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CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION
In this study, I have demonstrated that tou induces quality readings of verbs and
adjectives. Moreover, it is argued that bian quantizes the subsequent NP and expresses
quantity readings of verbs. The results of the study echo with Bolinger’s (1972) view
on quality readings. In addition to quality readings, this study, together with Liu
(2011), also asserts that adjectives may also express two sub-readings between quality
and quantity. Following the view of Universal Grammar (Chomsky, 1981), I propose
that quality and quantity are possibly primitive elements in our mental grammar.
APPENDIX A Two more uses of tou
The other two frequent uses of tou are listed in (A1) and (A2).
(A1) Volitional subject + V-tou + theme
wo kan- / san- / mo-tou ta de xin.
I see study touch-through she DE1 heart
‘I clearly understand her thoughts.’
(A2) Non-volitional subject + V-tou + theme
wo taoyan- / hen-tou zhe zhong ganjue.
I hate hate-through this kind feeling
‘I hate the feeling very much.’
The instances in (A1) and (A2) show that these two types of tou involve stative verbs
that select a theme (ta de xin ‘her heart,’ and zhe zhong ganjue ‘this feeling’ in (A1),
and (A2) respectively) as a complement.12 However, (A1) and (A2) can be further
distinguished. The V-tou in (A1) can be infixed with a negation marker bu (A3). In
12 One may wonder how verbs such as kan ‘see’ and mo ‘touch’ can be categorized as stative verbs. In
contrast, the infixation of bu, as shown in (A4), results in ungrammaticality:
(A3) wo kan- / san- / mo-bu-tou ta de xin.
I see- study- touch-NEG-through she DE1 heart
‘I can’t understand her mind.’
(A4) * wo taoyan- / hen-bu-tou zhe zhong ganjue.
I hate- hate-NEG-through this kind feeling
Intended meaning: ‘I hate the feeling very much.’
I argue that the different syntactic behavior in (A3) and (A4) lies in the volition of the
subjects. I assume with Lin (2003: 428-429) that bu can negate modal auxiliary verbs.
For sentences without modals, the sentences may get a volitional or future modality
reading and allow bu to appear. This is also the position held by Huang (1988: 290),
who argues that in those kinds of sentences, what bu negates is actually an empty
volitional or future modal verb. Sentences in (A5) are instances from Lin (2003):
(A5) a. Wo bu qu Taibei.
I not go Taipei
‘I do not want to go to Taipei / I will not go to Taipei.’
b. Ta bu bang wo xie zuoye.
He not help me write homework
‘He does not want to help me with my homework.’
Although the sentences in (A5) do not contain any overt modals, as the English
translations suggest, they all involve volitional readings. This phenomenon, as the
English translations suggest, is also observed in (A3). Therefore, the difference
between (A1) and (A2) can be referred to the volitionality of the subjects.
The V-tous in (A1) and (A2), like the other two kinds of V-tous discussed in the text,
are compounds. The –le insertion is employed below.
(A6) Volitional subject + V-tou + theme
a. * wo kan-le-tou ta de xin.
I see-Asp-through she DE1 heart
Intended meaning: ‘I clearly understand her thoughts.’
b. wo kan-tou-le ta de xin.
I see -through-Asp she DE1 heart
‘I clearly understand her thoughts.’
(A7) Non-volitional subject + V-tou + theme
a. * wo hen-le-tou
zhe zhong ganjue.
I hate-Asp-through this kind feeling
Intended meaning: ‘I hate the feeling very much.’
b. wo hen-tou-le
zhe zhong ganjue.
I hate-through-Asp this kind feeling
‘I hate the feeling very much.’
Additionally, the “resultative de” is also employed to test if the internal structures of
these two types of tou are Verb-Complement (VC) or Modifier-Head (MH).
(A8) Volitional subject + V-tou + theme
wo kan-de-tou ta de xin.
I see-DE2-through she DE1 heart
‘I can understand her mind very much.’
(A9) Non-volitional subject + V-tou + theme
* wo hen-de-tou zhe zhong ganjue.
I hate-DE2-through this kind feeling
Intended meaning: ‘I can hate the feeling very much.’
Since the V-tou in (A8) is compatible with the resultative marker de, suggesting that
the V-tou in (A1) is a VC compound. Following Huang (2006), I claim that the
resultative marker de is an overt form of the light verb BECOME. The tree structure
(A8) is drawn in (A10):
On the other hand, (A2) fails the de insertion, so the “V-V resultative compound” and
“V-de VP resultative phrase” alternation is further employed to test if the compound is
VC or not:
(A11) Non-volitional subject + V-tou + theme
*wo hen-de zhe-zhong ganjue hen tou.
I hate-DE2 this-kind feeling very through
Intended meaning: ‘I hate the feeling very much.’
The ungrammaticality of (A11) indicates that the only possible internal structure of
(A2) is Modifier-Head (MH).13 The structure of (A2) is like (52).
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