Home A categorisation solution to the incompleteness puzzle in Mandarin
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

A categorisation solution to the incompleteness puzzle in Mandarin

  • Chen Wang EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: July 16, 2024
Become an author with De Gruyter Brill

Abstract

This paper means to re-examine the source of incompleteness for a clause with a bare verb as predicate and no other markings in Mandarin. I propose that the reason comes from the need for categorial labels at the syntax-semantic interface to produce a clear interpretation. Since there are no grammatical affixes marking category V available in Mandarin, it has to make use of functional morphemes which shape their complement space categorially. The result is that overt (or at least inferable) morphemes from the extended projections of VP must occur to assign category V for the predicate phrase, while a root needs merge with degree morphemes to be a predicate adjective. The analysis shows that some issues traditionally related to finiteness may have a pure syntactic account.


Corresponding author: Chen Wang, School of Foreign Studies, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, 200 Xiaolingwei Street, Nanjing, China, E-mail:

Appendix: Abbreviations in this paper

ASP=Aspect (marker)

CCS=Categorial Complement Space

CL=Classifier

COMP=Comparative (marker)

DUR=Durative (aspect)

ExP=Extended Projection

EXP=Experiential (aspect)

NEG=Negative (morpheme)

PFV=Perfective (aspect)

PROG=Progressive

REDUP=Reduplication

SFP=Sentence-final Particle

References

Adger, David. 2003. Core syntax: A minimalist approach. Oxford: Oxford University Press.10.1093/oso/9780199243709.001.0001Search in Google Scholar

Adger, David. 2007. Three domains of finiteness: A minimalist perspective. In Irina Nikolaeva (ed.), Finiteness: Theoretical and empirical foundations, 23–58. Oxford: Oxford University Press.10.1093/oso/9780199213733.003.0002Search in Google Scholar

Bach, Emmon. 1986. The algebra of events. Linguistics and Philosophy 9(1). 5–16.10.1007/BF00627432Search in Google Scholar

Borer, Hagit. 2013. Taking form: Structuring sense, vol. III. Oxford: Oxford University Press.10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199263936.001.0001Search in Google Scholar

Borer, Hagit. 2014. Derived nominals and the domain of content. Lingua 141. 71–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2013.10.007.Search in Google Scholar

Borer, Hagit. 2015. The category of roots. In Artemis Alexiadou, Hagit Borer & Florian Schafer (eds.), The Syntax of Roots and the Roots of Syntax, 112–148. Oxford: Oxford University Press.10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199665266.003.0006Search in Google Scholar

Cao, Dao-gen. 2018. Zailun Hanyu shifou you xianding he feixianding qufen [Revisiting the finite vs. non-finite distinction in Mandarin Chinese]. Contemporary Linguistics 20(1). 19–39.Search in Google Scholar

Cao, Dao-Gen & Jian-Hua Hu. 2020. On the predicative use of Chinese gradable adjectives. Lingua 247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2020.102979.Search in Google Scholar

Chomsky, Noam. 2013. Problems of projection. Lingua 130. 33–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2012.12.003.Search in Google Scholar

Chomsky, Noam. 2015. Problems of projection: Extensions. In Elisa D. Domenico, Cornelia Hamann & Simona Matteini (eds.), Structures, strategies and beyond: Studies in honour of Adriana Belletti, 3–16. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company.10.1075/la.223.01choSearch in Google Scholar

Chierchia, G. 1985. Formal semantics and the grammar of predication. Linguistic Inquiry 16. 417–443.Search in Google Scholar

Cinque, Guglielmo. 1999. Adverbs and functional heads: A cross-linguistic perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.10.1093/oso/9780195115260.001.0001Search in Google Scholar

Deng, Dun. 2018. Gouci Zhong de yuduan: yi xiandai hanyu houzhui -zi de gouci weili [Phases in word formation: a case study of the suffix -zi in Mandarin Chinese]. Foreign Language Teaching and Research 50. 873–884.Search in Google Scholar

Deng, Dun. 2020. Cong fenbushixingtaixue kan xiandai hanyu yusu hua jiqi yu yingyu houzhui -ize de gongxing he chayi [The nature and function of Mandarin hua (化) in comparison with English suffix -ize from the perspective of Distributed Morphology]. Foreign Language Teaching and Research 52. 830–843.Search in Google Scholar

Embick, David. 2010. Localism vs. globalism in morphology and phonology. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.10.7551/mitpress/9780262014229.001.0001Search in Google Scholar

Grano, Thomas. 2017. Finiteness contrast without tense? A view from Mandarin Chinese. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 26. 259–299. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10831-017-9159-8.Search in Google Scholar

Grano, Thomas. 2012. Mandarin hen and universal markedness in gradable adjectives. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 30. 513–565. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11049-011-9161-1.Search in Google Scholar

Grano, Thomas & Chris Kennedy. 2012. Mandarin transitive comparatives and the grammar of measurement. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 21. 219–266. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10831-012-9090-y.Search in Google Scholar

Grimshaw, Jane. 1990. Argument structure. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Search in Google Scholar

Grimshaw, Jane. 2005. Words and structure. Stanford: CSLI Publications.Search in Google Scholar

Guo, Rui. 2015. Hanyu weicixing chengfen de shijian canzhao jiqi jufa houguo [Time reference and its syntactic effects in Mandarin Chinese]. Chinese Teaching in the World 29. 435–449.Search in Google Scholar

Harley, Heidi. 2009. The morphology of nominalizations and the syntax of vP. In Anastasia Giannakidou & Monika Rathert (eds.), Quantification, definiteness, and nominalization, 321–343. Oxford: Oxford University Press.10.1093/oso/9780199541089.003.0013Search in Google Scholar

Harley, Heidi. 2013. External arguments and the mirror principle: On the distinctness of voice and v. Lingua 125. 34–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2012.09.010.Search in Google Scholar

He, Yang. 1994. Hanyu wanju chengfen shitan. [A tentative investigation on sentence completing elements]. Language Teaching and Linguistic Studies(4). 26–38.Search in Google Scholar

Hu, Jian-Hua, Hai-Hua Pan & Lie-Jiong Xu. 2001. Is there a finite vs. nonfinite distinction in Chinese? Linguistics 39. 1117–1148. https://doi.org/10.1515/ling.2001.043.Search in Google Scholar

Hu, Jian-Hua & Ding-Xu Shi. 2005. Wanju tiaojian yu zhicheng tezheng de yunzhun [Conditions on the completeness of sentences and the licensing of referential features]. Linguistic Sciences 4(5). 42–49.Search in Google Scholar

Huang, C-T. James. 1982. Logical relations in Chinese and the theory of grammar. PhD dissertation, MIT.Search in Google Scholar

Huang, C-T. James, Audrey Y.-H. Li & Ya-fei Li. 2009. The Syntax of Chinese. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Huang, Shi-Zhe. 2006. Property theory, adjectives, and modification in Chinese. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 15. 343–369. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10831-006-9002-0.Search in Google Scholar

Kennedy, Chris. 1999. Projecting the adjective: The syntax and semantics of gradability and comparison. New York: Garland.Search in Google Scholar

Kong, Ling-Da. 1994. Yingxiang hanyu juzi zizu de yuyan xingshi [Language forms influencing the self-sufficiency of Chinese sentence]. ZhongguoYuwen 6. 434–440.Search in Google Scholar

Kratzer, Angelika. 1996. Severing the external argument from its verb. In Johan Rooryck & Laurie Zaring (eds.), Phrase structure and the Lexicon, 109–137. Dordrecht: Kluwer.10.1007/978-94-015-8617-7_5Search in Google Scholar

Li, Hao-Ze. & Jess H.-K. Law. 2016. Alternatives in different dimensions: A case study of focus intervention. Linguistics and Philosophy 39. 201–245. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10988-016-9189-0.Search in Google Scholar

Li, Jing-Lian. 2009. Hanyu Kongzhi de Shengcheng Yufa Yanjiu [A Generative Study of Control Constructions in Chinese: An Integrated Approach]. Beijing: Science Press.Search in Google Scholar

Lin, Jo-Wang. 2003. Temporal reference in Mandarin Chinese. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 12. 259–311. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1023665301095.10.1023/A:1023665301095Search in Google Scholar

Lin, Jo-Wang. 2006. Time in a language without tense: The case of Chinese. Journal of Semantics 23. 1–56. https://doi.org/10.1093/jos/ffh033.Search in Google Scholar

Lin, Jo-Wang. 2010. A tenseless analysis of Mandarin Chinese revisited: A response to Sybesma 2007. Linguistic Inquiry 41. 305–329. https://doi.org/10.1162/ling.2010.41.2.305.Search in Google Scholar

Lin, Tzong-Hong Jonah. 2012. Multiple-modal constructions in Mandarin Chinese and their finiteness properties. Journal of Linguistics 48. 151–186. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022226711000272.Search in Google Scholar

Lin, Tzong-Hong Jonah. 2015. Tense in Mandarin Chinese sentences. Syntax 18. 320–342. https://doi.org/10.1111/synt.12032.Search in Google Scholar

Lin, Jo-Wang & Chih-Chen Tang. 1995. Modals as verbs in Chinese: A GB perspective. Bulletin of the Institute of History and Philology 66. 53–105.Search in Google Scholar

Liu, Chen-Sheng. 2010. The positive morpheme in Chinese and the adjectival structure. Lingua 120. 1010–1056. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2009.06.001.Search in Google Scholar

Luo, Qiong-Peng. 2016. Chengdu, liangji yu xingrongci zhen he jia de yuyi [Degree, scale and the semantics of zhen(真) and jia(假)]. Studies in Language and Linguistics 36. 94–100.Search in Google Scholar

Luo, Qiong-Peng. 2022. Pubian gongneng jizhu yu hanyu juzi de zizuxing [Universal Functional Spine and the sentence (in)completeness effect in Chinese]. Foreign Language Teaching and Research 54. 690–702.Search in Google Scholar

Marantz, Alec. 2013. Verbal argument structure: Events and participants. Lingua 130. 152–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2012.10.012.Search in Google Scholar

McFadden, Thomas & Sandhya Sundaresan. 2014. Finiteness in South Asian languages: An introduction. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 32. 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11049-013-9215-7.Search in Google Scholar

Parsons, Terence. 1990. Events in the semantics of English: A study in subatomic semantics. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.Search in Google Scholar

Paul, Waltraud. 2005. Adjective modification in Mandarin Chinese and related issues. Linguistics 43. 757–793. https://doi.org/10.1515/ling.2005.43.4.757.Search in Google Scholar

Radford, Andrew. 2016. Analysing English sentences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511980312Search in Google Scholar

Rizzi, Luigi. 1997. The fine structure of the left periphery. In Lillian Haegeman (ed.), Elements of grammar: Handbook in generative syntax, 281–337. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.10.1007/978-94-011-5420-8_7Search in Google Scholar

Sybesma, Rint. 2007. Whether we tense-agree overtly or not. Linguistic Inquiry 38. 580–587. https://doi.org/10.1162/ling.2007.38.3.580.Search in Google Scholar

Sybesma, Rint. 2019. Finiteness and Chinese main clauses. International Journal of Chinese Linguistics 6. 325–344. https://doi.org/10.1075/ijchl.19002.syb.Search in Google Scholar

Tenny, Carol. 2000. Core events and adverbial modification. In Carol Tenny & James Pustejovsky (eds.), Events as grammatical objects, 285–334. Standford: CSLI Publications.Search in Google Scholar

Tsai, Wei-Tien Dylan. 2008. Tense anchoring in Chinese. Lingua 118. 675–686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2007.09.002.Search in Google Scholar

Wiltschko, Martina. 2014. The universal structure of categories. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9781139833899Search in Google Scholar

Wang, Chen. 2018. Lun hanyu ciwei le de shuangchong biaoji gongneng [The dual function of Mandarin Chinese verbal le]. Linguistic Research 25. 122–136.Search in Google Scholar

Wang, Chen. 2021a. Contextually categorised adjective as predicate in Mandarin. Lingua 253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2020.103002.Search in Google Scholar

Wang, Chang-Song. 2021b. Jufa-xingtai jiekou shiyuxia de hanyu cunxianju yanjiu [A morphosyntactic analysis of existential sentences in Chinese]. Modern Foreign Languages 44. 318–332.Search in Google Scholar

Wu, Jiun-Shiung. 2009. Tense as a discourse feature: Rethinking temporal location in Mandarin Chinese. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 18. 145–165. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10831-009-9042-3.Search in Google Scholar

Zhang, Ning Niina. 2015. Functional head properties of the degree word Hen in Mandarin Chinese. Lingua 153. 14–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2014.10.005.Search in Google Scholar

Zhang, Ning Niina. 2016. Identifying Chinese dependent clauses in the forms of subjects. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 25. 275–311. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10831-016-9146-5.Search in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2024-07-16
Published in Print: 2024-09-25

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Downloaded on 6.11.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/tlr-2024-2017/html
Scroll to top button