Modern Chinese Complex Sentences III

Book excerpt: This book is the third volume of a four-volume set on modern Chinese complex sentences, with a focus on adversative complex sentences and relevant forms. Complex sentences in modern Chinese are unique in formation and meaning. The author proposes a tripartite classification of Chinese complex sentences according to the semantic relationships between the clauses, i.e., coordinate, causal, and adversative. This volume analyzes representative forms of adversative type, including the prototype, the clauses linked by connectives referring to "otherwise", the combinations of clause structures and certain adversative conjunctions or linking adverbs indicating an adversative relationship, the adversative factors and relationship in two typical progressive sentences, factive sentences, and concessive forms. It also discusses the adversative type in the broad sense, classifying the different forms and analyzing the semantic meaning, pragmatic value, and implications for research and language teaching. The book will be a useful reference for scholars and learners in Chinese grammar and language information processing.