[[abstract]]Since containing a gradable adjective, the X A-le D construction not only implies a comparison between the standard value of comparison and the degree value derived by mapping the adjective’s argument into the scale associated with the adjective, but also idiosyncratically requires this comparing event to be completed. The realization aspect marker –le, which provides a default standard value of comparison for the comparing event, cooperates with the differential pseudo-object to guarantee completeness of the comparing event implied by the X A-le D construction. Our proposal on the X A-le D construction provides further support for Liu’s (2005) study on how Chinese constructs a sentence containing an adjectival predicate; namely, a grammatical mechanism is needed to make the comparing event implied by a gradable adjective possible.
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