Tense and mood marking in Xining Mandarin

Abstract

AbstractThis study presents a corpus-based analysis of the sentential particlelia俩 in Xining Mandarin (Qinghai province, northwest China), which functions both as a future tense marker and as an atemporal marker of affirmative mood. Applying the notion of “aspectually sensitive tenses” (de Swart, 1998), the distribution ofliais explained in terms of the selectional restrictions thatliaplaces upon the aspectual class of its complement. In particular, it is argued thatliafunctions as a future tense marker with dynamic situations, but as a marker of affirmative mood with stative situations.