Re: verbs = nouns?

On Fri, Jan 01, 1999 at 05:42:32AM -0500, DOUGLAS KOLLER wrote:
[snip]
> Indeed, placing the progressive verbal particle "-zhe" or the experiential
> "-guo" on an adjective would be nonsensical and ungrammatical  (hong2zhe "it
> is redding"?; hong2guo4 "it has redded before"?). (H.S., if you come up with
> a counter-example, I will have to hurt you ;)  )
Actually, "hong2guo4" *is* valid!!! It means, as one might expect, "it has
been red before" (though the more literal translation "it has redded
before" probably is nonsensical). You can use this in a question, e.g.:
        you3 mei2 you3 hong2guo4?       "Has it (ever) been red before?"

OTOH "hong2zhe" sounds a little weird, unless "hong2" is being used in an
unusual way. But it's not inconceivable, though. If you were describing
something like, say, the reddening of chemical or something, and it has
not completely reddened, you *could* describe it as "zhen4zhai4 hong2zhe"
("it's being reddened", or "it's in the process of becoming red".)

*/me dons armor* :-)


T

--
Why is a river rich? 'cos it has two banks.