between the upper and nether milestones – ‘in a desperate, hopeless situation’,

between you and me and the bed-post (the door-post, the gate-post, the post) – ‘between ourselves’.

The phraseological unit between the devil and the deep sea has the four-component structure¹⁹.

In English there also are one-top adverbial phraseological units. They have neither coordinating nor subordinating structure. They function as adverbs in sentences. They can be made of one categorematic lexeme and one non-categorematic lexeme, or of one categorematic lexeme and two non-categorematic lexemes. For example:

at bay – ‘in a desperate situation’.

at bottom – ‘at bottom of one’s heart’,

from scratch – ‘from nothing,

in a nutshell – ‘briefly, in two words,

into the bargain – ‘in addition to’,

on the dot – ‘exactly in time’.

There also can be a combination of one categorematic lexeme and three non-categorematic lexemes. For example:

out of the blue – ‘suddenly’,

out of the question – ‘cannot be discussed’,

out of the woods –‘ safe’.

Thus we can summarize the information above in a form of a table (see Table 2).

 

 

Table 2

Grammatical classification of English adverbial phraseological units

Group	Grammatical classification	Prepositional phrases
1. With subordinating structure	1. With prepositions	on one’s own hook, with all the heart (and soul, with flying colors
	2. Adverbial comparisons	(as) quick as a flash, (as) still as a death, (as) a nigger, as cool as a cucumber
	3. Semi-comparative phrasemes	like a cat on a hot bricks, like a drowned rat, as if by magic, as if touched with a wand
2. With coordinating structure	1. Two-component	hammer and tongs, high and low
	2. Three-component	between the upper and nether milestones
	3. Four-component	between the devil and the deep sea
3. One-top adverbial phraseological units	1. One categorematic lexeme and one non-categorematic or of lexemes	by heart, at bay, at bottom, from scratch
	2. One categorematic lexeme and two non-categorematic	on the dot, by the way, in a nutshell
	3. One categorematic lexeme and three non-categorematic	up to the mark, up to the nines, out of the question

 

Conclusions

 

The present course paper has been devoted to studying semantic and grammatical peculiarities of adverbial phraseological units in English. The results obtained in the process of the work allow us to make some conclusions.

Phraseological units are defined as non-motivated word-groups that cannot be freely made up in speech but are reproduced as ready-made units. They are reproduced and idiomatic (non-motivated) or partially motivated units built up according to the model of free word-groups (proverbs and sayings) and semantically and syntactically brought into correlation with words.

There is no a uniform classification of phraseological units, because linguists divide phraseological units according to different principles: the structure, semantics, communicative function, the etymology of phraseological units, approaches to their translation into other languages​​, etc.

From the functional point of view phraseological units can be classified into: verbal phraseological units (functioning like verbs), substantive phraseological units (functioning like nouns), adjective phraseological units (functioning like adjectives), adverbial phraseological units (functioning like adverbs) and interjectional phraseological units. In this course paper the semantic and grammatical peculiarities of English adverbial phraseological units have been discussed.