Semântica e pragmática

SEMÂNTICA E PRAGMÁTICA – aula 5

Idioms
An expression which functions as a single unit and whose meaning cannot be worked out from its separate parts.

She washed her hands of the matter means "She refused to have anything more to do with the matter". Idioms are fixed phrases, consisting of more than one word, which have meanings that cannot be inferred by knowing the meaning of individual words

Idioms grammatically as well as semantically, may have very special characteristics.

Idioms have similar structure as regular phrases, for example:

• She put her bracelet in he drawer. • She put her foot in her mouth.

Some idioms can be changed internally with no unusual effect, for example:

• They took heed to prevent oil spills. • Heed was taken to prevent oil spills.

• Please hand in your paper. • Please hand your paper in.

Others are non-separable as in: • call on one's neighbor • run across an old friend

Exercises:
Find the meaning and make sentences with these idioms:

• blow open, • blush red, • break loose, • grow worse, • fall ill, • prove wrong, • stand quiet, • turn pale, • make a fool, • make a difference, • make a living, • make a remark, make a point, • take a trip, • take a break, • take a picture, • take a vacation, • take a look at, • do a favor, • become a reality, • tell a lie, • play the fool, • make the beds, • beg pardon, • make taste, • make conversation, • take care of, • take heart, • take revenge, • talk shop, • talk sense, • take pity on, • take pride in, • take part in , • take revenge on, • take notice of, • give way to , • have faith in , • in a hurry, • as a result, • for a long time, • as a matter of fact, • by the way, • in the long run, • in the least, • at the mercy of, • on the one hand, • on the other hand, • on the