The Grammaticalization of the Word De(地)in the Structure of Sitting(Lying/Standing)+De(坐/卧/立+地)
Regarding the word de(地),in addition to the common usage of structural particle,there is also a usage of de(地)in modern Chinese where it follows the intransitive verbs zuo(坐),wo(卧),and li(立).The grammatical nature of this"地"has not been defi nitively determined and warrants further discussion and analysis.The article briefly sorts out the historical development and changes of the sitting/lying/standing+de(坐/卧/立+地)structure,and believes that de(地)in the structure should be a noun at the beginning.It suggests that initially,de(地)was a noun in this structure,but due to semantic redundancy,it underwent grammaticalization.The grammaticalized de(地)should be considered as a particle rather than an affix.Some of its usages overlap with the particle zhe(着),but there are also differences that prevent us from equating this type of de(地)with zhe(着)entirely.The verbs in the sitting/lying/standing+de(坐/卧/立+地)structure have not extended to other verbs,possibly due to the influence of other dominant words in the particle system,gradually leading to its disappearance in Chinese.