Приступая к
поглощению выражения, ознакомьтесь с блюдом - прочтите
выражение, прочтите описание выражения по-английски.
Прочтите английское предложение, использующее выражение.
Ознакомьтесь с историей его появления в английском языке.
Прочтите
русско-английские предложения, где выражение используется в
качестве основного ингредиента, обрамленного русскоязычным гарниром.
Прочтите предложение вслух, почувствуйте контекст, в котором используется
выражение. Прочтите ещё раз и ещё раз – добейтесь исчезновения
барьера между английскими и русскими словами.
Ещё раз, как
настоящий гурман, полюбуйтесь выражением. Каково оно на вкус?
Разжуйте и проглотите его, навсегда запоминая его вкус, запах, вид и
звучание!
Перевод выражения дается на дне страницы
выпуска. Не подглядывать!
Очень полезный приём - в течение дня
вставляйте в свою речь новое выражение. Вверните его в разговоре с
коллегами, друзьями, членами семьи. Внимание - польза от этого упражнения
заметно снижается при попытке выполнить его во время разговора с вашим
начальником.
Возможно, именно таким должен был быть первый выпуск этой рассылки
– полезно сразу же определить предмет рассмотрения. Однако, как говорят в Великобритании, better late
than never.
Настоящая рассылка знакомит подписчиков с английскими идиомами,
фразовыми глаголами и пословицами. В этом выпуске поясняется, что такое
идиома, следующие два выпуска
посвящены фразовым глаголам и пословицам.
An idiom is a
combination of words that has a meaning that is different from the
meanings of the individual words themselves. It can have a literal meaning
in one situation and a different idiomatic meaning in another situation.
It is a phrase which does not always follow the normal rules of meaning
and grammar.
To sit
on the fence can literally mean that one is sitting on a
fence. I sat on the fence and watched the game.
However, the idiomatic meaning
of to sit on the fence is that one is
not making a clear choice regarding some issue. The politician
sat on the fence and would not give his opinion
about the tax issue.
Many idioms are similar to expressions
in other languages and can be easy for a learner to understand. Other
idioms come from older phrases which have changed over time.
To hold
one's horses means to stop and wait patiently for someone or
something. It comes from a time when people rode horses and would have to
hold their horses while waiting for someone or something. "Hold your horses," I said when my friend started to
leave the store.
Other idioms come from such things as sports
that are common in the United Kingdom or the United States and may require
some special cultural knowledge to easily understand them.
To
cover all of one's bases means to thoroughly prepare for or
deal with a situation. It comes from the American game of baseball where
you must cover or protect the bases. I tried to cover all of my bases when I went to the job
interview.
Structure of
Idioms
Most
idioms are unique and fixed in their grammatical structure. The expression
to sit on the fence cannot become
to sit on a fence or to sit on the
fences.
However, there are many changes that can be made to an idiom.
Some
of these changes result in a change in the grammatical structure that
would generally be considered to be wrong.
To be broken literally means that something is broken.
The lamp is broken so I cannot easily read my
book.
To be
broke is grammatically incorrect but it has
the idiomatic meaning of to have no money. I am broke and I cannot go to a movie tonight.
There can also be changes in nouns, pronouns or in the verb
tenses. I sat on the fence and did not
give my opinion. Many people are sitting
on the fence and do not want to give their opinion.
Adjectives and adverbs can also be added to an idiomatic phrase.
The politician has been sitting squarely
in the middle of the fence since the election.
It is
for these reasons that it is sometimes difficult to isolate the actual
idiomatic expression and then find it in a dictionary of idioms.