Words, phrases, idioms , clauses , proverbs etc...........
The primary unit of a language is a word. Some would say letters.Okay, we are not going to involved into a protracted debate here on this contentious issue. Most of the debates are ultimately meaningless. Let us say that words are the primary building blocks with which we build the edifice of a language. Each and every word has a definite meaning but sometimes a single word can be used to convey different ideas and concepts. We will come to that at a later stage. Let us remember the following expressions:
1, Word-- a word is the primary building block of a language which conveys a definite meaning in a given context.
2. Phrase ----- a phrase is a group of words which is used in place of a single word and gives a single meaning. a garland of flower, a piece of ornament, a slice or bread, a flight of birds, a pair of shoes, a shoal of fish, a pride of lions, a pack of cards etc.etc.---are examples of phrases.
3. Idioms--- idioms are phrases with special meanings.
a bosom friend means a very close fried; a snake in the grass means a hidden enemy; in a nu shell means very briefly; raining cats and dogs means raining very heavily.
4. A clause--- a clause is also a group of letters. it is part of a bigger sentence. A clause has a finite verb and a subject.
Examples--a) I know that Sutista is a brilliant girl.
b) Do you know when the Rajdhani Express will arrive from Delhi?
c) This is the man who stole my motor bike.
Each of the above sentences has two parts as shown above. Each part has a finite verb and a subject. Each of them is a clause. A clause is different from a phrase in the sense that phrases have no finite verbs or subjects as such. It is easy to remember. If you notice attentively you will find that some of the clauses can be used independently as simple sentences. Such clauses are called principal clauses. There are some other clauses which cannot be used independently as simple sentences. They are dependent or sub-ordinate clauses. In the next lesson we propose to discuss about them in details. Meanwhile let us get familiar with two more concepts.
5. Phrasal verbs/group verbs/ verbs with prepositions----- look up, look into. look for, look down upon, call in, call at, call on, call up etc-these are some of the numerous phrasal verbs used in English. You have to know the meaning of each phrasal verb. A good grammar book will help you immensely in this regard. So lay your hand on such a useful book as soon as you find one.
Till next time. HAPPY LEARNING>
spk 26/7/15
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