Parseme MWE Template: English

Fixedness/flexibility of MWE parts

We should not classify entire MWEs with respect to their fixedness, but we should rather classify each part of an MWE for fixedness. For this reason, we list the relevant tests for the particular syntactic categories.

NP

At least semi-fixed

Does the head noun inflect? Singular/plural

• trip [NP?: the light fantastic]: *trip [NP: the lights fantastic]/ *trip [NP: the light fantastics]
• kick [NP: the bucket]: *kick [the buckets]
• spill [NP: the beans]: *spill [the bean]
• [NP: a little bird] told X: A few little birds told me that Universal is running Transformers ride tests right now with dummies. (http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g34515-i19-k6433091-Transformers_opening_date-Orlando_Florida.html, 4.3.2014)
• play [[NP: the devil's] advocate]: *play [[NP: the devils'] advocate]
• play [NP: [the devil's] advocate]: ?They [played [NP: the devil's] advocates] (attested on L2 websites, but not found on L1 websites)
• [in [NP: the meantime]]: *in the meantimes

Can an adjective/modifier be inserted? (independently of whether the interpretation is that of internal or external modification)

• kick [NP: the bucket]: kick [the proverbial/social bucket]
• spill [NP: the beans]: spill [the royal beans]
• [NP: a little bird told X]: A little dickie bird from our customer services team told me that the Frances Lodge Boutique B&B in Windsor was a happy customer indeed. (http://blog.blinds-2go.co.uk/frances-lodge-windsor-loves-dark-laurel-wooden-blinds/, 4.3.2014)
• play [[NP: the devil's] advocate]: John Nucatola, the director of the sanitation department’s bureau of cleaning and collection, which schedules 46,000 street cleaning routes, played the lone devil’s advocate. (http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/09/an-alternative-to-alternate-side-parking-rules/?_php=true&_type=blogs&ref=nyregion&_r=0, 4.3.2014)
• play [NP: [the devil's] advocate]: *play [NP: [the devil's] reliable/best/loyal advocate]]
• [in [NP: the meantime]]: *in [NP: the proverbial meantime]

Is there variation in the determiner?

• kick [NP: the bucket]: *kick [a/that bucket]
• spill [NP: the beans]:
  Even though Singh spilled some beans to the NYT, the cat had HP's tongue by the time El Reg came a-calling. (http://www.theregister.co.uk/Print/2012/03/12/hp_cloud_services_launch/, 5.3.2014)
  Keeth spilled many beans after chunky got contacted by the FBI and Fox news. (https://plus.google.com/100594535633732388897/posts/7X1uxudypds, 5.3.2014)

Flexible

Can the head noun be replaced with one?

• [pull [NP: strings]]: I would not want you to think that we are proud of our ability to pull strings, such as the ones we pulled to get you down here. (Nunberg et al 1994, p. 502)

Can the NP be replaced with an indefinite pronoun?

• [keep [NP: tabs] on s.o.]: Close tabs were kept on Jane Fonda, but none were kept on Vanessa Redgrave. (Nunberg et al 1994, p. 502)
• [take [NP: advantage] of s.o./s.th.]: They claimed full advantage had been taken of the situation, but none was. (Nunberg et al 1994, p. 506)

Can the NP be replaced with a personal pronoun?

• [spill [NP: the beans]]: I was worried that Pat might spill the beans, but it was Chris who finally spilled them. (Nunberg et al 1994, p. 502)

Can the NP be topicalized or appear as a clefted constitutent?

• [pull [NP: strings]]:
  These strings, Pat pulled.
  It was these strings that Pat pulled.
• [put one's cards [on [the table]]: *Here is the table you should put your cards on.

Can the head noun occur as the head to a relative clause which does not contain the rest of the MWE?

• [pull [NP: strings]]: Pat pulled the strings that got Kim the job.

Can the head noun occur as the head to a relative clause which contains the rest of the MWE?

• [pull [NP: strings]]: The strings that Pat pulled got Kim the job.

PP

In most cases of a PP-MWE, it is the complement of the preposition that can be tested for flexibility, not the combination of the P with its complement.

In the case of determinerless nouns in PPs, the tests for flexibility apply to the N-part, not to the P-N combination.

At least semi-fixed

As there is no inflection for prepositions in English, there is no test to establish semi-fixed P NP combinations.

Flexible

Can the PP be used predicatively, attributively, and adverbially?

• [PP: on tenterhooks]:
  • predicative: Hollyoaks star Ashley Taylor Dawson was on tenterhooks during his first Strictly Come Dancing performance as fiancèe Karen was due at any moment. (http://www.reveal.co.uk/showbiz-celeb-gossip/i612951-9/rochelle-humes-georgina-dorsett-fearne-cotton-stars-who-gave-birth-in-2013-ashley-taylor-dawson-and-karen-have-a-boy.html, 5.2.2014)
  • attributive: Thus a person 'on tenterhooks' is in a state of great tension or suspense, with anxiety or curiosity 'stretched' to the utmost. (http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/25/messages/112.html, 5.3.2014)

Does the MWE-internal preposition appear in the same meaning as free combinations? (Remark: This test is based on a paraphrase, which makes it dubious. Because of the highly restricted syntactic flexibility of English prepositions, this might be defensible.)

• [PP: at first]: = at the beginning
• [PP: at first blush]: = at the first glimpse/impression

AP

At least semi-fixed AP

English adjectival morphology is highly restricted, so the inflectional tests for nouns and verbs cannot be applied.

Flexible AP

Can a degree word be added?

MWEs by fixedness

Semi-fixed MWEs

General characterization

Semi-fixed MWEs may show inflection and for reflexive pronoun agreement.

They do not allow for internal modification, lexical variation, or topicalization. Usually they do not allow for passive.

Nominal MWEs

Compounds. They are treated as semi-fixed rather than fixed because they typically show number inflection.

Semi-fixed Verb-Noun Idiomatic Combinations

Typically show agreement on the verb, but do not allow for passivization or any movement of the direct object NP. These are treated as non-decomposable idioms.

kick the bucket

saw logs

trip the light fantastic

Flexible MWEs

Flexible Verb-Noun Idiomatic Combinations

They all allow for passive, raising, and internal modification.

Class 1: Some may allow for pronominalization, determiner change.

spill the beans

Class 2: Even fewer may allow for relative clause formation, use of idiom parts without the rest of the idiom in the same sentence, though it must be salient in the discourse.

pull strings

Institutionalized phrases

General characterization

Combination only shows statistical idiomaticity.

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