Chapter 8. On the syntax of causal clauses in Mandarin Chinese

Abstract

This chapter examines problems and issues related to the syntax of causal-consequent clauses in Chinese. Conjunctions that introduce these clauses in Chinese do not form a homogeneous syntactic category: Some are analyzed as complementizers, whereas the others as prepositions. Furthermore, both orders, “causal clause > consequent clause” and “consequent clause > causal clause”, are observed in Chinese and we will argue that there is not necessarily any derivational relation between them. A causal clause will be analyzed as an adjunct to a consequent clause. Sentence-final particles in Chinese head different types of functional projections in the left-periphery and they can take a causal or a consequent clause as their complement. The interaction between clauses and particles will also be examined in detail.