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2) The second type of restriction is the restriction in introducing any additional components into the structure of a phraseological unit.
In a free word-group such changes can be made without affecting the general meaning of the utterance: This big ship is carrying a large cargo of coal to the port of Liverpool.
In the phraseological unit to carry coals to Newcastle no additional components can be introduced.
3) The third type of structural restrictions in phraseological units is grammatical invariability. A typical mistake with students of English is to use the plural form of fault in the phraseological unit to find fault with somebody (придираться). Though the plural form in this context is logically well-founded, it is a mistake in terms of the grammatical invariability of phraseological units.
Yet, there are exceptions to the rule. One can built a castle in the air, but also castles. A shameful or dangerous family secret is picturesquely described as a skeleton in the cupboard (из избы сору не выносить). The first substantive component being frequently and easily used in plural form, as in: I’m sure they have skeletons in every cupboard!
Proverbs
Proverbs are different from those phraseological units which have been discussed above. The first distinctive feature that strikes one is the structural dissimilarity. Phraseological units are a kind of ready-made blocks which fit into the structure of a sentence performing a certain syntactical function, more or less as words do.
Proverbs, if viewed in their structural aspect, are sentences, and so cannot be used in the way in which phraseological units are used.
If one compares proverbs and phraseological units in the semantic aspect, the difference seems to become more obvious. Proverbs could be best compared with minute fables for, like the latter, they sum up the collective experience of the community. They moralize (Hell is paved with good intentions – Благими намерениями вымощен ад), give advice (Don’t judge a tree by its bark – Не по словам судят, а по делам), admonish (Liars should have good memories – Лжецам нужна хорошая память).
No phraseological unit ever does any of these things. They do not stand for whole statements as proverbs do but for a single concept. Their function in speech is purely nominative (i.e. they denote an object, an act, etc.). The function of proverbs in speech is communicative (i.e. they impart certain information).
The question of whether or not proverbs should be regarded as a subtype of phraseological units and studied together with the phraseology of a language is a controversial one.
A.V. Koonin includes proverbs in his classification of phraseological units and labels them communicative phraseological units. From his point of view, one of the main criteria of a phraseological unit is its stability.
It may be added, as one more argument in support of this concept, that there does not exist any rigid or permanent border-line between proverbs and phraseological units as the latter rather frequently originate from the former.
So, the phraseological unit birds of a feather (птицы одного полёта, два сапога пара) originated from the proverb Birds of a feather flock together (Рыбак рыбака видит издалека). What is more, some of the proverbs are easily transformed into phraseological units, e.g. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket (Не складывай все яйца в одну корзину) > to put all one’s eggs in one basket (рисковать, поставить всё на карту); don’t cast pearls before swine > to cast pearls before swine (метать бисер перед свиньями).
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