Minimal degree adverbs in the adjective syntax of English and Chinese
The paper discusses the grammatical status of the minimal degree adverbs(MDAs)"a bit"and"yǒudiǎnr"and applies a functional head analysis of adjectives to analyse the co-occurrence constraints between these adverbs and both Deg(ree)s and adjectives."A bit"and"yīdiǎnr"are Measures of adjectives,"be"and"yǒu"are Pr(edicate)heads.The meaning'minimality'comes from the head elements"a"and"yī"of Measures,the verbal property of the structures from the Prs,and the adverbial property from Degs.Degs with different features can co-occur.Minimal Measures cannot co-occur with absolute adjectives with the maximum respective standard features.MDAs are not sensitive to the affective meaning of adjectives,and the adjective extended by the Deg does not deviate from the expected standards.This study shows that functional categories with different features can co-occur,as can the elements with features that match.
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