Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar by Ross Claudia. Ma Jing-heng Sheng

Author:Ross, Claudia.,Ma, Jing-heng Sheng.
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781317805434
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

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These adverbial modifiers + 地 de occur in the same position in the predicate as other adverbs, that is, at the beginning of the verb phrase, before the verb and any prepositional phrase.

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► 15.1

32

Indicating result, conclusion, potential, and extent

32.1 Indicating the result or conclusion of an action with resultative verbs

In Mandarin, action verbs refer to open-ended processes and not to their conclusions or results. For example, the verb 买/買 mǎi refers to ‘shopping,’ not ‘buying.’ The verb 找 zhǎo refers to ‘looking for’ something, not ‘finding’ it.

English sometimes uses two entirely different verbs to refer to a process and its result or conclusion. In Mandarin, processes and results are always expressed using the same verb. The process is expressed with an open-ended action verb. The result or conclusion is expressed by adding a resultative suffix to the open-ended action verb. Verbs that are formed by an action verb and a resultative suffix are often referred to as resultative verbs.

Resultative verb structure: action verb + resultative ending

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