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Deconstructing the shì … de construction

  • Lisa Lai-Shen Cheng
Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 1. Dezember 2008
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The Linguistic Review
Aus der Zeitschrift Band 25 Heft 3-4

Abstract

This article re-examines the controversial shì … de construction, which is shown to involve different types of structures, with different syntactic properties. The core of the analysis proposed in this article is twofold: (a) shì is a copula, which selects a small clause (with a subject and a predicate), and (b) de marks the presence of two different non-overt operators (a generalized lamba-operator, and an assertion operator). It is argued that the focus reading connected with shì is simply related to its copular/verbal property. Furthermore, Mandarin allows an in-situ focus strategy using phonological prominence; this strategy interacts with shì and its postverbal constituent.

Published Online: 2008-12-01
Published in Print: 2008-November

©Walter de Gruyter

Heruntergeladen am 23.11.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/TLIR.2008.007/html
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