1) Phraseology is regarded as a self-contained branch of linguistics
2) Phraseology deals with a phraseological subsystem of the language and not with isolated phraseological units
3) Phraseology is concerned with all types of set-expressions
4) Set-expressions are divided into three classes
a) phraseological units (red tape), phraseomatic phrases (win a victory) and border-line cases belonging to the mixed class
5) Phraseological and phraseomatic units are - not regarded as word- equivalents but some of them are treated as word-correlates
6) Phraseological and phraseomatic units are set expressions and their phraseological stability distinguishes them from free phrases and compound words
7) Their structural separateness distinguishes them from compound words.
Other aspects of stability are: stability of use, lexical stability and semantic stability
8) Stability of use means that set expressions are reproduced ready-made. They are language units
9) Lexical stability
10) Semantic stability is based on lexical stability.
11) An integral part of this approach is a method of phraseological identification which helps to single outset expressions of Modern English.
Some problems of diachronic approach —(has been scarcely investigated) Almost all set phrases may be traced back to free w.-c. It is observed that free w.-c. may undergo the process of grammaticalization or lexicalization.
(Cases of grammaticalization — transformation of 'have' +PII into Present Perfect. The grammatical inseparability is so high that the verb seems to have lost its meaning.)
SENTENCE
General Characteristics
The sentence is a syntactical structure. Being a syntactical structure the sentence is a meaningful unit of the language. Being a meaningful semiotic unit of the language a sentence reflects the properties connected with peculiarities of structure, contents and usage of a sentence i.e. three aspects characterizing every meaningful unit of the language: structure, semantics and pragmatics.
Pragmatics. The sentence is the smallest unit of speech communication. Structural units of lower level (words and word combinations) are only able to act as its constituents.
The sentence of any structure marks certain actualized situation (coordinated with reality).The sentence got a) modal characteristic (the subject of speech considers the corresponding phenomena as reality), b) certain time perspective (plan of present, past or future).
Actualization as a syntactic phenomenon is termed predication.
Categories of Modality and Tense make up Predication.
The most important structural peculiarity of the sentence is seclusion [уединение, исключение] of relative syntactic links making up a sentence. On the basis of this statement is the correspondence of each sentence to a certain structural pattern the choice of which is limited and specified for each language.
Sentence — is the smallest syntactic construction used in acts of speech communication characterized by predication.
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Predication — is one of the most important structural features of the sentence. Predication differs a sentence from a word-combination and from a word. The latter are actualized only through their use in a sentence.
Modal aspect of the sentence is multilevel. Structurally the main modal plan is formed by a mood of a verb-predicate. It is present in every sentence even in a sentence without a verb. But explicatory by grammatical means Modal Plan is expressed only in verbal sentences.
The main Modal Plan represents a described situation as real/unreal. Though modern language possesses a considerable number of lexical means and means of modification of the main modal plan. V.V.Vinogradov characterized modal meanings expressed by these means as the second layer of modal.meaning. Introduction of the second layer in the contents of the sentence brings in subjectivity (that is the author's appraisal of the main modal plan):
You certainly know how to do yourself well. Miller is not a very good driver really. He must have seen the light. It was supposed to be a home for birds.
Intonation. Every sentence is intonationally formed. Intonation is an inseparable feature of every sentence. Intonation characterizes different communicative types of the sentence (affirmative, interrogative, negative).
Intonation should be considered as the additional feature beyond the grammar scope of description and is the object of phonetics. The cases of interaction of grammar and phonetics when intonation neutralizes grammar indicatiors are the subject of grammar studies: "So you admit it?"
Sentence as a central syntactic unit. The sentence remains the central unit in syntactic and even in linguistic description because it is the result of the action of the system which we call language. Speaking about central position of the sentence in the system of language and in syntactic description a simple mono predicative sentence is meant. The simple sentence absolutely satisfies all features of the sentence as structural and communicative unit. It is the basis for other syntactical structures of any complexity.
Another aspect connected with central position of a sentence in syntactic description is the problem of correlation between Sentence and Utterance. Every utterance (actualized sentence) is the speech manifestation of a language unit sentence.