Idiom or slang

[Venus.jam]

Hi,

Does the following sentence have a literal meaning or figurative meaning?
Moreover, is it a slang or idiom?

"I beg you to prey"

 

[GoesStation]

That's a very unlikely statement as written. Assuming you mean pray, it's neither slang nor idiom; it's just a rather formal way for one person to ask another to say a prayer.

Note that it's not a sentence unless it ends with appropriate punctuation.

 

[Raymott]

"I beg you ..."
"I pray you ..."
These can have similar uses. Maybe the original was a mistake.

 

[Venus.jam]

"I beg you ..."
"I pray you ..."
These can have similar uses. Maybe the original was a mistake.

Excuse me, do you mean that "I beg you to pray" is a mistake?
Moreover, would you please complete the sentences that you've written? I mean:
I pray you ...?
I beg you ...?

 

[GoesStation]

Excuse me, do you mean that "I beg you to pray" is a mistake?

It's not incorrect, but it's not very natural. Please pray​ would be much more natural.

 

[Venus.jam]

It's not incorrect, but it's not very natural. Please pray​ would be much more natural.

Can we say that "I beg you to pray" is an expression and it can also be considered as a slang as it is used by a specific group of people in a society, i.e. Religious people?

 

[Venus.jam]

It's not incorrect, but it's not very natural. Please pray​ would be much more natural.

Can we say that "please pray for me/him"?

 

[emsr2d2]

Can we say [STRIKE]that[/STRIKE] "Please pray for me/him"?

Yes.

 

[Venus.jam]

We cannot say that it is an expression. It is simply a plea/request. It is not slang. AS GS has told you, it is not natural, even among religious people.


We can say "Please pray for me/him/her".

Would you please explain why it is not an expression?

 

[GoesStation]

An expression is a commonly used phrase with an accepted meaning which may not be obvious. I beg you to pray is a grammatical sentence with only one possible meaning: "please pray". It's not only uncommon; it's possible that years pass during which nobody in the entire Anglophone world uses it.

 

[Raymott]

Excuse me, do you mean that "I beg you to pray" is a mistake? No, I was hypothesising that it might have been. If you say it wasn't a mistake, then it wasn't.

Moreover, would you please complete the sentences that you've written? I mean:
I pray you ...?
I beg you ...?

"I pray you, sit down"; "Sit down, I pray you." (We don't say, "I pray you to sit down.")
"I beg you to sit down"; "Sit down, I beg you."

 

[Venus.jam]

An expression is a commonly used phrase with an accepted meaning which may not be obvious. I beg you to pray is a grammatical sentence with only one possible meaning: "please pray". It's not only uncommon; it's possible that years pass during which nobody in the entire Anglophone world uses it.

Regarding your explanation some questions pop out in my mind. I'd appreciate if you answer them:

1. But, in the definition for slang it is said that "Slang words are expressions that only certain groups of people use and understand"

are slangs phrases or expressions?

2. Do you mean that slangs have several meanings? Like "unreal" and because "I beg you to pray" has got ONLY one meaning we categorize it as simply a grammatical sentence?


3. So do you mean that if a phrase is used commonly enough it becomes an expression? So I think it is difficult to say if something is a phrase or expression. In fact, it'd be difficult for a non-native speaker to dinstinguish between a phrase and expression.

4. Would you please provide some examples for slang, phrase and expression?

5. Do you mean that phrases like "get up" has become an expression because of its prevalent and common use?

6. What is the distictive feature of an expression, phrase, and slang?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Venus.jam]

We cannot say that it is an expression. It is simply a plea/request. It is not slang. AS GS has told you, it is not natural, even among religious people.


We can say "Please pray for me/him/her".

You know, "I beg you to pray" is a statement which is prevalently and commonly used among Muslims and it is very natural statement among religious people. Do you mean that it is not an expression in English, since it is not common? I mean if it was as common as it is among Muslims, would it be an expression?

Regards,

 

[Venus.jam]

You know, "I beg you to pray" is a statement which is prevalently and commonly used among Muslims and it is very natural statement among religious people. Do you mean that it is not an expression in English, since it is not common? I mean if it was as common as it is among Muslims, would it be an expression?

Regards,

Dear teachers,

I'd really appreciate if you answer my post.

 

[GoesStation]

You know, "I beg you to pray" is a statement which is prevalently and commonly used among Muslims and it is very natural statement among religious people.

I've never heard it in my religious background, but I'm not familiar with Muslim practice beyond the bits and pieces I've seen in various media. If it's common in a Muslim context then I have to withdraw my assertion that it's never used in English. I have a feeling some other English phrase is used, though, because a Google search on that phrase doesn't return anything that looks like it comes from that context.

 

[Venus.jam]

Please ask one question at a time. Wait until you are satisfied with the responses before you go off at a tangent.If English-speaking Muslims use the words 'I beg you to pray', then that is OK for them. It is not a statement, It is a request/plea/exhortation or possibly even a command. I would not refer to it as an expression.

So what features make something an expression? I mean how should I decide if something that I hear or see is an expression or not?

 

[Venus.jam]

I've never heard it in my religious background, but I'm not familiar with Muslim practice beyond the bits and pieces I've seen in various media. If it's common in a Muslim context then I have to withdraw my assertion that it's never used in English. I have a feeling some other English phrase is used, though, because a Google search on that phrase doesn't return anything that looks like it comes from that context.

Yes. Dear friend, it is very common in a Muslim context to ask someone to pray for you. But, I myself think that "I beg you to pray" is not an appropriate and natural equivalent. For me, "please pray for me/him/her" sounds to be natural.
So if "please pray for me" is used by English-speaking Muslims, can we say that it is an expression?
I think I need an explanation on how to distinguish a simple grammatical sentence from an expression?

Have a nice day

 

[Venus.jam]

Regarding your explanation some questions pop out in my mind. I'd appreciate if you answer them:

1. But, in the definition for slang it is said that "Slang words are expressions that only certain groups of people use and understand"

are slangs phrases or expressions?

2. Do you mean that slangs have several meanings? Like "unreal" and because "I beg you to pray" has got ONLY one meaning we categorize it as simply a grammatical sentence?


3. So do you mean that if a phrase is used commonly enough it becomes an expression? So I think it is difficult to say if something is a phrase or expression. In fact, it'd be difficult for a non-native speaker to dinstinguish between a phrase and expression.

4. Would you please provide some examples for slang, phrase and expression?

5. Do you mean that phrases like "get up" has become an expression because of its prevalent and common use?

6. What is the distictive feature of an expression, phrase, and slang?

Thanks in advance.

I wonder if someone can answer my questions here.

Regards

 

[SoothingDave]

Yes. Dear friend, it is very common in a Muslim context to ask someone to pray for you. But, I myself think that "I beg you to pray" is not an appropriate and natural equivalent. For me, "please pray for me/him/her" sounds to be natural.
So if "please pray for me" is used by English-speaking Muslims, can we say that it is an expression?
I think I need an explanation on how to distinguish a simple grammatical sentence from an expression?

Have a nice day

Why does it matter if it is an "expression?" An "expression" is just a pattern of words that are frequently used in that certain way.

 

[Venus.jam]

Why does it matter if it is an "expression?" An "expression" is just a pattern of words that are frequently used in that certain way.

I just want to better undestand it and know the difference between a grammatical sentence and an expression.
I want to know what makes someone says that for example "I beg you to pray" or "please pray for me" are not considered to be expression.