Phraseology as a science

Grammatical valency is the ability of a word to appear in various grammatical structures; it is determined by the part of speech the word belongs to.

The grammatical valency of words may be different. The grammatical valency is delimited by the part of speech the word belongs to, e.g., no English adjective can be followed by the finite form of a verb.

The grammatical valency distinguishes individual meanings of a polysemantic word, i.e., , V + N – to grow roses (wheat) = “to cultivate”, V + V – to grow to like = “to begin”, V + A – to grow old (tired, dark) = “to become”, V + D – to grow quickly (rapidly) = “to increase”

The grammatical valency of the words belonging to the same part of speech is not necessarily identical, it may be delimited by the inner structure of the language, e.g. to suggest, to propose are synonyms, both can be followed by a noun, e.g., to propose (suggest) a plan, but it is only "propose" that can be followed by the infinitive of a verb – to propose to do something. Clever and intelligent have the same grammatical valency, but only clever can be used in word-groups having the pattern A+prep+N – clever at maths.

The range of grammatical valency is restricted by lexical valency: A + N – blind people (+) – blind sugar (-). A smiling girl (+) – a smilimg crocodile (-). But phrases, literally absurd, may be used figuratively: Look at him! A smiling crocodile!