III. Free Word-groups.

As tor the analysis of word-groups it is but natural that the text consists for the most part of free phrases, set phrases being less numerous.

According to the type of syntactic connection between the elements of a word-group we distinguish subordinative, coordinative and predicative word-groups. Such free word-groups as stammered an excuse, said dryly, very good a slow torture, lenient with students, inane questions, flagrant compliments, quite apparently, blurred parallels, outrageously inattentive, law buzz, night dishwasher, conditional grades, freshman adviser, monetary pledge, gross neglect, jovial smile are subordinative word-groups as there is a head-word (or nucleus) in their structure: stammered, said, good, torture, lenient, questions, compliments, parallels, inattentive, buzz, dishwasher, grades, adviser pledge, neglect, smile and a word subordinated to it.

According to the part of speech the head-word belongs to these word-groups may be classified into verbal (stammered an excuse, said dryly), nominal (a slow torture, inane questions, blurred parallels etc.), adjectival (lenient with students, outrageously inattentive, very good), adverbial (quite apparently), pronominal (all of the boys, all of you).

Coordinative type of word-group may be illustrated by the following examples: (two) brothers and (two) sisters, men and women, will do and won’t do, I eat and go, warm and steamy, wake up and pay, giggling and talking, in gasps and screams, two or three, in cents and nickels, the dirt an grease, scuffling and trampling, rise and read, explanation or apology. The members of coordinative word-groups are usually connected by the conjunctions and, or, but, either...or, neither... nor.

The following example can be illustrative of the predicative types of word-groups: (training) young men to be (waiters), for this class to await, (let) you do (the talking), (with their fur) coats pulled (tight), (listen to) him lecture, (had) Mexicans working (for him), (right for) me to ask. These are cases of secondary predication, though some linguists refer also cases of primary predication (subject and predicate) to predicative free word-groups like Eddie yelled, Charlie sat up, he flopped back etc.

IV. Phraseological Units.

The extensive use of phraseological units in the text contributes largely to the expressiveness and imaginativeness of the speech of its characters, makes it more colourful. Most of these phraseological units are strictly colloquial in style and are typical of students' slang as: to be on the verge of flunking out, snap out of it!, I can luck through on my finals, you just about got time to make it, you have the stuff, to stick it through, with flying colours, to put smb. in a bad hole.

Other phraseological units belong to neutral layer and are fit to be used bum in colloquial and literary styles, e.g. to be in for smth, to go without, to work one's way through smth., to have it in one, once in a while, to drop out of (school, etc.)

Stability and idiomaticity (or non-motivation) being most essential features of phraseological units, they are classified by Academician V.V. Vinogradov according to the criterion of the degree of idiomaticity into fusions - completely non-motivated units: to be in for smth, to dig in, barely get by, Snap out of it! In a bad hole; unities - partially non-motivated, often metaphorical phrases like on the verge of flunking out, to go a long way (of money), take it or leave it, it takes a woman to, to keep an eye out for, to be beside the point, to be outside one's province, to drop out of school. You've got it in you! with flying colours, or verb-advert phrases as cut down (a bit on this outside work), catch up, get behind (on my written work), turned (your case) over to (me); and phraseological combinations or collocations, characterized by stability of context but clearly motivated: it's high time, a straight A student, on the other hand, to tell the truth, all at once, sound asleep, to be on probation.

According to professor Coonin's concept of phraseological units they are also classified according to the functional criterion into (1) nominative units (if they have the structure of a word-group) as to be in for smth, to drop out of school, to turn smth over to smb, to tell the truth. These are nominative verbal phraseological units as they fulfil the function of a verb in speech; a straight A student - a nominative nominal phraseological units as it fulfils the function of a noun in speech; with flying colours, beside the point, outside one's province, all at once - nominative adverbial phraseological units, as they fulfil the function of an adverb in speech, etc.; (2) communicative units (if they have the structure of a sentence) as You've got it in you! (3) Nominative-communicative units: to keep one's face straight, to keep an eye out for. They are nominative verbal units which may be transformed into a sentence (in Passive Voice), without destroying the identity of a phraseological unit as, for example, an eye was kept out for...

(4) Interjectional units: aw right! Snap out of it! These are phraseological units which fulfil the function of interjection in speech.