Transformed phraseological units in the works of V.P. Astafyev

Statement of the problem. Frequent use of phraseological units reduces their expressiveness and reduces the emotional impact on the reader. In order to enhance the expressiveness of a phraseological unit, the writer resorts to various methods of transforming phraseological units. The purpose of the study is to analyze transformed phraseological units from the point of view of the peculiarities of their functioning in the works of V.P. Astafyev. A review of scientific literature on the problem. The transformation of stable combinations was discussed in the works by V.V. Vinogradov and B.A. Larin. According to scientists, transformed stable combinations do not just serve for beauty in a literary text, with their help the authors present their thoughts more accurately, adapting them to specific situations. Two large groups of transformed phrases can be distinguished: structural-semantic and semantic. Methodology. The descriptive-analytical method and the method of analyzing dictionary definitions are used as the main ones. Research results. Of the 1,375 stable combinations in the works of V.P. Astafyev, 416 are transformed. A small part is subject to semantic transformation, all the rest are subject to structural and semantic transformation with a predominance of substitution or addition of a component, replacing an affirmation with a negation. Conclusions. Transformed phraseological units often serve as a means of speech characterization of the characters of a literary work, as well as a means of the author’s attitude to the events described.