Abstract

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Keywords:: counter-expectation; “buyao tai X” construction; intensified-degree; “X de buyaobuyao de”construction

Abstract:: Subjective modality of“ being against the listener’s expectation” is expressed in the degreeintensifiedconstruction“ buyao tai X”，which creates an exaggerated effect of“ exceeding one’s expectations” .The intensified degree of the construction comes from its meaning of discouragement and prohibition. Counterexpectation is attributed to a dramatic difference between expectation and reality“. X de buyaobuyao de”，whichis also a degree-intensified construction，differs from“ buyao tai X” syntactically and semantically. To be morespecific，they serve as different constituents in sentences firstly，and secondly behave differently in specialsentence patterns.