Define if the word combination is right or wrong

As already
mentioned, only those combinations of words (or single
words) which convey communication are sentences —
the
object of
syntax. All other combinations of words regularly formed in the
process of speech are the object of morphology as well as single
words. Like separate words they name things, phenomena, actions,
qualities, etc., but in a complex way, for example: manners
and
table
manners, blue
and
dark
blue, speak
and
speak
loudly.
Like
separate words they serve as a building material for sentences.

70

21

The
combinability of words is as a rule determined by their meanings,
not their forms. Therefore not every sequence of words may be
regarded as a combination of words. In the sentence Frankly,
my friend, I have told you the truth
neither
Frankly,
my friend
nor
friend,
I

are
combinations of words since their meanings are detached and do not
unite them.

On the
other hand, some words may be inserted between the components of a
word combination without breaking it. Compare: a) read
books;
b)
read
many books;
c)
read
very many books.
In
case (a) the combination read
books
is
uninterrupted.
In
cases (b) and (c) it is interrupted,
or
discontinuous
(read

books).

The
combinability of words depends on their lexical, grammatical and
lexico-grammatical meanings. It is owing to lexical meanings of the
corresponding lexemes that the word hot
can
be
combined with the words water,
temper, news, dog
and
is hardly combinable with the words ice,
square, information, cat.

The
lexico-grammatical meanings of -er
in
runner
(a
noun) and -ly
in
quickly
(an
adverb) do not go together and prevent these words from forming a
combination, whereas quick
runner
and
run
quickly
are
regular word combinations.

The
combination ^students
writes
is
impossible owing to the grammatical meanings of the corresponding
grammemes (Remark:
with «*»
we
mark grammatically incorrect word-combinations or sentences).

Thus one
may speak of lexical,
grammatical
and
lexico-grammatical
combinability,
or the combinability of lexemes, grammemes and parts of speech.

Each word
belonging to a certain part of speech is characterized by valency
(валентнють)
or,
in other words, the combinability of lexical
units. For example, in the sentence /
tell
you a joke
the
verb tell
is
two valent, and in the sentence /
will
tell you a joke about a Scotchman

three
valent. We can also say that modal verbs are valent for infinitives
and not valent for gerunds, e.g. I
can’t sing;
nouns
are valent for an article, e.g. a
(the) table,
that
is modal verbs are combined with infinitives not gerunds, and nouns
are practically the only part of speech that can be combined with
articles.

It is
convenient to distinguish right-hand
and
left-hand
l
onnections or combinability. In the combination my
friend
the
word my
has
a right-hand connection with the word friend
and
the latter has n lelt-hand connection with the word my.

With
analytical forms inside
and
outside
connections
are also possible.
In the combination has
already done
the
verb has an inside connection
with the adverb and the latter has an outside connection with the
verb.

It
will also be expedient to distinguish unilateral,
bilateral
and
multilateral
combinability
(одностороння,
двостороння та багатосто-роння
сполучуванкяъ). For
instance, we may say that the articles in English have unilateral
right-hand connections with nouns: a
book, the hoy.
Such
linking words as prepositions, conjunctions, link verbs and modal
verbs are characterized by bilateral combinability: book
of John, John and Marry, this is John, the boy must leave.
Most
verbs may have:

/его (Go!),

unilateral
(boys
<r-jump),

bilateral
(Krdid-^-it),
p 1
i у

and
multilateral (Yesterday
I
<—
saw—>
him
there)
I
Onnections. In other words, the combinability of verbs is variable.

One
should also distinguish direct
and
indirect
connections.
In (he
combination Look
at him
the
connection between look
and
at,
be!
ween at
and
him
are
direct, whereas the connection between look
ind
him
is
indirect, though the preposition at
[24;
28-31].

5. The
notions of grammatical opposition

and grammatical category

There
is essential difference in the way lexical and grammatical meanings
exist in the language and occur in speech. Lexical meanings i
in be found in a bunch only in a dictionary or in a memory of a man,
0Г,
scientifically,
in the lexical system of a language. In actual speech .i lexical
morpheme displays only one meaning of the bunch in each case,
and that meaning is singled out by the context or the situation of
ipeech
(in grammar terms, syntagmatically). As mentioned already, words
of the same lexeme convey different meanings in different
lurroundings.

22

23

The
meanings of a grammatical morpheme always come together in the word.
In accordance with their relative nature they can be singled out
only relatively in contrast to the meanings of other grammatical
morphemes (in grammar terms, paradigmatically).

Supposing
we want to single out the meaning of «non-continuous aspect»
in the word runs.
We
have then to find another word
which has all the meanings of the word runs except that of
«non-continuous
aspect». The only word that meets these requirements is the
analytical word is
running. Run
and
is
running
belong
to the same lexeme
and their lexical meanings are identical. As to the grammatical
meanings
the two words do not differ in tense («present»), number
(«singular»), person («third»), mood
(«indicative»), etc. They differ only in aspect. The word
runs
has
the meaning of «non-continuous aspect» and is
running

that
of «continuous aspect».

When
opposed, the two words, runs
and
is
running,
form
a particular language unit. All their meanings but those of aspects
counterbalance
one another and do not count. Only the two particular
meanings
of «non-continuous» and «continuous» aspect
united by the general
meaning
of «aspect» are revealed in this opposition
or
opposeme.
The
general meaning of this opposeme («aspect») manifests
itself in the two particular meanings («non-continuous aspect»
and «continuous aspect») of the opposite
members
(or
opposites)
[24;
22-24].

Thus,
the elements which the opposition/opposeme is composed of
are called opposites
or
members
of the opposition.
Opposites
can be different: 1)
non-marked,
2) marked.
Compare the pair of noun forms table

tables.
Together
they create the «number» opposeme, where table
represents
the singular number expressed by a zero morpheme that is why it is
called the non-marked member of the opposition, and tables
— the
plural number expressed by the positive morpheme -s
is
called the marked member of the opposition. Non-marked opposite is
used more often than the marked opposite is. The marked opposite is
peculiar by its limited use.

Ferdinand
de Saussure claimed that everything in language is based
on opposition. On phonetic level we have opposition of sounds. On
all levels of the language we have opposition. Any grammatical

form has got its contrast or
counterpart. Together they make up a grammatical category.

A part
of speech
is
characterized by its grammatical
categories
manifested
in the opposemes
(the
elements of the opposi­tion

оппозема, член опозицп) and
paradigms of its lexemes. Nouns have
the categories of number and case. Verbs possess the categories of
tense, voice, mood etc. That is why paradigms belonging to different
parts of speech are different. The paradigm of a verb lexeme is
long: write,
writes, wrote, will write, is writing
etc.
The paradigm of n noun lexeme is much shorter: sister,
sister’s, sisters, sisters’.
The
paradigm of an adjective lexeme is still shorter: cold,
colder, coldest.
The
paradigm of an adverb always
consists
only of one word.

Thus, the paradigm of a
lexeme shows what part of speech the lexeme belongs to.

It
must be borne in mind, however, that not all the lexemes of a pari
of speech have the same paradigms. Compare:

sister book information

sister’s books

sisters

sisters

The
first lexeme has opposemes of two grammatical categories: number and
case. The second lexeme has only one opposeme —
that
of number.
It has no case opposemes. The third lexeme is outside both
I’iilegories:
it has no opposemes at all. We may say that the number (■pposeme
with its opposite grammatical meanings of «singularity»
iind «plurality» is neutralized
in
nouns like information,
bread, milk
etc.
owing to their lexical meaning which can hardly be associated wilh
«oneness» or «more-than-oneness».

We may
define neutralization
as
the
reduction of an opposeme to one of its members under certain
circumstances.
This
member may be
tailed
the
member of neutralization.
Usually
it is the unmarked member
of an opposeme.

The term
grammatical
category
implies
that: I) there
exist different morphological forms in the words of a pari
of speech possessing different referential meanings;

25

2) the
oppositions of different forms possessing referential meanings
are systematic that is they cover the whole class of words of that
part of speech.

In other
words a grammatical
category
is
a systematic
opposition of different morphological forms possessing different
referential meanings.
Each
grammatical category is composed of at least two contrasting forms.
Otherwise category would stop existing.

In
general, an opposeme of any grammatical category consists of as many
members (or opposites) as there are particular manifestations of the
general meaning. Thus, a morphological
opposeme
is
a
minimum set of words revealing (by the difference in their forms)
only (and all) the particular manifestations of some general
grammatical meaning. Any morphological category is the system of
such opposemes whose members differ in form to express only (and
all) the particular manifestations of the general meaning of the
category
[24;
23-24].

Grammatical
category
unites
in itself particular grammatical
meanings.
For
example, the grammatical category of gender unites the meanings of
the masculine, feminine, neuter and common genders in
the Ukrainian language. Each grammatical category is connected, as a
minimum, with two forms. For example, the grammatical category of
number comprises the forms of singularity and plurality.

Grammatical
meaning
is
an abstract meaning added to the lexical meaning of a word,
expressing its relations other words or classes
of words. As a rule, a word has several grammatical meanings.
Grammatical
meanings are realized in a grammatical
word form.

Grammatical
form of a word
is
the variety of the same word differing from other forms of this word
by its grammatical meaning. For example, in the Ukrainian word-form
батьку
the
ending -y
expresses
the grammatical meaning of the masculine gender, singular number,
dative case.

Grammatical
form of a word can be simple
(synthetic),
in
which the grammatical meanings are formed by the ending, suffix,
prefix or stress, etc. (дощ
— дощ — дощем);
or
composite
(analytical),
created
by adding several words (буду
говорити, быыи привабливий).
The
analytical-synthetic
grammatical
word form is a

I
ombination of two previous types of word forms. For example, в
xuiaepcumemi
(the
local case is expressed by the flexion and the preposition); малював
би, малювала б
(the
grammatical meaning of number
and gender is expressed by the form of the main verb, and the
meaning
of the conditional mood —
by
the particle би)
[2; 40-41].

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Семинар 6 Combinability. Word Groups

KEY TERMS

Syntagmatics — linear (simultaneous) relationship of words in speech as distinct from associative (non-simultaneous) relationship of words in language (paradigmatics). Syntagmatic relations specify the combination of elements into complex forms and sentences.

Distribution — The set of elements with which an item can cooccur

Combinability — the ability of linguistic elements to combine in speech.

Valency — the potential ability of words to occur with other words

Context — the semantically complete passage of written speech sufficient to establish the meaning of a given word (phrase).

Clichе´ — an overused expression that is considered trite, boring

Word combination — a combination of two or more notional words serving to express one concept. It is produced, not reproduced in speech.

Collocation — such a combination of words which conditions the realization of a certain meaning
TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION AND EXERCISES
1. Syntagmatic relations and the concept of combinability of words. Define combinability.
Syntagmatic relation defines the relationship between words that co-occur in the same sentence. It focuses on two main parts: how the position and the word order affect the meaning of a sentence.

The syntagmatic relation explains:

The word position and order.

The relationship between words gives a particular meaning to the sentence.

The syntagmatic relation can also explain why specific words are often paired together (collocations)

Syntagmatic relations are linear relations between words

The adjective yellow:

1. color: a yellow dress;

2. envious, suspicious: a yellow look;

3. corrupt: the yellow press
TYPES OF SEMANTIC RELATIONS

Because syntagmatic relations have to do with the relationship between words, the syntagms can result in collocations and idioms.
Collocations
Collocations are word combinations that frequently occur together.

Some examples of collocations:

  • Verb + noun: do homework, take a risk, catch a cold.
  • Noun + noun: office hours, interest group, kitchen cabinet.
  • Adjective + adverb: good enough, close together, crystal clear.
  • Verb + preposition: protect from, angry at, advantage of.
  • Adverb + verb: strongly suggest, deeply sorry, highly successful.
  • Adjective + noun: handsome man, quick shower, fast food.

Idioms

Idioms are expressions that have a meaning other than their literal one.

Idioms are distinct from collocations:

  • The word combination is not interchangeable (fixed expressions).
  • The meaning of each component is not equal to the meaning of the idiom

It is difficult to find the meaning of an idiom based on the definition of the words alone. For example, red herring. If you define the idiom word by word, it means ‘red fish’, not ‘something that misleads’, which is the real meaning.

Because of this, idioms can’t be translated to or from another language because the word definition isn’t equivalent to the idiom interpretation.
Some examples of popular idioms:

  • Break a leg.
  • Miss the boat.
  • Call it a day.
  • It’s raining cats and dogs.
  • Kill two birds with one stone.

Combinability (occurrence-range) — the ability of linguistic elements to combine in speech.

The combinability of words is as a rule determined by their meanings, not their forms. Therefore not every sequence of words may be regarded as a combination of words.
In the sentence Frankly, father, I have been a fool neither frankly, father nor father, I … are combinations of words since their meanings are detached and do not unite them, which is marked orally by intonation and often graphically by punctuation marks.
On the other hand, some words may be inserted between the components of a word-combination without breaking it.

Compare,

a) read books

b) read many books

c) read very many books.

In case (a) the combination read books is uninterrupted.In cases (b) and (c) it is interrupted, or discontinuous(read… books).

The combinability of words depends on their lexical, grammatical and lexico-grammatical meanings. It is owing to the lexical meanings of the corresponding lexemes that the word wise can be combined with the words man, act, saying and is hardly combinable with the words milk, area, outline.

The lexico-grammatical meanings of -er in singer (a noun) and -ly in beautifully (an adverb) do not go together and prevent these words from forming a combination, whereas beautiful singer and sing beautifully are regular word-combinations.

The combination * students sings is impossible owing to the grammatical meanings of the corresponding grammemes.

Thus one may speak of lexical, grammatical and lexico-grammatical combinability, or the combinability of lexemes, grammemes and parts of speech.
The mechanism of combinability is very complicated. One has to take into consideration not only the combinability of homogeneous units, e. g. the words of one lexeme with those of another lexeme. A lexeme is often not combinable with a whole class of lexemes or with certain grammemes.
For instance, the lexeme few, fewer, fewest is not combinable with a class of nouns called uncountables, such as milk, information, hatred, etc., or with members of ‘singular’ grammemes (i. e. grammemes containing the meaning of ‘singularity’, such as book, table, man, boy, etc.).
The ‘possessive case’ grammemes are rarely combined with verbs, barring the gerund. Some words are regularly combined with sentences, others are not.

It is convenient to distinguish right-hand and left-hand connections. In the combination my hand (when written down) the word my has a right-hand connection with the word hand and the latter has a left-hand connection with the word my.

With analytical forms inside and outside connections are also possible. In the combination has often written the verb has an inside connection with the adverb and the latter has an outside connection with the verb.

It will also be expedient to distinguish unilateral, bilateral and multilateral connections. By way of illustration we may say that the articles in English have unilateral right-hand connections with nouns: a book, the child. Such linking words as prepositions, conjunctions, link-verbs, and modal verbs are characterized by bilateral connections: love of life, John and Mary, this is John, he must come. Most verbs may have zero

(Come!), unilateral (birds fly), bilateral (I saw him) and multilateral (Yesterday I saw him there) connections. In other words, the combinability of verbs is variable.

One should also distinguish direct and indirect connections. In the combination Look at John the connection between look and at, between at and John are direct, whereas the connection between look and John is indirect, through the preposition at.
2. Lexical and grammatical valency. Valency and collocability. Relationships between valency and collocability. Distribution.
The appearance of words in a certain syntagmatic succession with particular logical, semantic, morphological and syntactic relations is called collocability or valency.

Valency is viewed as an aptness or potential of a word to have relations with other words in language. Valency can be grammatical and lexical.

Collocability is an actual use of words in particular word-groups in communication.
The range of the Lexical valency of words is linguistically restricted by the inner structure of the English word-stock. Though the verbs ‘lift’ and ‘raise’ are synonyms, only ‘to raise’ is collocated with the noun ‘question’.

The lexical valency of correlated words in different languages is different, cf. English ‘pot plants’ vs. Russian ‘комнатные цветы’.
The interrelation of lexical valency and polysemy:

the restrictions of lexical valency of words may manifest themselves in the lexical meanings of the polysemantic members of word-groups, e.g. heavy, adj. in the meaning ‘rich and difficult to digest’ is combined with the words food, meals, supper, etc., but one cannot say *heavy cheese or *heavy sausage;

different meanings of a word may be described through its lexical valency, e.g. the different meanings of heavy, adj. may be described through the word-groups heavy weight / book / table; heavy snow / storm / rain; heavy drinker / eater; heavy sleep / disappointment / sorrow; heavy industry / tanks, and so on.

From this point of view word-groups may be regarded as the characteristic minimal lexical sets that operate as distinguishing clues for each of the multiple meanings of the word.
Grammatical valency is the aptness of a word to appear in specific grammatical (or rather syntactic) structures. Its range is delimited by the part of speech the word belongs to. This is not to imply that grammatical valency of words belonging to the same part of speech is necessarily identical, e.g.:

the verbs suggest and propose can be followed by a noun (to propose or suggest a plan / a resolution); however, it is only propose that can be followed by the infinitive of a verb (to propose to do smth.);

the adjectives clever and intelligent are seen to possess different grammatical valency as clever can be used in word-groups having the pattern: Adj. + Prep. at +Noun(clever at mathematics), whereas intelligent can never be found in exactly the same word-group pattern.

The individual meanings of a polysemantic word may be described through its grammatical valency, e.g. keen + Nas in keen sight ‘sharp’; keen + on + Nas in keen on sports ‘fond of’; keen + V(inf)as in keen to know ‘eager’.
Lexical context determines lexically bound meaning; collocations with the polysemantic words are of primary importance, e.g. a dramatic change / increase / fall / improvement; dramatic events / scenery; dramatic society; a dramatic gesture.
In grammatical context the grammatical (syntactic) structure of the context serves to determine the meanings of a polysemantic word, e.g. 1) She will make a good teacher. 2) She will make some tea. 3) She will make him obey.
Distribution is understood as the whole complex of contexts in which the given lexical unit(word) can be used. Есть даже словари, по которым можно найти валентные слова для нужного нам слова — так и называются дистрибьюшн дикшенери
3. What is a word combination? Types of word combinations. Classifications of word-groups.
Word combination — a combination of two or more notional words serving to express one concept. It is produced, not reproduced in speech.

Types of word combinations:

  1. Semantically:
    1. free word groups (collocations) a year ago, a girl of beauty, take lessons;
    2. set expressions (at last, point of view, take part).
  2. Morphologically (L.S. Barkhudarov):
    1. noun word combinations, e.g.: nice apples (BBC London Course);
    2. verb word combinations, e.g.: saw him (E. Blyton);
    3. adjective word combinations, e.g.: perfectly delightful (O. Wilde);
    4. adverb word combinations, e.g.: perfectly well (O, Wilde);
    5. pronoun word combinations, e.g.: something nice (BBC London Course).
  3. According to the number of the components:
    1. simple the head and an adjunct, e.g.: told me (A. Ayckbourn)
    2. Complex, e.g.: terribly cold weather (O. Jespersen), where the adjunct cold is expanded by means of terribly.

Classifications of word-groups:

  1. through the order and arrangement of the components:

a verbal — nominal group (to sew a dress);

a verbal — prepositional — nominal group (look at something);

  1. by the criterion of distribution, which is the sum of contexts of the language unit usage:

endocentric, i.e. having one central member functionally equivalent to the whole word-group (blue sky);

exocentric, i.e. having no central member (become older, side by side);

  1. according to the headword:

nominal (beautiful garden);

verbal (to fly high);

adjectival (lucky from birth);

  1. according to the syntactic pattern:

predicative (Russian linguists do not consider them to be word-groups);

non-predicative — according to the type of syntactic relations between the components:

(a) subordinative (modern technology);

(b) coordinative (husband and wife).

4. What is “a free word combination”? To what extent is what we call a free word combination actually free? What are the restrictions imposed on it?
A free word combination is a combination in which any element can be substituted by another.

The general meaning of an ordinary free word combination is derived from the conjoined meanings of its elements

Ex. To come to one’s sense –to change one’s mind;

To fall into a rage – to get angry.

Free word-combinations are word-groups that have a greater semantic and structural independence and freely composed by the speaker in his speech according to his purpose.

A free word combination or a free phrase permits substitution of any of its elements without any semantic change in the other components.
5. Clichе´s (traditional word combinations).
A cliché is an expression that is trite, worn-out, and overused. As a result, clichés have lost their original vitality, freshness, and significance in expressing meaning. A cliché is a phrase or idea that has become a “universal” device to describe abstract concepts such as time (Better Late Than Never), anger (madder than a wet hen), love (love is blind), and even hope (Tomorrow is Another Day). However, such expressions are too commonplace and unoriginal to leave any significant impression.

Of course, any expression that has become a cliché was original and innovative at one time. However, overuse of such an expression results in a loss of novelty, significance, and even original meaning. For example, the proverbial phrase “when it rains it pours” indicates the idea that difficult or inconvenient circumstances closely follow each other or take place all at the same time. This phrase originally referred to a weather pattern in which a dry spell would be followed by heavy, prolonged rain. However, the original meaning is distanced from the overuse of the phrase, making it a cliché.

Some common examples of cliché in everyday speech:

  • My dog is dumb as a doorknob. (тупой как пробка)
  • The laundry came out as fresh as a daisy.
  • If you hide the toy it will be out of sight, out of mind. (с глаз долой, из сердца вон)

Examples of Movie Lines that Have Become Cliché:

  • Luke, I am your father. (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back)
  • i am Groot. (Guardians of the Galaxy)
  • I’ll be back. (The Terminator)
  • Houston, we have a problem. (Apollo 13)

Some famous examples of cliché in creative writing:

  • It was a dark and stormy night
  • Once upon a time
  • There I was
  • All’s well that ends well
  • They lived happily ever after

6. The sociolinguistic aspect of word combinations.
Lexical valency is the possibility of lexicosemantic connections of a word with other word

Some researchers suggested that the functioning of a word in speech is determined by the environment in which it occurs, by its grammatical peculiarities (part of speech it belongs to, categories, functions in the sentence, etc.), and by the type and character of meaning included into the semantic structure of a word.

Words are used in certain lexical contexts, i.e. in combinations with other words. The words that surround a particular word in a sentence or paragraph are called the verbal context of that word.
7. Norms of lexical valency and collocability in different languages.
The aptness of a word to appear in various combinations is described as its lexical valency or collocability. The lexical valency of correlated words in different languages is not identical. This is only natural since every language has its syntagmatic norms and patterns of lexical valency. Words, habitually collocated, tend to constitute a cliché, e.g. bad mistake, high hopes, heavy sea (rain, snow), etc. The translator is obliged to seek similar cliches, traditional collocations in the target-language: грубая ошибка, большие надежды, бурное море, сильный дождь /снег/.

The key word in such collocations is usually preserved but the collocated one is rendered by a word of a somewhat different referential meaning in accordance with the valency norms of the target-language:

  • trains run — поезда ходят;
  • a fly stands on the ceiling — на потолке сидит муха;
  • It was the worst earthquake on the African continent (D.W.) — Это было самое сильное землетрясение в Африке.
  • Labour Party pretest followed sharply on the Tory deal with Spain (M.S.1973) — За сообщением о сделке консервативного правительства с Испанией немедленно последовал протест лейбористской партии.

Different collocability often calls for lexical and grammatical transformations in translation though each component of the collocation may have its equivalent in Russian, e.g. the collocation «the most controversial Prime Minister» cannot be translated as «самый противоречивый премьер-министр».

«Britain will tomorrow be welcoming on an official visit one of the most controversial and youngest Prime Ministers in Europe» (The Times, 1970). «Завтра в Англию прибывает с официальным визитом один из самых молодых премьер-министров Европы, который вызывает самые противоречивые мнения».

«Sweden’s neutral faith ought not to be in doubt» (Ib.) «Верность Швеции нейтралитету не подлежит сомнению».

The collocation «documentary bombshell» is rather uncommon and individual, but evidently it does not violate English collocational patterns, while the corresponding Russian collocation — документальная бомба — impossible. Therefore its translation requires a number of transformations:

«A teacher who leaves a documentary bombshell lying around by negligence is as culpable as the top civil servant who leaves his classified secrets in a taxi» (The Daily Mirror, 1950) «Преподаватель, по небрежности оставивший на столе бумаги, которые могут вызвать большой скандал, не менее виновен, чем ответственный государственный служащий, забывший секретные документы в такси».
8. Using the data of various dictionaries compare the grammatical valency of the words worth and worthy; ensure, insure, assure; observance and observation; go and walk; influence and влияние; hold and держать.

Worth & Worthy
Worth is used to say that something has a value:

Something that is worth a certain amount of money has that value;

Something that is worth doing or worth an effort, a visit, etc. is so attractive or rewarding that the effort etc. should be made.

Valency:

  1. Worth + N: worth a lot of money;
  2. Worth + Ving: worth making;
  3. [it] + V-ing: it would be worth asking him
  4. [it] + Ν V-ing: it’s not really worth me voting
  5. Worth + N + to N: worth money to me
  6. [it] + Ν + for Ν to-INF (rare): it would be worth for you to know
Worthy:

If someone or something is worthv of something, they deserve it because they have the qualities required;

If you say that a person is worthy of another person you are saying that you approve of them as a partner for that person.

Valency:

  1. Attributive: worthy candidate, worthy cause;
  2. Predicative: equally worthy
  3. + to-INF: worthy to be
  4. + of N/V-ing: worthy of closer examination.
Ensure, insure, assure
Ensure means ‘make certain that something happens’.

Valency:

  1. + Np: ensure fairness
  2. + (that)-CLp.it: Ensure that there is adequate humidity in heated rooms
  3. + Np + Ν: does not ensure women a place at center stage
  4. + Np + for Ν: to ensure good fishing for everyone.
Insure — make sure

Valency:

  1. + Np: insure continuation;
  2. + (that)-CLp.it: insure that future generations;
  3. + Np + Νp: They will not insure us victory;
  4. + Np + for Ν: insure items for replacement.
Assure:

to tell someone confidently that something is true, especially so that they do not worry;

to cause something to be certain.

Valency:

  1. +N: assure the owner;
  2. + (that)-CL: assure him (that) the car will be ready;
  3. + by N: has been assured by the reviews
Observance & Observation
Observance:

the act of obeying a law or following a religious custom:

religious observances such as fasting

a ceremony or action to celebrate a holiday or a religious or other important event:

[ C ] Memorial Day observances

[ U ] Financial markets will be closed Monday in observance of Labor Day.

Observation:

the act of observing something or someone;

the fact that you notice or see something;

a remark about something that you have noticed.

Valency:

  1. + of: observation of human behaviour;
  2. Under +: keeping under observation;
  3. For +: to be admitted for observation;
  4. + on/about: interesting observations on the nature;
  5. to make +: may I make an observation.
Go & Walk

Walk can mean ‘move along on foot’:

A person can walk an animal, i.e. exercise them by walking.

A person can walk another person somewhere , i.e. take them there,

A person can walk a particular distance or walk the streets.

Valency:

  1. + Np: walk the dog;
  2. +ADJ: made us walk tall again;
  3. + into Np: to walk into a controversy;
  4. +over Np: to walk over me;
  5. ADVP-prep: to walk away/through/away
  6. N + ADV: We had to walk three kilometers to the river.
  7. Np + ADV: Can I walk you home?
  8. ADJ + ADV: it was like walking barefoot in the sand
Influence & Влияние
Influence:

A person can have influence (a) over another person or a group, i.e. be able to directly guide the way they behave, (b) with a person, i.e. be able to influence them because they know them well.

Someone or something can have or be an influence on or upon something or someone, i.e. be able to affect their character or behaviour in some way

Valency:

  1. the UN is having difficulty exerting its influence;
  2. [the] + to-INF: the influence to lead the world
  3. + on N/wh-CL: influence on the work of the late 19th-century French avant-garde.
  4. + over Ν: Union influence over Labour
  5. + upon Ν: Its influence upon female physiology
  6. + with Ν: to use their influence with the PLO leadership
Влияние — Действие, оказываемое кем-, чем-либо на кого-, что-либо.

Сочетаемость:

  1. Прил +: значительное влияние
  2. + сущ: влияние среды
  3. Сущ +: сферы влияния;
  4. Гл +: оказывать влияние.
Hold & Держать
Hold:

to take and keep something in your hand or arms;

to support something;

to contain or be able to contain something;

to keep someone in a place so that they cannot leave.

Valency:

  1. ADJ +: tight hold;
  2. V +: take/keep hold;
  3. + on: his hold on her;
  4. + OBJ + ADJ: hold the door open;
  5. + OBJ + N: hold him hostage
Держать — взять в руки/рот/зубы и т.д. и не давать выпасть

Сочетаемость:

  1. Сущ +: ноги держат
  2. + сущ: держать себя в руках, держать дистанцию.
  1. Contrastive Analysis. Give words of the same root in Russian; compare their valency:
Chance Шанс
  1. + to-INF: a chance to win;
  2. + (that)-CL: a chance that BA might co-operate;
  3. + for N/V-ing: chance for peace/regaining;
  4. + of N/V-ing /of Ν V-ing: no chance of her accepting;
  5. + for Ν + to-INF: a chance for me to show
  1. Прил +: большой шанс;
  2. + сущ: шанс спасения;
  3. Сущ +: множество шансов;
  4. + гл: шанс даётся
  5. Гл +: дать шанс, оценить свой шанс
Situation Ситуация
  1. As a noun: bland situation, sort of situation;
  2. + that-CL: the situation that I was pregnant;
  3. + wh-CL: the situation when you open the door;
  4. + of N/V-ing: a situation of anarchy;
  5. + with Ν: situation with your husband.
  1. Прил +: чрезвычайная ситуация;
  2. + сущ: ситуация общения;
  3. Сущ +: изменение ситуации;
  4. Гл +: оценить ситуацию;
  5. + гл: ситуация повторилась.
Partner Партнёр
  1. с глаголом be, become, create: to become a partner
  2. существительным live, business: business partner
  1. Прил +: деловой партнёр;
  2. + сущ: партнёр фирмы;
  3. Сущ +: смена партнёра;
  4. Гл +: найти партнёра;
  5. + гл: партнёр решает.
Surprise Сюрприз
  1. to experience surprise (сочетаемость существительных:)
  2. to show surprise (сочетаемость существительных:)
  3. to cause no surprise (сочетаемость существительных:)
  4. to surprise smb (Глагольные словосочетания)
  5. to take smb by surprise (Глагольные словосочетания)
  1. Прил +: небольшой сюрприз;
  2. Сущ +: масса сюрпризов;
  3. Гл +: сделать сюрприз;
  4. + гл: сюрприз удался.
Risk Риск
  1. As a noun: good risk;
  2. + that-CL: the risk that goods go;
  3. + for Ν/[at] + for N/V-ing: the risk for the investor;
  4. + from N/V-ing: risk from pets;
  5. + in N/V-ing: risk in flying south;
  6. + of N/V-ing / of Ν V-ing: the risk of crushing;
  7. + to Ν: a risk to our health;
  8. +for N + to-INF: a risk for Jim to bury Mary there.
  1. Прил +: большой риск;
  2. + сущ: риск заражения;
  3. Сущ +: группа риска;
  4. Гл +: учитывать риск;
  5. + гл: риск возрастает.
Instruction Инструкция
  1. on the instruction of smb (сочетаемость существительных:)
  2. сочетаемость глаголов to make, to create.
  1. Прил +: подробная инструкция;
  2. + сущ: инструкция пользователя;
  3. Сущ +: получение инструкции;
  4. Гл +: следовать инструкции;
  5. + гл: инструкция требовала.
Satisfaction Сатисфакция
  1. with satisfaction (сочетаемость существительных:)
  2. to cause satisfaction (сочетаемость существительных:)
  3. unique satisfaction (сочетаемость существительных:)
  4. total satisfaction (сочетаемость существительных:)
  5. personal satisfaction (сочетаемость существительных:)
  1. Прил +: полная сатисфакция;
  2. Гл +: получить сатисфакцию;
Business Бизнес
  1. [it/no] + to-INF: He’ll make it his business to find out;
  2. [it/no] + V-ing: no business poking their noses;
  3. + of N/V-ing: the business of intervention;
  4. + with Ν: business with the players
  1. Прил +: семейный бизнес;
  2. + сущ: бизнес отца;
  3. Сущ +: развитие бизнеса;
  4. Гл +: вести бизнес;
  5. + гл: бизнес растёт.
Manager Менеджер
  1. to see the manager (Глагольные словосочетания)
  2. He was promoted to manager. (Глагольные словосочетания)
  3. to apply to the manager (Глагольные словосочетания)
  4. to approach the manager about this matter (Глагольные словосочетания)
  5. The guests asked for the manager. (Глагольные словосочетания)
  1. Прил +: старший менеджер;
  2. + сущ: менеджер группы;
  3. Сущ +: должность менеджера;
  4. Гл +: стать менеджером;
  5. + гл: менеджер сообщил.
Challenge Челлендж
  1. challenge to smb (фразеологические сочетания прилагательных с предлогами: господство/ подчинение/давление)
  2. challenge to smb (фразеологические сочетания прилагательных с предлогами:угрозы/насмешка/донос)
  3. challenge to a fight (фразеологические сочетания прилагательных с предлогами:список глаголов, требующих за собой предлог)
  4. to accept smb’s challenge (Глагольные словосочетания)
  5. to challenge a report (сочетаемость существительных:)
  1. Прил +: новый челлендж;
  2. Гл +: продолжить челлендж;
  3. Сущ +: день челленджа.

10. From the lexemes in brackets choose the correct one to go with each of the synonyms given below:

  1. acute, keen, sharp (knife, mind, sight):

acute mind;

keen sight;

sharp knife;

  1. abysmal, deep, profound (ignorance, river, sleep);

abysmal ignorance;

deep river;

profound sleep;

  1. unconditional, unqualified (success, surrender):

unconditional surrender;

unqualified success;

  1. diminutive, miniature, petite, petty, small, tiny (camera, house, speck, spite, suffix, woman):

diminutive suffix;

miniature camera/house;

petite woman;

petty spite;

small speck/camera/house;

tiny house/camera/speck;

  1. brisk, nimble, quick, swift (mind, revenge, train, walk):

brisk walk;

nimble mind;

quick train;

swift revenge.

11. Collocate deletion: One word in each group does not make a strong word partnership with the word on Capitals. Which one is Odd One Out?

1) BRIGHT idea green

smell

child day room

2) CLEAR

attitude

need instruction alternative day conscience

3) LIGHT traffic

work

day entertainment suitcase rain green lunch

4) NEW experience job

food

potatoes baby situation year

5) HIGH season price opinion spirits

house

time priority

6) MAIN point reason effect entrance

speed

road meal course

7) STRONG possibility doubt smell influence

views

coffee language

8) SERIOUS

advantage

situation relationship illness crime matter

  1. Write a short definition based on the clues you find in context for the italicized words in the sentence. Check your definitions with the dictionary.
Sentence Meaning
The method of reasoning from the particular to the general — the inductive method — has played an important role in science since the time of Francis Bacon. The way of learning or investigating from the particular to the general that played an important role in the time of Francis Bacon
Most snakes are meat eaters, or carnivores. Animals whose main diet is meat
A person on a reducing diet is expected to eschew most fatty or greasy foods. deliberately avoid
After a hectic year in the city, he was glad to return to the peace and quiet of the country. full of incessant or frantic activity.
Darius was speaking so quickly and waving his arms around so wildly, it was impossible to comprehend what he was trying to say. grasp mentally; understand.to perceive
The babysitter tried rocking, feeding, chanting, and burping the crying baby, but nothing would appease him. to calm down someone
It behooves young ladies and gentlemen not to use bad language unless they are very, very angry. necessary
The Academy Award is an honor coveted by most Hollywood actors. The dream about some achievements
In the George Orwell book 1984, the people’s lives are ruled by an omnipotent dictator named “Big Brother.” The person who have a lot of power
After a good deal of coaxing, the father finally acceded to his children’s request. to Agree with some request
He is devoid of human feelings. Someone have the lack of something
This year, my garden yielded several baskets full of tomatoes. produce or provide
It is important for a teacher to develop a rapport with his or her students. good relationship

As already mentioned, only those combinations of words (or single words) which convey communication are sentences – the object of syntax. All other combinations of words regularly formed in the process of speech are the object of morphology as well as single words. Like separate words they name things, phenomena, actions, qualities, etc., but in a complex way, for example: manners and table manners, blue and dark blue, speak and speak loudly. Like separate words they serve as a building material for sentences.

The combinability of words is as a rule determined by their meanings, not their forms. Therefore not every sequence of words may be regarded as a combination of words. In the sentence Frankly, my friend, I have told you the truth neither Frankly, my friend nor friend, I … are combinations of words since their meanings are detached and do not unite them.

On the other hand, some words may be inserted between the components of a word combination without breaking it. Compare:

a) read books; b) read many books; c) read very many books.

In case (a) the combination read books is uninterrupted. In cases (b) and (c) it is interrupted, or discontinuous (read … books).

The combinability of words depends on their lexical, grammatical and lexico-grammatical meanings. It is owing to lexical meanings of the corresponding lexemes that the word hot can be combined with the words water, temper, news, dog and is hardly combinable with the words ice, square, information, cat.

The lexico-grammatical meanings of -er in runner (a noun) and -ly in quickly (an adverb) do not go together and prevent these words from forming a combination, whereas quick runner and run quickly are regular word combinations.

The combination * students writes is impossible owing to the grammatical meanings of the corresponding grammemes (Remark: with “*” we mark grammatically incorrect word-combinations or sentences).

Thus one may speak of lexical, grammatical and lexico-grammatical combinability, or the combinability of lexemes, grammemes and parts of speech.

Each word belonging to a certain part of speech is characterized by valency (валентність) or, in other words, the combinability of lexical units. For example, in the sentence I tell you a joke the verb tell is two valent, and in the sentence I will tell you a joke about a Scotchman – three valent. We can also say that modal verbs are valent for infinitives and not valent for gerunds, e.g. I can’t sing; nouns are valent for an article, e.g. a (the) table, that is modal verbs are combined with infinitives not gerunds, and nouns are practically the only part of speech that can be combined with articles.

It is convenient to distinguish right-hand and left-hand connections or combinability. In the combination my friend the word my has a right-hand connection with the word friend and the latter has a left-hand connection with the word my.

With analytical forms inside and outside connections are also possible. In the combination has already done the verb has an inside connection with the adverb and the latter has an outside connection with the verb.

It will also be expedient to distinguish unilateral, bilateral and multilateral combinability (одностороння, двостороння та багатосто­роння сполучуваність). For instance, we may say that the articles in English have unilateral right-hand connections with nouns: a book, the boy. Such linking words as prepositions, conjunctions, link verbs and modal verbs are characterized by bilateral combinability: book of John, John and Marry, this is John, the boy must leave. Most verbs may have:

– zero (Go!),

– unilateral (boys jump),

– bilateral (I did it),

– and multilateral (Yesterday I saw him there) connections. In other words, the combinability of verbs is variable.

One should also distinguish direct and indirect connections. In the combination Look at him the connection between look and at, between at and him are direct, whereas the connection between look and him is indirect, though the preposition at [24; 28–31].

5. The notions of grammatical opposition
and grammatical category

There is essential difference in the way lexical and grammatical meanings exist in the language and occur in speech. Lexical meanings can be found in a bunch only in a dictionary or in a memory of a man, or, scientifically, in the lexical system of a language. In actual speech a lexical morpheme displays only one meaning of the bunch in each case, and that meaning is singled out by the context or the situation of speech (in grammar terms, syntagmatically). As mentioned already, words of the same lexeme convey different meanings in different surroundings.

The meanings of a grammatical morpheme always come together in the word. In accordance with their relative nature they can be singled out only relatively in contrast to the meanings of other grammatical morphemes (in grammar terms, paradigmatically).

Supposing we want to single out the meaning of “non-continuous aspect” in the word runs. We have then to find another word which has all the meanings of the word runs except that of “non-continuous aspect”. The only word that meets these requirements is the analytical word is running. Run and is running belong to the same lexeme and their lexical meanings are identical. As to the grammatical meanings the two words do not differ in tense (“present”), number (“singular”), person (“third”), mood (“indicative”), etc. They differ only in aspect. The word runs has the meaning of “non-continuous aspect” and is running – that of “continuous aspect”.

When opposed, the two words, runs and is running, form a particular language unit. All their meanings but those of aspects counterbalance one another and do not count. Only the two particular meanings of “non-continuous” and “continuous” aspect united by the general meaning of “aspect” are revealed in this opposition or opposeme. The general meaning of this opposeme (“aspect”) manifests itself in the two particular meanings (“non-continuous aspect” and “continuous aspect”) of the opposite members (or opposites) [24; 22–24].

Thus, the elements which the opposition/opposeme is composed of are called opposites or members of the opposition. Opposites can be different: 1) non-marked, 2) marked. Compare the pair of noun forms table – tables. Together they create the “number” opposeme, where table represents the singular number expressed by a zero morpheme that is why it is called the non-marked member of the opposition, and tables – the plural number expressed by the positive morpheme -s is called the marked member of the opposition. Non-marked opposite is used more often than the marked opposite is. The marked opposite is peculiar by its limited use.

Ferdinand de Saussure claimed that everything in language is based on opposition. On phonetic level we have opposition of sounds. On all levels of the language we have opposition. Any grammatical form has got its contrast or counterpart. Together they make up a grammatical category.

A part of speech is characterized by its grammatical categories manifested in the opposemes (the elements of the opposi­tion – оппозема, член опозиції) and paradigms of its lexemes. Nouns have the categories of number and case. Verbs possess the categories of tense, voice, mood etc. That is why paradigms belonging to different parts of speech are different. The paradigm of a verb lexeme is long: write, writes, wrote, will write, is writing etc. The paradigm of a noun lexeme is much shorter: sister, sister’s, sisters, sisters’. The paradigm of an adjective lexeme is still shorter: cold, colder, coldest. The paradigm of an adverb always consists only of one word.

Thus, the paradigm of a lexeme shows what part of speech the lexeme belongs to.

It must be borne in mind, however, that not all the lexemes of a part of speech have the same paradigms. Compare:

sister book information

sister’s books –

sisters – –

sisters’ – –

The first lexeme has opposemes of two grammatical categories: number and case. The second lexeme has only one opposeme – that of number. It has no case opposemes. The third lexeme is outside both categories: it has no opposemes at all. We may say that the number opposeme with its opposite grammatical meanings of “singularity” and “plurality” is neutralized in nouns like information, bread, milk etc. owing to their lexical meaning which can hardly be associated with “oneness” or “more-than-oneness”.

We may define neutralization as the reduction of an opposeme to one of its members under certain circumstances. This member may be called the member of neutralization. Usually it is the unmarked member of an opposeme.

The term grammatical category implies that:

1) there exist different morphological forms in the words of a part of speech possessing different referential meanings;

2) the oppositions of different forms possessing referential meanings are systematic that is they cover the whole class of words of that part of speech.

In other words a grammatical category is a systematic opposition of different morphological forms possessing different referential meanings. Each grammatical category is composed of at least two contrasting forms. Otherwise category would stop existing.

In general, an opposeme of any grammatical category consists of as many members (or opposites) as there are particular manifestations of the general meaning. Thus, a morphological opposeme is a minimum set of words revealing (by the difference in their forms) only (and all) the particular manifestations of some general grammatical meaning. Any morphological category is the system of such opposemes whose members differ in form to express only (and all) the particular manifestations of the general meaning of the category [24; 23–24].

Grammatical category unites in itself particular grammatical meanings. For example, the grammatical category of gender unites the meanings of the masculine, feminine, neuter and common genders in the Ukrainian language. Each grammatical category is connected, as a minimum, with two forms. For example, the grammatical category of number comprises the forms of singularity and plurality.

Grammatical meaning isan abstract meaning added to the lexical meaning of a word, expressing its relations other words or classes of words. As a rule, a word has several grammatical meanings. Grammatical meanings are realized in a grammatical word form.

Grammatical form of a word is the variety of the same word differing from other forms of this word by its grammatical meaning. For example, in the Ukrainian word-form батьку the ending expresses the grammatical meaning of the masculine gender, singular number, dative case.

Grammatical form of a word can be simple (synthetic), in which the grammatical meanings are formed by the ending, suffix, prefix or stress, etc. (дощ – дощ – дощем); or composite (analytical), created by adding several words (буду говорити, більш привабливий). The analytical-synthetic grammatical word form is a combination of two previous types of word forms. For example, в університеті (the local case is expressed by the flexion and the preposition); малював би, малювала б (the grammatical meaning of number and gender is expressed by the form of the main verb, and the meaning of the conditional mood – by the particle би) [2; 40–41].



Аальтернативная стоимость. Кривая производственных возможностей В экономике Буридании есть 100 ед. труда с производительностью 4 м ткани или 2 кг мяса…

Вычисление основной дактилоскопической формулы Вычислением основной дактоформулы обычно занимается следователь. Для этого все десять пальцев разбиваются на пять пар…

Расчетные и графические задания Равновесный объем — это объем, определяемый равенством спроса и предложения…

Кардиналистский и ординалистский подходы Кардиналистский (количественный подход) к анализу полезности основан на представлении о возможности измерения различных благ в условных единицах полезности…

Before we discuss what syntagmatic relation is, let’s first have a look at semiotics, saussure, and syntagms.

Semiotics, saussure, and syntagms

The term ‘syntagmatic’ is closely related to the field of semiotics. Semiotics is the study of how meanings are produced by signs.

Road signs are a good example. You can understand the meaning of the signs even though there aren’t any words to explain what they mean. Look at the two road signs below. You know that the left one means ‘no u-turns’ and the right one means ‘slippery road’.

Syntagmatic Relations, The No u-turns sign, StudySmarterFig. 1 — No u-turns.Syntagmatic Relations, slippery road sign, StudySmarterFig. 2 — Slippery road.

Ferdinand de Saussure (1857-1913) argued that:

  • Words in a sentence are meaningfully related to each other. Saussure called this relationship syntagmatic, and the combinations of two or more words that create the chain of words he called syntagms.

When a single word or element of the chain is altered, the overall meaning is also changed. This chain concept is the basis of syntagmatic relations.

What is a syntagmatic relation?

Syntagmatic relation defines the relationship between words that co-occur in the same sentence. It focuses on two main parts: how the position and the word order affect the meaning of a sentence. Let’s look at an example:

Syntagmatic relations

Paul is roasting a chicken

The syntagmatic relation in this sentence explains:

  • The word position and order: Paul + is roasting + a chicken
  • The relationship between words gives a particular meaning to the sentence:
    • It is a chicken that Paul is roasting, not something else.
    • It is Paul who is roasting a chicken, not someone else.

Thus, the syntagmatic relation refers to a word’s ability to combine with other words, and the syntagmatic dimension (syntagm) always refers to the horizontal axis or linear aspect of a sentence.

The syntagmatic relation can also explain why specific words are often paired together (collocations), such as have + a party in ‘We had a party on Saturday’. If you hear someone say, ‘We made a party on Saturday’, you’ll probably cringe because make + a party doesn’t sound right.

The opposite of syntagmatic relation is paradigmatic relation. Paradigmatic relation refers to the relationship between words that can be substituted within the same word class (on the vertical axis).

Study tip: Syntagmatic relation is about word order and position. The meaning of syntagmatic is similar to syntax (the arrangement of words and phrases in a sentence).

Syntagmatic relations examples

Some examples of syntagmatic relations are shown in the table below:

Syntagmatic relations
Subject verb Object
Determiner Adjective Noun Noun
The beautiful woman buys some brioche
handsome man sold some cake
tall boy is eating

a hotdog

From these sentences, the syntagmatic relations are all the relationships between words within the same sentence. That means there is a syntagmatic relation in:

  • The beautiful woman + buys + some brioche (sentence level).
  • The + beautiful + woman (phrase level).
  • The handsome man + sold + some cake; and the + handsome + man.
  • The tall boy + is eating + a hotdog; and the + tall + boy.

Additionally, in all three sentences above, each grammatical function (ie, subject, verb, and object) is at the same level. But in some cases, if you change the order of the sentence structure, it can change the meaning completely. For example:

  1. The tall boy is eating a hotdog.
  2. A hotdog is eating the tall boy.

The two sentences use the same words (syntagms) but differ in order (syntagmatic relationship), which changes the meaning of the sentence.

Types of syntagmatic relations

Because syntagmatic relations have to do with the relationship between words, the syntagms can result in collocations and idioms.

Collocations

Collocations are word combinations that frequently occur together.

1. There are three interesting facts about collocations:

  • There isn’t a specific rule for the way words go together (why A is commonly paired with B). It is based on what the speakers of a language commonly combine, and eventually, what sounds natural. That’s why when you read, ‘a handsome girl’ instead of ‘a pretty girl’ it feels odd.

2. Word substitution is possible

  • Sticking with the example of handsome girl, technically, it isn’t wrong to say handsome girl because handsome means ‘good-looking’ (Oxford Learner’s Dictionary) which is gender-neutral. Therefore, you can say handsome girl, but it just doesn’t sound natural.

3. The collocation’s meaning can be traced back to the meaning of each component

  • For instance, catch a cold means ‘getting a cold’ and office hours means ‘the hour someone dedicates to work’. The definition of each component forms the meaning of a collocation.

Here are some examples of collocations:

Verb + noun: do homework, take a risk, catch a cold.

Noun + noun: office hours, interest group, kitchen cabinet.

Adjective + adverb: good enough, close together, crystal clear.

Verb + preposition: protect from, angry at, take advantage of.

Adverb + verb: strongly suggest, deeply sorry, highly successful.

Adjective + noun: handsome man, quick shower, fast food.

1. The word combination is not interchangeable (fixed expressions).

  • You can’t substitute the words in idioms, even with their synonyms. For instance, in ‘kill two birds with one stone’ the stone is substituted with rock and becomes ‘kill two birds with one rock’. This version of the idiom simply doesn’t exist, even though the overall meaning and construction of the sentence remains unchanged.

2. The meaning of each component is not equal to the meaning of the idiom

  • It is difficult to find the meaning of an idiom based on the definition of the words alone. For example, red herring. If you define the idiom word by word, it means ‘red fish’, not ‘something that misleads’, which is the real meaning.
  • Because of this, idioms can’t be translated to or from another language because the word definition isn’t equivalent to the idiom interpretation.

Here are some examples of popular idioms:

Break a leg.

Miss the boat.

Call it a day.

It’s raining cats and dogs.

Kill two birds with one stone.

Syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations examples in grammar

Paradigmatic relation describes the relationship between words that can be substituted for words with the same word class (eg replacing a noun with another noun). A paradigm in this sense refers to the vertical axis of word selection. This explains why paradigmatic relation is the opposite of syntagmatic relation.

Now that we have covered the paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations, we can say that:

  • Paradigmatic relation describes a substitution relationship between words of the same word class. The substitution occurs on the vertical axis.
  • Syntagmatic relation illustrates the linear relationship / position between the words in a sentence. The syntagmatic relation occurs on the horizontal axis.

Paradigmatic

relations

Syntagmatic relations
Subject verb Object
Determiner Adjective Noun Noun
The beautiful woman buys some brioche
The unattractive lady buys some bread
That handsome man ate some chicken

Paradigmatic relation:

Let’s take ‘The beautiful woman buys some brioche‘.

  • The beautiful woman can choose to buy: some bread or chicken instead of brioche.
  • Brioche, bread, and chicken are parts of a paradigm of food that the beautiful woman can buy.
  • All the items in the paradigm share some kind of function (in this example: the object of the sentence) and this paradigm represents the category they belong to (in this example: food).
  • Some words from the sentence can also be substituted vertically: ‘An unattractive (antonym) lady (synonymy) buys some bread (hyponymy)’.

Syntagmatic relation:

Let’s take ‘That handsome man ate some chicken‘.

  • The combination of ‘that handsome man + ate + some chicken’ forms a syntagmatic relationship.
  • If the word position is changed, it also changes the meaning of the sentence, eg ‘Some chicken ate the handsome man’.
  • Furthermore, the linear relationship also occurs at phrase-level: it is ‘handsome + man’, not ‘handsome + woman’ (collocation).

Syntagmatic Relations — Key takeaways

  • Syntagmatic relation illustrates the relationship between words that co-occur in the same sentence. It occurs on the horizontal axis.
  • Syntagmatic relation explains the concept of collocations and idioms.
  • Collocations are words that frequently occur together. The word pairings in collocations are not fixed, but changing the word pairing will make the combination sound unnatural, eg handsome man vs. handsome girl.
  • Idioms are fixed expressions that possess a meaning other than their literal one. The words in idioms can’t be substituted, eg miss the boat becomes miss the ship, which is not an idiom.
  • Paradigmatic relation illustrates the relationship between words that can be substituted within the same grammatical position.

Points for discussion: 6. 1. Word-combination as the minimal unit of syntax theory: the

Points for discussion: 6. 1. Word-combination as the minimal unit of syntax theory: the definition, its main characteristics, the main criteria for classifying. 6. 2 The main principals for structural classifying. The existing structural oppositions of word –combinations. The main principals for semantical classifying. The existing semantical oppositions of word-combinations.

6. 1. Syntax as part of grammar: the range problems to study, its main

6. 1. Syntax as part of grammar: the range problems to study, its main notions, historical review of syntax theory development The points to clarify…. 1) WHAT DOES SYNTAX STUDY? 2) WHAT NOTIONS DOES IT INCLUDE? 3) WHERE LIE THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SYNTAX AND OTHER DISCIPLINES?

The first point for discussion Word-combination as the minimal unit of syntax theory: the

The first point for discussion Word-combination as the minimal unit of syntax theory: the definition, its main characteristics, the main criteria for classifying

The difinition to follow a word-combination is any syntactical group, consisting of at least

The difinition to follow a word-combination is any syntactical group, consisting of at least two notional words which are combined either into free word-combinations, predicative or prepositional structures and based either on the coordinative or subordinate relations.

WORD-COMBINATION vs. WORD 1. The meaning of the word -combination doesn’t equal the sum

WORD-COMBINATION vs. WORD 1. The meaning of the word -combination doesn’t equal the sum of meanings of the words it includes. 2. the word –combination is supposed to have some syntactical function in a sentence what the separate words can’t. WORDCOMBINATIONvs. SENTENCE 1. 2. 3. word- combinations don’t have both communicative purpose and phrase stress. The word-combination cant consist of one word but sentence can The word –combination just name but doesn’t reflect some situation, correlated with the reality. It doest have the categories of voice, tense and aspect.

 POSITIONAL (any changes within the structure of the word-combination) SEMANTICAL (context connections) SYNTACTCAL

POSITIONAL (any changes within the structure of the word-combination) SEMANTICAL (context connections) SYNTACTCAL (connections within the word-combinations, the origin )

 The behavior of the elements in the combination (adnocentrical – exocentirical) POSITIONAL CRITERION

The behavior of the elements in the combination (adnocentrical – exocentirical) POSITIONAL CRITERION INCLUDES the hierarchy in the combination (nuclear – nuclear free) the position of the dependant towards the nucleus (nuclear only) ( regressive — nucleus centered – progressive) morphological structure (nuclear free only) ( morphologically-similar morphologically diversed )

the degree of stylistic determination presented (connotative - non-connotative) SEMANTICAL CRITERION INCLUDES The degree

the degree of stylistic determination presented (connotative — non-connotative) SEMANTICAL CRITERION INCLUDES The degree of semantical connection presented (idiomatic phraseological units — neutral(free) word -combinations The degree of contextual determination (typical word-combinations — isolated) The degree of social determination (sociolinguistically determined — sociolinguistically undetermined) The degree of frequent usaging in speech (clicheed — non-clicheed)

The syntactical connections (subordinate - coordinate) SYNTACTICAL CRITERION INCLUDES The degree of the origin

The syntactical connections (subordinate — coordinate) SYNTACTICAL CRITERION INCLUDES The degree of the origin presented ( originally made — derivatively made) The degree of nominalisation presented (fully nominalized — partly nominalized )

THE SECOND POINT FOR DISCUSSION The main principals for classifying the word-combinations on their

THE SECOND POINT FOR DISCUSSION The main principals for classifying the word-combinations on their structure. The existing structural oppositions. The existing structural classifications.

THE MAIN PRINCIPALS FOR STRUCTURAL CLASSIFYING The POSIBILITY TO REPLACE other elements (possible to

THE MAIN PRINCIPALS FOR STRUCTURAL CLASSIFYING The POSIBILITY TO REPLACE other elements (possible to replace non possible to replace ) The NUCLEUS of the wordcombination ( nuclear- nuclear free) The POSITION TOWARDS NUCLEUS (before- around –after) The degree of MORPHOLOGICAL DIVERSION (diversed non diversed)

THE THIRD POINT FOR DISCUSSION The main principals for semantical classifying the word-combinations The

THE THIRD POINT FOR DISCUSSION The main principals for semantical classifying the word-combinations The existing semantical oppositions. The existing semantical classifications.

 THE MAIN PRINCIPALS FOR SEMANTICAL CLASSIFYING 1. CONNOTATIVENESS (connotative  non-connotative) 2. REPRODUCUBILITY

THE MAIN PRINCIPALS FOR SEMANTICAL CLASSIFYING 1. CONNOTATIVENESS (connotative non-connotative) 2. REPRODUCUBILITY (clicheed non-clicheed) 3. IDIOMACITY (idioms neutral) 4. CONCEPTUAL DETERMINATION (typical word-combinations isolated) 5. SOCIOLINGUISTIC DETERMINATION (sociolinguistically determined undetermined

THE LAST POINT FOR DISCUSSION The main principals for syntactical classifying the word-combinations The

THE LAST POINT FOR DISCUSSION The main principals for syntactical classifying the word-combinations The existing syntactical oppositions. The existing syntactical classifications.

THE MAIN PRINCIPALS FOR SYNTACTICAL CLASSIFYING 1. SYNTACTICAL CONNECTIONS in the word-combination (subordinate connected

THE MAIN PRINCIPALS FOR SYNTACTICAL CLASSIFYING 1. SYNTACTICAL CONNECTIONS in the word-combination (subordinate connected coordinate connected) 2. ORIGIN (connection to the sentence expressing the same situation) ( originally made- derivatively made) 3. NOMINALISATION ( the degree of being presented) (fully nominalized partly nominalized)

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