Syntactic Behaviors Driven by Lexical Semantics A Study on geng and hai in Chinese Comparatives

摘要

The two Chinese degree adverbs geng and hai can modify gradable predicates in comparative structures. They can be interchangeable in many cases. However, data extracted from BCC corpus show that their distribution is structurally constrained. This paper aims to account for their differences in syntactic behaviors. I argue that the value of the lexical semantic feature [degree] is inherently [+] in the adverb geng while the value is indefinite in hai. To realize the comparitive reading, the legitimate occurrence of hai is constrained by a certain syntactic configuration so that the indefinite [degree] value can be structurally licensed. Assuming X-bar theory, I propose that the legitimate occurrence of hai in comparative structures is licensed in the domain of m-command.