Did you know that you likely use idioms every day? The word “idiom” may sound like an element from the periodic table or a derisive term that you’d call a buffoon, but it’s actually an example of figurative language. Idioms are phrases that add color to conversation but are impossible to understand based solely on their literal meanings. Common examples include being “over the moon” and “killing two birds with one stone.” You probably understand these expressions because you’ve heard them a million times (an exaggeration, not quite an idiom), rather than because of how each individual word is defined.
In a strictly literal usage, idioms rarely make sense. This makes it especially difficult for non-native speakers to understand the approximately 20,000 (and growing) idioms found in the English language. To properly comprehend an idiom, intent and context are required. The more those elements are understood, the more likely you are to wrap your head around these fantastical phrases.
Four types of idioms are commonly used in English. A pure idiom is an expression for which it is impossible to determine intent from the words alone. One example of a pure idiom would be telling someone to “break a leg” when you mean “good luck.” A binomial idiom is two words joined by a conjunction — for example, “black and blue” or “fair and square.” Next up are partial idioms, which occur when a pure idiom is so well known that only a portion of the phrase is required to be understood. One of the most common examples is saying “when in Rome” while leaving off the second half of the idiom: “do as the Romans do.” Lastly, prepositional idioms combine a verb and a preposition to create phrases such as “arrive in” or “report on.” While these expressions are grammatically flawed, we still understand them as idioms.
