一身本领, 一团和气: number + measure word + abstract noun
【高59】短语 / phrases
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
A number (almost always 一) + a figurative measure word + an abstract noun presents a quality, a feeling or an ability as an amount that fills everything: 一身本领 (a whole range of skills), 一团和气 (an atmosphere of goodwill). The measure word is not the all-purpose 个: it is borrowed from a part of the body or from a shape, and it supplies the image. 身 is the whole body ("from head to toe"), 脸 the face (what shows on it), 肚子 the belly (what weighs on the heart), 团 a ball or compact mass, 股 a thread that rises or spreads.
The sense taught here. The standard's entry (数词 + 量词 + 抽象事物) gives 一身本领 and 一团和气 as its examples. This page teaches that mould and adds only groups built the same way and common in narration: 一身疲惫, 一脸严肃, 一肚子委屈, 一股暖意. Each measure word is tied to its noun, so you learn the group as a unit, like an idiom.
The group follows 有 (他有一身本领) or serves by itself as a predicate or a manner adverbial (他一脸严肃地看着我). It is a written, literary device, more vivid than 有 + 个 + noun (有一个想法); in everyday speech you would more likely say 很累 or 很严肃.
Examples
他有一身本领,却一直没有机会发挥。
Tā yǒu yì shēn běnlǐng, què yìzhí méiyǒu jīhuì fāhuī.He has a whole range of skills but has never had the chance to use them.
老人一脸严肃地看着我们,谁也不敢说话。
Lǎorén yì liǎn yánsù de kàn zhe wǒmen, shéi yě bù gǎn shuōhuà.The old man looked at us with a stern face, and no one dared to speak.
听到这个消息,我心里涌起一股暖意。
Tīng dào zhège xiāoxi, wǒ xīn li yǒngqǐ yì gǔ nuǎnyì.At the news, a warmth welled up inside me.
她回到家,一肚子委屈不知从何说起。
Tā huí dào jiā, yí dùzi wěiqu bù zhī cóng hé shuōqǐ.Back home, she was so full of grievances that she did not know where to begin.
加了一夜班,他一身疲惫地推开了家门。
Jiā le yí yè bān, tā yì shēn píbèi de tuīkāi le jiāmén.After a night shift, he pushed open the door of his home, worn out from head to toe.
这里虽然听不见什么争吵声,但并不是一团和气。
Zhèlǐ suīrán tīng bu jiàn shénme zhēngchǎo shēng, dàn bìng bú shì yì tuán héqi.You hear no quarrelling here, but that does not mean everyone gets along.
Common mistakes
✗ 一个和气 → ✓ 一团和气 (the measure word is tied to the noun, so learn the group as a unit).
✗ 他有一脸严肃 → ✓ 他一脸严肃 (a look on the face is said with 一脸 + noun alone, without 有; 有 goes with 一身本领 or 一肚子委屈).