Syntactic function nadS
denominal sentential adverb: a noun which precedes and modifies a sentence
The distinction between nadS and nadV is not always clear, since there are so many subjectless sentences in classical Chinese. Thus it can become arbitrary whether the verb that follows a noun is a subjectless sentence or just a verb. N.B. At this point, as at many other points one develops a serious doubt whether S should be treated as a syntactic category at all, or whether for a language like Chinese it might not be more congenial to regard sentencehood as a pragmatic function mainlyof verb phrases, where objects and subjects etc. can be understood or specified. I have often considered this problem, but I have never ventured into any systematic attempt at implementation of this insight.
Usage
- Lexical entries:
- Found 138 attributions