Hi, teachers
I read a book, it mentioned some fixed expression, semi expression. Could you tell me what are they ?
What’s the difference between fixed expression, semi expression and Idioms ?
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semi fixed expressions are the ones that you can change some of their parts. Idioms are fixed or semi fixed expressions.
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Hi,
‘Semi-fixed’ doesn’t make sense to me. Either it’s fixed or it isn’t.
Alan
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The term ‘semi-fixed expression’ doesn’t make any sense to me either. If there were semi-fixed expressions there could also be ‘slightly-fixed expressions’ or ‘half-fixed expressions’ which is nonsense of course.
By the way, your question should either read ‘What is a semi-fixed expression’ or ‘What are semi-fixed expressions’?[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, photographs: Workers talking[YSaerTTEW443543]
Hello Waiyin Cheng, Alan and Torsten,
I believe linguist Michael Lewis has used the term ‘semi-fixed expressions’ as the description of a certain phrase type, but I don’t think Michael Lewis is the only one who has used the term ‘semi-fixed expression’. It seems to me these sorts of expressions are usually described as ones that retain their basic words and word order, but are nevertheless not completely invariable.
For example, idiomatic expressions such as ‘by and large’, ‘on the up and up’, ‘few and far between’, ‘fly in the ointment’ or ‘under the weather’ don’t change; they are invariable, and therefore fixed.
On the other hand, the verb form and also the pronoun vary in expressions such as ‘drop someone a line’, ‘make a monkey out of someone’ or ‘wear out one’s welcome’. So those expressions are not completely invariable and would thus be considered to be semi-fixed expressions.
That’s the way I understand the difference between fixed expressions and semi-fixed expressions.
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Hi,
I wouldn’t use the description ‘fixed expression’ in the first place. I would use ‘set expression’ suggesting conventionally accepted, which really borders on the edge of idiom. With due respect to Michael Lewis and your explanation of what he means by ‘semi-fixed expression’ together with especially the equally wobbly expression ‘not completely invariable’, I am at a loss what either of you are driving at. Clearly you wouldn’t say ‘beneath the weather’ or ‘with and large’ but I fail to see how ‘wear out your welcome’ could be classed as ‘semi-fixed’. Are you/Is he saying that it loses its ‘fixedness’ if you say: She’s worn out her welcome/they’ve worn out their welcome/I’ll wear out my welcome and so on and so on? Surely the verb ‘wear out’ alongside the noun ‘welcome’ constitutes the fixed/set expression because it would become totally ‘unfixed’ if you for example joined ‘wear through’ with ‘reception.’
Alan
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Hello Alan,
Waiyin Cheng asked what ‘semi-fixed expression’ means. Since I was aware that the expression is in use, but you and Torsten apparently were not, I posted my understanding of the way it has been used in the world of English.
Whether or not we choose to use the term, or perhaps some other phrase more to our own personal liking, is another ball of wax entirely.
You might say that ‘semi-fixed’ refers to degree of fixedness. Just as you found it appropriate to use ‘totally unfixed’ in your sentence to describe the degree of ‘unfixedness’, others have found it appropriate to use words such as ‘semi-fixed’ to describe the degree to which an expression is fixed.
You understand and accept terms such as ‘semi-modal’, don’t you? If so, why not semi-fixed? Personally, I think English is flexible enough to handle such a concept.
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[size=75]“Form and function are a unity, two sides of one coin. In order to enhance function, appropriate form must exist or be created.” ~ Ida P. Rolf[/size]
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Hi,
.
Oh and so do I. And talking of expressions -ball of wax - now that is I assume a fixed expression. I can’t imagine that could be semi - or un -fixed because it’s totally stuck up, in the best possible meaning of course.
Alan
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Of course there are a number of linguists who create and use such phrases like “syntactically-flexible expression” and “non-decomposable idiom” all of which might make sense on a scientific level but are rather confusing to somebody who wants to learn English.
For Waiyin Cheng it might more useful if we tell her that her question should read “Could you tell me what they are”? instead of “Could you tell me what are they”.
By the way, she didn’t even manage to copy the term correctly. Instead of ‘semi-fixed expression’ she wrote two times ‘semi expression’. Even Michael Lewis would have a very hard time trying to explain the term ‘semi expression’.[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, photographs: A family eating dinner[YSaerTTEW443543]
So, in the end, can ‘semi fixed’ be considered a correct expression?
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Extending from Esl_Expert’s post a little:
Fixed expressions, like ‘by and large’, ‘on the up and up’, ‘few and far between’ and ‘under the weather,’ don’t change in any way. Each word in the expression is fixed.
eg. We cannot say ‘with and large’, ‘by or large’, ‘by and big’.
Semi-fixed expressions, ‘drop sb a line’, ‘make a monkey out of sb’, and ‘wear out sb’s welcome,’ have some parts that don’t change and some that do. Some words can be substituted for others (usually subjects or objects) and some words can be used in a different form (usually verbs).
eg. We cannot say ‘fall me a line’, ‘drop me the line’, ‘drop me a wire’, etc.
But we can say ‘drop me a line’, ‘dropped me a line’, ‘drop you a line’, ‘dropping Angie a line’, etc.
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