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Re: Chinese adpositions (was: Re: inalienable possession)

From:Douglas Koller <laokou@...>
Date:Thursday, November 19, 1998, 7:13
Nik Taylor wrote:

> But aren't some of those "verbs" *only* used as adpositions? I suppose > that at times it is rather iffy as to whether a word is adpositional or > nominal/verbal.
To be sure. The only borderline case I can think of at the moment is "yu2". None of the Chinese-Chinese dictionaries I have right at hand mark parts of speech (often a wise move), but the definition of "yu" is given as functioning like "zai", like "xiang", like "cong", like "dao", like "dui", like "gei" -- all of which, according to my mini-rant, are verbs... Just ran a *very* scientific study of two native speakers who both allow: Wo yu Shanghai. and Shu yu zhuozi shang. I'm in Shanghai. The books are on the table. as a complete, if slightly pedantic, sentences. Verb? Preposition with stative verb properties? Your call. Counterexamples welcome, and if I remember, I'll have a look at what the Li & Thompson says about this tonight. Kou