Indivisible collocations - what is it?

The syntax of the Russian language is one of the most difficult sections of grammar, since it studies not only the construction of sentences, but also such things as syntactically free and not free, or indivisible phrases. It is important to dwell on them in more detail. What is the characteristic of such non-free phrases and why can not they be divided? This article will tell more about this.

Definition of a concept

Syntactically indivisible phrases in a sentence are constructions that cannot be separated without losing meaning. They differ from syntactically free ones in that they are an individual member of a sentence, while in other phrases each word in a chain becomes a member of a completed speech utterance and answers a specific question.

For example, in the sentence “There were two apples on the table” you can find as many as 2 phrases. The first is free - "On the table lay." The main meaning of the word here is “lying”, expressed by a verb, and the dependent “on the table”, expressed by a noun.

A question is asked from the main word to the dependent “where?” or "on what?" and it turns out that the main word controls the dependent. “On the table” can only be in the prepositional case and singular. This type of communication is called management. In the sentence, “lying” is a predicate, also expressed by a verb, and “on the table” is a circumstance of a place expressed by a noun.

On the other hand, the phrase “two apples” remains in the sentence. It would seem that it can be divided, remove any word without losing meaning, because this is a combination of a numeral and a noun.

But what will be the result? “Two were on the table ...”, or “On the table were apples ...”? In this case, “two apples” in a sentence is a subject expressed syntactically indivisible phrase. The main word here is the quantitative numeral “two”, from which the following question can be asked: “two of what?” - "apples." The dependent word is “apple,” expressed by a noun.

Quantitative-personal phrases

Absolutely all integral indivisible phrases are divided into groups by meaning, as well as the functions of their main or dependent words. The first group includes word combinations, where the main word denotes either the number of objects, or the measure or volume. In these phrases, the main word that carries the grammatical meaning of the whole structure is the numeral.

The exact number of animate and inanimate objects

In such phrases, the tandem of a quantitative numeral and any noun with the form of a number is used. That is, it can be counted.

For instance:

1. Ivan has two notebooks.
2. Four trucks drove along the road .
3. In the living room there are six men.
4. There were eleven plates on the table .
5. This house has over a hundred apartments.
6. There are four pairs of tights left on the shelf .
7. Three friends went camping.

An indefinite number of animate and inanimate objects

For example:

1. There were several acquaintances at the party .
2. Most full- time students completed the first session.
3. Some of the books ordered last week have not arrived yet.
4. In summer, there are many tourists in Gelendzhik .
5. There were few cars on the road today .
6. Marusa was assigned so many tasks!

Measures of magnitude

For instance:

1. Mom brought three kilograms of tangerines.
2. Five meters of satin was cut off to me in a store .
3. My car literally lacks three liters of gasoline.
4. Four decimeters are forty centimeters.
5. This refrigerator has a weight of about twenty-five kilograms.

Defined capacity with contents

Here are some examples:

1. Masha bought a bottle of milk in the store .
2. In the closet is a box of chocolates.
3. Sergey has a pack of cigarettes in his pocket .
4. I have a bag of potatoes in the fridge .
5. On the shelf is a can of coffee.
6. Egor brought a vase of fruit.

A certain number of items

For example:

1. In the workshop lay a bunch of shavings.
2. In the museum, schoolchildren saw a pile of stones.
3. Anna was given a whole bunch of cornflowers.
4. San Sanych brought home a bundle of firewood.
5. Mom cut a bunch of dill into the soup .
6. Anton found a pile of papers on the desktop .

Quantitative nouns

Separately, it is worth mentioning about quantitative nouns - those substantiated parts of speech that were once numerals.

For example:

1. I have a dozen eggs in my bag .
2. For hundreds of years, the heat of the sun does not die out.
3. Half of the apple left after the dessert.

Indefinitely selective collocations

All selective phrases differ in the main component. The first model is collocations with a seemingly indefinite number of animate and inanimate objects. The main word here is the pronoun, and not all categories are taken, since the meaning depends on the choice.

For instance:

1. Take one of the things with you.
2. Some of the students will obviously not be admitted to the state exam.
3. One of the guys heard screams.

Generalized selective phrases

The next group, without naming anyone or anything specific, nevertheless selects and generalizes its choice. The main word here is either a numeral or indefinite, negative or possessive pronoun.

If an interrogative pronoun is chosen, then the whole emphasis is shifted to clarifying what is meant in the phrase - “Which window should I open?”.

If a negative pronoun is taken, then it is emphasized that not one of the proposed animate or inanimate objects will be selected - "No books offered by a friend suited me."

Definitive ones indicate that all selected persons once performed a similar action, or that all objects participated in some kind of action - "Any of us lied to our parents."

For example:

1. One of the passengers gave way to a pregnant woman.
2. None of them said a word.
3. Any of the Democrats will speak out in defense of his party.

Uncertain signs

In them, the main word is an indefinite pronoun, while the dependent can denote a sign, indicate an object or place.

Examples:

1. Something heavy fell on me .
2. Andrew stepped on something soft in the dark.
3. Marina was frightened by the hurricane - it was something inexplicable.
4. Someone in black was standing outside the door .
5. Someone with a saw cut branches from a tree.
6. Somewhere in the field , May bugs buzzed and grasshoppers chattered.
7. From somewhere on top came a mournful squeak.
8. This brick will surely fall on someone's head.

Collocations with the meaning of joint action

There are also indivisible phrases in a sentence with a specific meaning. In them, the dependent word can mean a joint action, perception, as well as an identical relation or sign. There, the main word always appears in the nominative case, and the dependent one in the nominative case with the preposition "s".

It would seem that such a phrase may seem free, since both words (and most importantly, and the dependent) are syntactically integral. But the predicate points to the impossibility of separating such syntax constructs. It always stands in the plural, while the main word is in the singular.

Examples:

1. Mother and grandmother went to visit.
2. Sister and brother listened to music in their room.
3. Grandfather and Aunt Masha did not like to dance.
4. A lion and a lioness basked in the sun in an aviary.

Take note! There is a reverse situation when such a phrase can become free. For example, two sentences can be compared:

• Mom and daughter sewed a dress for prom.
• Mom and daughter sewed a dress for prom.

Both in that and in the other sentence it is clear that the phrase used is “Mom and Daughter”. However, in the first example, since the predicate is in the plural, it is a syntactically indivisible collective phrase, and in the second it is absolutely free, since the predicate "awl" has a singular.

Phrases with a concretizing main word

The main word in such phrases is that which designates a specific sign of a certain subject or action. It is an integral part of it.

Examples:

1. The clown with sad eyes played with the children.
2. A river with steep banks in those parts is the Danube.
3. A kitten with white paws played in the bedroom.
4. This store sells large clothing.
5. During a film show, speaking in a loud voice is prohibited!
6. She decided to refuse for some reason.

Collocations with compound predicate

In such constructions, the phrase makes the main word, which is the second part of the compound predicate, indivisible. She is the custodian of the semantic component.

For example:

1. I wanted to leave a long time.
2. She did not try to understand his complex nature.
3. Nina tried to keep up with her parents.
4. Victor must explain to us the solution to the problem.
5. I need to know the departure date .
6. There you need to send a trusted person.
7. The construction was short-lived.
8. Misha worked as a turner.

Metaphorical collocations

They have in their composition the main word, which has a metaphorical meaning. Examples of syntactically indivisible phrases of this type below:

1. The ribbon of the river beautifully circled the island.
2. The crescent moon shone brightly in the sky .
3. Stars reflected in the ice mirror .
4. Candle pines puffed out along the sides of the alley.
5. Natasha ruffled a hedgehog of hair on her head.
6. Waves of indignation came from Stepan .

Important! Do not confuse metaphorical indivisible phrases with general language metaphors. Their metaphorical meanings have almost disappeared over time. Therefore, now these are the usual free phrases.

For example:

1. After a passing car a cloud of dust rose .
2. A young man stood at the bow of the ship .
3. Under the wing of the plane were boxes.

Phraseological collocations

The most famous examples of indivisible phrases are phraseological units. After all, these are phrases with a stable meaning.

Examples:

1. She was tired all day, like a squirrel in a wheel.
2. The cat cried for money in Vanya’s wallet .
3. The new system administrator worked an hour per teaspoon.
4. Alice rushed along the corridor headlong.
5. Andrei worked through his sleeves.

Phrases with specific words

There are also seamless welded syntactic constructions in which the main word is a specific noun, not used without auxiliary ones. Such nouns need some “distributors” in order to fulfill their syntactic function of a predicate or isolated application. They have abstract content that cannot accurately characterize an object, information, or action.

For instance:

1. Anna Petrovna is a reliable person.
2. Scientists and writers are interesting people.
3. Andrei Vasilievich, an experienced person, everything became clear from their conversation.
4. Elena Ivanovna, a good woman, always had many friends.
5. A violin, a delicate thing, is handled with care.
6. Watching melon is a simple matter.
7. Trading products on the market is not for him.
8. Mom’s garden is a special place.

Phrases with the tautological word

In such syntactic constructions, philologists deal with the use of synonymous words. These are tautological, that is, words repeating their meaning.

Examples:

1. A girl with a graceful figure stood at a tram stop.
2. A dog with a long tail spun side by side.
3. Coarse flour is sold in the neighboring department.

Spatial, or temporary phrases

These indivisible phrases have the meaning of limiting space or time.

For instance:

1. He traveled often from Moscow to St. Petersburg in 3-4 hours.
2. From morning till night, Sonya listened to her favorite songs.
3. From home to the university can be reached by bus.

Synonymous and indivisible phrases

This is the name of those syntactic constructions in which the same semantic content is expressed in different grammatical forms. For example, the syntactically indivisible phrase “fruit vase”, and the free and synonymous phrase - “fruit vase”.

There are a lot of examples:

1. Alexander looked with admiration at his girlfriend. - Alexander looked admiringly at his girlfriend (both phrases in this case are syntactically free).
2. He saw a meter of fabric lying on the table. - He saw a meter-long fabric lying on the table (in the first case, a syntactically indivisible phrase is presented, and in the second - free).
3. He saw a beautiful city today. - He saw the beautiful city of today (the first phrase is indivisible, or seamless, and the second is syntactically free).

Indivisible phrases in the role of subject and predicate

It is also important to mention them. In which sentence is the subject expressed in an indivisible phrase? It’s easier to explain with examples. In this case, they are also enough. The following types of indivisible phrases of the subject fall into this category:

• Quantitatively named: “At the start there were twelve people”, “ A lot of sparrows swarmed in the sandbox”, “A bag of potatoes lies in the hallway ”. In all these sentences and in those presented below, the subject is expressed by an indivisible phrase.
• Uncertainly selective: " Someone from the neighbors buzzing with a saw," " Something from Anna's things was lying on the table."
• Generalized-election: “ Each of us understands the words of the anthem of his country,” “ Each of them is under suspicion.”
• Uncertain signs: “ Something dark was lying on the chair”, “ Someone else entered the canopy.”
• Phrases with the meaning of compatibility “ Grandfather and grandmother went mushrooming”, “ Father and son repaired the fishing net”.
• Phrases with a concretizing main word: " Large shoes stood in the hallway," " A girl with beautiful hair showed off in front of the window."
• Metaphorical phrases: “The sunset apple was slowly leaving the horizon”, “He had a chic cap of curls.”
• Phraseological phrases: " To beat the back door is his constant occupation."

If we take indivisible constructions acting as a predicate, then these will be the following categories of similar phrases:

• Phrases with compound predicate: "You must explain your behavior."
• Phrases with a certain word: "Anton is a good man, he will not refuse to help."

Thus, analyzing indivisible phrases, we can say that these are integral syntactic constructions. And their main feature is the presence of a strong relationship between the main and the dependent word.

Syntactically indivisible phrases, subject or predicate, additions or circumstances, represent a single member of the sentence. The main word in such a lexical construction reveals the grammatical meaning in full, and the material or objective meaning carries a dependent.