2.5 Multi-word units

From the previous section, we learn that even when compound words come from two independent words and may be spelt as two orthographic words, they have a single meaning when they appear together. Multi-word units work under this same basis, and although they are not considered compounds, they consist of two or more words together with a single meaning. This is why both compound words and multi-word units are considered lexemes.

Multi-word units are also known as lexical chunks. They are classified according to two characteristics. The first one is in terms of how fixed they are; if they have a fixed form, the words that are part of the multi-word unit cannot be changed in any way whatsoever; and if they have a semi-fixed form, it means some words could be changed depending on the context they are used. The second characteristic has to do with how idiomatic they are; if their meaning is more or less literal according to the words that form them, then they are considered less idiomatic, and if the multi-word unit acquires a somewhat metaphorical meaning, then it is considered , an example of which are precisely the expressions called idioms, “whose meanings are not predictable on the basis of the meanings of the individual words” (Fromkin, 2017, p. 145).

There are many types of multi-word units. The ones that establish the structure of a sentence are called sentence frames, and when a verb and an adverb or preposition appear together as one lexeme, they are known as phrasal, multi-part or multi-word verbs. There are other chains of words with a single meaning, such as idioms and common expressions, which can also be considered multi-word units.