The Distinction between Finite and Nonfinite Verbs in Mandarin Chinese

Abstract

It has been controversial as to whether there exist finite and nonfinite distinctions in Chinese. The current research systematically reviewed the theoretical development of finiteness and listed the representative ideas of Chinese finiteness from the perspective of generative, cognitive and functional approaches. The analysis of Chinese finite and non-finite verbs has the characteristics that it develops with the linguistic theories, whereas neglects the unique features of Chinese itself. As an isolating language, Chinese lacks inflectional morphology and tense, so it relies heavily on semantics, pragmatics, information structure, and discourse. Based on the conventional division between morphology and syntax, it is difficult to determine with clarity whether or not finiteness exists in Chinese, even though many researchers have addressed this question. Though some lin-guists have noticed the importance of explaining finiteness from semantic perspective, a more systematic interpretation is in need in the future studies in this field.