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Making Sense of Grammar
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asked Dec 1, 2021 in Questions about Chinese Grammar by M (4,830 points) | 640 views

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The verb-object compound is composed of two constituents having the syntactic relation of a ver and its direct object. Any one of the following three properties will render a verb-object construction as a compound:

-One or both of the constituents being bound morphemes

-Idiomaticity of the meaning of the entire unit

-Inseparability or limited separability of the constituents

Let us take 革命 ‘remove the mandate-life =revolution’ as an example.

革 is a bound morpheme.

The meaning of the construction is not derivable from the meaning of the constituents.

The construction is inseparable.

Reference

Li, C. N., & Thompson, S. A. (1989). Mandarin Chinese: A functional reference grammar (Vol. 3). Univ of California Press.

answered Dec 1, 2021 by M (4,830 points)

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1,614 questions
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15,645 users