218 MARK HANSELL
4.3 Problems with treating CCs as SVCs
4.3.1 Modification vs. complementation
Chao (1968) considers the distinction between modification and com
plementation to be one of the most basic in Chinese grammar. In his terms,
two elements are in a modification relationship when the second element is
the head, the more basic element whose meaning is in some way modified
by the first element. Two elements are in a complementation relationship
when the first element (a verb) is the head, and is delimited in some way by
the second element. Some examples:
MODIFICATION:
Adj. + Noun dà zhuözi
(mod) (head) big table "big table"
Genitive 4- Noun gëgë de s hü
(mod) (head) bigbro. GEN book "big brother's book"
SVCVPJ + VP2 ná xië zi
(mod) (head) take pen write characters "Take up a pen and write."
COMPLEMENTATION:
V + Obj kán shu
(head) (comp) read book "read a book"
Time Complement:
V + Time expr. shut le yí ge xiáoshí
(head) (comp) sleep ASP one CLF hour "slept for an hour"
CR (Phase)
V + Phase comp, chi wán
(head) (comp) eat finish "finish eating"
Chao's distinction seems to work quite well as a general organizing princi
ple of the grammar if we take optionality as the criterion, that is, in all the
above cases except one, the modifier or complement can be omitted with
out too significantly altering the structure or meaning of the construction,
while omitting the head radically alters the meaning. The exception, sig
nificantly, is the SVC ná bï xië zi "Take up a pen and write". The fact is
that either of these VPs could stand alone, making it difficult to assign syn
tactically defined priority to one or the other. Semantically and pragmati
cally as well, it is impossible to say that "pick up a pen and write" is an
expansion of "write" in the same way that gêgê de shu "brother's book" is