Abstract
In Modern Mandarin, there is a construction “NP + (VP + 的)”, in which “VP + 的” can be analyzed as a relative clause and NP is the head, thus “NP + (VP + 的)” is a complex NP. This construction is often used in legal documents, and it only can be used in some hypothetical context. In Old Chinese, there was a “NP + (VP + 者)” construction, in which “VP + 者” could also be considered as a postposed relative clause. Although there are some semantic and pragmatic differences between “NP + (VP + 者)” and “NP + (VP + 的)”, they are definitely the same kind of construction. Thus, we conclude that the structure of postposed relative clause has been existed in Chinese for a very long history.
| Keywords: | postposed relative clause; Modern Mandarin; Old Chinese |
|---|
[Chinese Version | Index | Applied Linguistics (Yuyan Wenzi Yingyong) | Other Journals | Subscription form | Enquiry ]
Mail any comments and suggestions to
hkier-journal@cuhk.edu.hk .