Chapter One Introduction
This chapter is a brief overview of the study including the motivation and the objectives of the study as well as the significances of the study. Moreover, the layout of the whole thesis will be sketched at the end of the chapter.
1.1 Motivation of the Study
Professor Chen Liping’s insight on “X/ yi M/ bi / yi M/ VP” and “yuè…yuè” comparative structure inspired me to explore on degree constructions. Yin Runxiang (1987) makes a relatively comprehensive description of degree constructions in Chinese. Among those constructions, I found the degree construction “X de bu neng zai X” particular interesting. After seeking the papers about “X de bu neng zai X” structure, I was aware that the analyses of the meaning of the structure are rather few, and most of them are descriptive. Lǚ Shuxiang (1980) points out this structure expresses “X has reached its maximum” which is accepted by most scholars. However, there are some questions about the meaning of the structure. (1) Whether other parts of speech of “X” also can enter the structure besides adjectives and verbs. (2) What is the maximum, and is there a standard to measure with? (3) If there are other parts of speech of “X” fitting in the structure, are they sharing the same meaning? (4) As for verbs in the structure, example (2) and example (3) below make sense in our daily conversation, but why are we not permitted to say “发现得不能再发现” ? What the differences between them? All of these questions motivate me to study further.
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1.2 Objectives of the Study
This thesis will focus on the meanings of “X de bu neng zai X” structure with two goals. Firstly, I will analyze the structure according to the parts of speech of “X” in order to find out potential factors influencing the meaning of structure. Secondly, I will analyze the structure based on theories of Formal Semantics to precisely represent the meanings of structure with symbols and logics.
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Chapter Two Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
“X de bu neng zai X ” structure is a fixed construction which is used frequently in Chinese. Scholars has noticed and started to research about this structure since 1980. They analyzed the structure from different perspectives such as Cognitive &nb，英语论文网站，英语论文 |
