Sentences of the form (1) as illustrated in (2) have been of considerable interest to researchers of Chinese syntax and semantics since Huang (1987) brought to light some of their properties:
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| … (np) … v … np … xp … |
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| 1 2 3 4 |
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| 2. | a. | 我們來了一個客人說話很大聲。 |
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| Wǒmen lái-le yī ge kèrén shuōhuà hěn dàshēng. |
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| 1pl come-asp one clf guest speak very loud |
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| ‘We had a guest who spoke loudly.’ |
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| b. | 昨天發生了一件車禍很可怕。 |
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| Zuótiān fāshēng-le yī jiàn chēhuò hěn kěpà. |
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| yesterday happen-asp one clf accident… |