The Formal Classification Types of phraseological units: -nominal phrases: the root of trouble; - verbal phrases: the break the news; - adjectival phrases: as good as gold, head and shoulders over sb; - adverbial phrases: in the long run, from head to foot, by heart; - conjunctional phrases: on the one hand, as long as; - prepositional phrases: in the course of sth; - interjectional: Well, I never! Phraseological units functioning like nouns: N + N maiden name N’s + N cat’s paw, ladies’ man N + prep + N the arm of the law N + subordinate clause ships that pass in the night Phraseological units functioning like verbs: V +N to take advantage V + postpositive to give up V + and + V to pick and choose V + one’s + N + prep to snap one’s fingers at V + one + N to give one the bird V+subordinate clause to see how the land lies Phraseological units functioning like adjectives: A + A high and mighty A + as + N as old as the hills Phraseological units functioning like adverbs: N + N tooth and nail prep + N by heart, of course adv + prep + A + N once in a blue moon prep + N + or + N by hook or by crook Phraseological units functioning like interjections: imperative sentences: Bless (one’s) soul!, God bless you! According to their origins, phraseological units in Modern English may be divided into: native, e.g. to eat the humble pie ‘to submit to humiliation’ < ME to eat umble pie (umbles ‘the internal organs of a deer’); to save for a rainy day; to beat about the bush ‘not to speak openly and directly’; to lose one’s rag ‘to lose one’s temper’ etc.; borrowed, which, in their turn, can be either intralingual (borrowed from American English and other variants of English) or interlingual (borrowed from other languages). 37. Polysemy, synonymy and stylistic features of phraseological units.
