informal words, phrases, or language, and one of them is the two-word verb idiomatic expressions. Two-word verbs are very common in everyday
communication. It is stated that native speakers of English tend to use phrasal verbs in everyday conversation and generally reserve one-word verbs i.e.
investigate instead of look into for more formal occasions such as business letters etc.
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This means that two-word verb idiomatic expressions are commonly used in informal situationday in day out, spoken English, that makes us sound more
natural, as stated that phrasal verbs or the two-word verbs are so common in spoken English, using them will make you sound more natural when you speak
English.
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Why is it so? Because by using these two-word verbs that collocate daily sound just right to native speakers, who use them all the time too. Eliana said
further: It is very important to know that native speakers of a language
use idioms all the time. Students are often embarrased and frustrated if they cannot understand the idioms a person is using.
A strong knowledge of idioms will help students be better speakers. The high number of idioms and their high frequency in
discourse make them an important aspect of vocabulary.
The spoken mode is so stressed for, as stated by Norberth Schmitt and Micheal McCarthy
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, it is the main source of exposure to language and it thus the main engine for language change and dynamism.
C. Idiomatic Expression
Dixon says that Idiomatic expressions have long played an important role in the English language. In fact, the use of idioms is so widespread that an
understanding of these expressions is essential to successful communication, whether in listening, speaking, reading, or writing.
27
24
http:esl.about.comodvocabularyreferenceaphrasalvref.htm
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http:www.english-at-home.comidiomslearning-and-using-phrasal-verbs
26
Schmitt, Norbett and Micheal McCarty. Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition, and Pedagogy, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997, p. 38.
27
Dixon, J. Robert. Essential Idioms in English, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: PrenticeHall Regents, 1983, p. 1.
No wonder we will find so many idioms or idiomatic expressions incorporated into different kinds of English dictionaries, such Cambridge
Advanced Learner’s Dictionaries and Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary to mention two of them. The innumerable and the difficulties idiomatic expressions
pose to students has made them frustrated as stated by Collis
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: Nonnative speakers of English can reach a point in their
knowledge of the language where they feel comfortable with standard literary speech; however, they are liable to find themselves
in hot water when confronted with idiomatic expressions. When hearing an idiom or colloquialism they may feel frustrated or
confused, since the true meaning of the idiom generally cannot be determined by a knowledge of its compononn parts. In many cases an
attempt on the part of the learner to tie down a definition of an idiom that would work in all instances is a futile undertaking.
It is a futile undertaking when we try to determine the meaning of its component parts. This is confirmed by Sarah Badger. She says that phrases
carryingdifferent meanings than the literal definition of their component words are
called
idiomatic expressions or idioms. Roger Woodham in BBC World Service states that idiomatic expressions are combinations or collocations of words which
cannot be translated word for word. Thus
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, I could eat a horse is an idiomatic way of saying: Im very hungry.
Every language its own idioms and the speaker of each language use them to
communicate
ideas cleverly or quickly. By using and decoding idiomatic expressions helps non-native speakers of English sound more fluent and aids
them in understanding others more efficiently.
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According
to Badger,
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idiomatic expressions can be in the form of:
28
Harry Collis. 101 American English Idioms, New York: the McGraw Hill Companies, 2007, p. V.
29
http:www.bbc.co.ukworldservicelearningenglishgrammarlearnitlearnitv167.shtml
30
http:www.ehow.cominfo_8665126_kinds-idiomatic-expression.html
31
Sarah Badger,Kinds of Idiomatic Expression, http:www.ehow.cominfo_8665126_kinds- idiomatic-expression.html
1. Simile idioms like when you say ―like two peas in a pod, you are
describing how two things are similar or close in nature, by comparing them to peas which grow together in a pod.
2. Phrasal verbs usually contain one or more individual verbs and
prepositions that, when used together in a sentence, act as a single verb. For example, people use the phrasal verb to get away with to mean
avoid punishment as in the sentence, She will get away with stealing that car.
3. Aphorisms, or colloquially called sayings, aphorisms may develop
organically over time, but are often coined in widely read books, famous speeches or other texts. Some have roots in sacred scriptures and survive
translations and cultural diffusion because of their ability to capture profound philosophical truths in short, easy-to-remember sentences.
Some often-quoted aphorisms include, He who hesitates is lost and The best things in life are free.
4. Landmark events and important historical figures, which often make their
way into idiomatic expressions particular to certain cultures. In the United States, for example, to give your John Hancock means to
provide your signature. This expression references one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, John Hancock, whose signature is one
of the largest and most distinct on the document. 5.
Metaphorical idioms compare two situations, objects or actions. However, idioms based on metaphors do not use the words like or as
to connect the two ideas. For example, when you call a method of coercion a carrot and stick method, you compare the situation at hand
to the practice of luring stubborn horse or mule by dangling a carrot in front of him and prodding with a stick behind, or consider this ―trial and
error ‖.
Woodham also said ,―Idiomatic expressions are extremely common and are
found in all kinds of English, both formal and particularly informal. But do not
make a special effort to learn them. There are too many. You will learn the most common naturally through the learning material that you are using.‖
In short, the writer might say that idiomatic expressions are one of unique language features with unique meanings sticking to every language posseses as
the English language does. Bahasa Indonesia does have some idiomatic expressions in certain forms such as Nasi sudah menjadi bubur to close the barn
door after the horse has bolted, besar pasak daripada tiang live beyond your means, and memancing di air keruh fish in troubled water to mention a few.
However, our idioms are not so many as the English counterparts and they are not that common to use in daily speech. In the writer’s mind, idiomatic expressions
are much easier to learn by contexts, so we do not learn all of them, but we learn
them in accordance with our context as students, soccer players, swimmers, etc. However,in accordance withthe implication of Woodham statement above
– donot make a special effort to learn them. There are too many. You will learn the
most common naturally through the learning material that you are using —
thisresearch is limited to two-word verb idiomatic expressions. And this is in harmony with Dixon’s idea that The student may learn grammar and, withtime,
acquire adequate vocabulary, but without a working knowledge of such idioms as
above all, to get along, on the whole, to look up, etc., even the best students speech will remain awkward and ordinary.
D. Two-Word Verb
Two-word verbs are included in the general category of idioms by Dixon. They are then called Essential Idioms in Enlgish. A two-word verb is a verb
whose meaning is altered by the addition of a particle a preposition used with a verb to form an idiomatic expression. to look, for example, may become to look
up or to look over, each having its own special meaning.
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In addition, two-word verb is also called phrasal verb.
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They usually consist of verb + adverb or verb + preposition.This is a special type of idiom
32
Dixon, J. Robert. Essential Idioms in English, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: PrenticeHall Regents, 1983, p. 1.
33
O’Dell, Felicity and MichaelMcCarthy, English Idioms in Use Advanced, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010, p. 6.
