The Adjectival Intensifier hĕn in Mandarin Chinese

Abstract

University, USA) Abstract: Huang (2006) argues that hĕn ‘very’, the Mandarin adjective intensifier, is an obligatory type-lifter that transforms simple adjectives to complex adjectives for predicatehood, as is required by the Property Theory (Chierchia, 1984, 1985). This article studies the other cases where hĕn is not obligatory and concludes that, in addition to hĕn -insertion, affixation, and reduplication identified by Huang (2006), the negator bù and VP or IP movement can also function as type-lifters for simple adjectives. I further argue that only one type-lifter device is allowed