John Cowan wrote:
> Douglas Koller scripsit:
> > Peter Clark wrote:
> > > 5. Null pronominals, controlled by topic.
> > > Mandarin: "Ne\ike shu\ yezi da\, suoyi wo bu xihuan."
> > > that tree leaves big so I not like
> > > "That tree, the leaves are big, so I don't like _it_."
> > I think this only works for things, not for people.
> I have to agree. This works for Mandarin because Mandarin simply
> doesn't have pronouns for inanimate things.
There is a seldom used "ta1" meaning "it". It occurs very rarely in
subject/topic position, mostly in translationese, and almost never in
normal object position (hence why it doesn't appear in Peter's example).
But if the object is moved before the main verb with "ba3" or "jiang1"
(don't know the technical term for this), you'd have to use it:
Baoguo zai nali? Where's the package?
Wo yijing ba ta jichuqu le. I sent it out already.
Kou