The Study of Content Restriction of Mandarin yǒu Measure Construction

Abstract

This paper investigates mandarin yǒu measure construction, which consists of a main verb yǒu, a Measure Subject, and a Measure Object. This construction has been studied by many researchers. However, its content restriction has not been systematically summarized. Based on Autonomous/Dependent Alignment Model in Cognitive Grammar, this paper aims to shed some light on this topic. It is found that there are four rules governing its content restriction, which is motivated by the interaction of the Subject and the Measure Object at the cognitive level.