Two Aspect Markers in Mandarin
William Yang Wang · Language · 1965
Introduction . In this study I present the solution to a well-known problem of aspect markers in Mandarin. The problem involves several seeming irregularities in the formation of negative sentences and of the so-called A-not-A questions. Essentially, my solution of the problem consists of the identification of the morph - y⊖u (as in méiy⊖u ) and the aspect marker - le as suppletive alternants of the same morpheme. In the light of this identification, it will be seen that the relations among declarative, negative, and A-not-A sentences are both simple and regular.