Syntactic function V{S}
A verbal expression that functions as a complete sentence.
{nominal or verbal constituent that can function pragmatically as a self-contained utterance or sentence}
Strictly speaking, from a syntactic point of view, verbal sentences are verb phrases and nominal sentences are noun phrases, because they have verbal and nominal heads respectively.
It may seem extraordinary that sentences can be lexicalised, but that, I think, is what sometimes happens. In any case, under this category we collect cases of whole sentences that it seems desirable to enter as lexical entry. One might say that 如之何 is a verb phrase functioning as a sentence. We retain this category as a polite concession to many traditional linguists who standardly (but mistakenly) have long treated the pragmatic notion of a sentence as a syntactic notion.
Usage
- Lexical entries:
- Found 5 attributions