Temporal and aspectual reference in Mandarin Chinese
动态和时态
Claudia Ross 罗云
Abstract 摘要
This article examines the system of situational reference associated with the Mandarin verb suffix V-le. It demonstrates that while V-le marks perfective aspectual distinctions, it also possesses the anchoring properties of a marker of past tense. It shows that the anchoring properties of V-le are obscured by differences between Mandarin and English in the reference point that serves as the axis of orientation for past tense marking and in the range of verb types that accept the past tense morpheme. Finally, it demonstrates an overlap in the systems of aspect and tense in Mandarin in which the system of tense incorporates basic aspectual distinctions.
Journal of Chinese Linguistics volume 23 (ISSN 0091-3723)
Copyright © 1995 Journal of Chinese Linguistices. All rights reserved.