The Constructionalization and Adjective-Quantity Structures in Modern Chinese

This study analyzes the constructional patterns in modern Chinese adjective-quantity expressions, specifically examining the formations ‘adjective+numeral+classifier’, ‘numeral+adjective+classifier’, and ‘numeral+classifier+adjective’. The analysis shows that specific structures correspond to distinct adjective types, such as ‘一+ adjective + classifier’ emphasizing basic physical attributes, and ‘一+ classifier + adjective’ highlighting complex emotional or abstract states. The study further reveals how these combinations reflect unique developmental processes, expanding classifiers’ and numerals’ syntactic roles. Through contrastive analysis, it clarifies that while Chinese uses succinct constructs for degree expression, Korean tends to rely on adverbs or dependent nouns for greater nuance. These insights contribute to understanding the syntactic growth in Chinese and offer a comparative view on degree expression across languages.