Types of Lexical Items
Common types of lexical items/chunks include
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- Words, e.g. cat, tree
- Parts of words, e.g. -s in trees, -er in worker, non- in nondescript, -est in loudest
- Phrasal verbs, e.g. put off or get out
- Polywords, e.g. by the way, inside out
- Collocations, e.g. motor vehicle, absolutely convinced.
- Institutionalized utterances, e.g. I'll get it, We'll see, That'll do, If I were you, Would you like a cup of coffee?
- Idioms, e.g. break a leg, was one whale of a, a bitter pill to swallow
- Sayings, e.g. The early bird gets the worm, The devil is in the details
- Sentence frames and heads, e.g. That is not as...as you think, The problem was
- Text frames, e.g., In this paper we explore...; Firstly...; Secondly...; Finally ....
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An associated concept is that of noun-modifier semantic relations, wherein certain word pairings have a standard interpretation. For example, the phrase cold virus is generally understood to refer to the virus that causes a cold, rather than to a virus that is cold.
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Famous quotes containing the words types of, types and/or items:
“Our children evaluate themselves based on the opinions we have of them. When we use harsh words, biting comments, and a sarcastic tone of voice, we plant the seeds of self-doubt in their developing minds.... Children who receive a steady diet of these types of messages end up feeling powerless, inadequate, and unimportant. They start to believe that they are bad, and that they can never do enough.”
—Stephanie Martson (20th century)
“He types his laboured column—weary drudge!
Senile fudge and solemn:
Spare, editor, to condemn
These dry leaves of his autumn.”
—Robertson Davies (b. 1913)
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—Alfred Gingold, U.S. humorist. Items From Our Catalogue, “Wine Pills,” Avon Books (1982)