| Abstract |
The structure of“V - Que卻 -（O）”evolved from the serial-verb construction and coordinate construction＞verb＋complement construction＞verb＋phase complement construction＞verb＋perfective aspect marker. This paper claims that the phase complement“que卻”has two origins： (1) a verb which means “withdraw” and “enable to withdraw”＞deicitc complement＞phase complement (2) a verb which means “prune off” ＞result complement＞phase complement. Grammaticalization of“que卻”is motivated by the semantic restriction of the verb and by the transformation starting from object leaving off and vanishing, to the completion of an uncontrollable event. Moreover, the evolution of result complement to phase complement started with achievement verbs and adjectives with the meaning of “prune off”. The grammatical meaning of“que卻”is as follows: (a) as deicitc complement, it denotes the leaving off of agents or objects (b) as result complement, it denotes withdraw and vanishment of objects (c) as phase complement, it denotes completion of an event and uncontrollable vanishment of the object (d) as perfective aspect marker, it has the same usage of“le了”. The usage frequency of the“V - Que卻 -（O）”structure declined in the South-Song dynasty, and the structure phased out in the Yuan and Ming dynasty. Therefore, it became a non-mainstream structure. Its extinction is affected by the restriction on the usage of verbs meaning “prune off”, and by the substitution of“le了”for “tiau掉”. |
| Keyword |
que卻, le了, tiau掉, deicitc complement, result complement, phase complement, perfective aspect, aspect |
