會 使去 I-permit - you-may /- go . I permit • you to go . b .* Go2 i  n-chu  n li * be - sa  i /* m - thang/be - ta  ng kh ì. 我 允准 你 *使 /*呣通 /當去 I-permit - you-may not/better not/unable - go 335 Redundancy of modal expression s is also exemplified in sentence ( 20a ) where the presence of modal auxiliary verb e -- sa  i ‘ may ’ does not add anything to the meaning and can interchange with zero ( i.e ., be deleted ) without affecting the meaning of the sentence . This is because the higher verb denotes permission . Be - sa  i ‘ may not ’ ( also m - thang ‘ better not ’ or be - ta  ng ‘ unable ’) cannot occur in the same context , because it is self-contradictory to allow an action and , at the same time , prohibit the same action ( or condemn it as unfeasible ) . It is also self-contradictory to prohibit an action and , at the same time , oblige one to take the action __UNDEF__ ( e.g . , * Ki  m-chi  i ti [ h khi ) . In Taiwanese , it is not a contradiction to allow a person to escape from the obligation . So bia  n ‘ need not ’ or freedom from necessity is compatible with the high verb i  n-chu  n ‘ permit ’ or io  ng-u  n ‘ allow ’. In combination , these two modals , unlike the redundant ones , are mutually complementing in t hat each contributes its inherent meanings to make up the meaning of the whole combination . What has been discussed about the higher verbs and auxiliary verbs __UNDEF__ of authority is summarized below , taken from Table 2 for easier reading . Aux Verb of Event Verb Higher Verb Permission Prohibition e - sa  i be - sa  i Freedom of Obligation Obligation ti [ h bia  n Prohibition kem-ch í 禁止 Permission io  ng-u  n 容允 wn-chu  n 允准 *=*=**** M ‘ not want to ’, a negated volitional modal , is also semantically compatible with the modal __UNDEF__ of prohibition or permission as can be seen from the English translation .
 
The voli-tional meaning embedded in m  ( Neg +‘ want ’) does add up to the semantic interpretation of the sentence . Three types of relation between __UNDEF__ the higher verb and __UNDEF__ the auxiliary verb in the lower sentence have been recognized .1. Redundant __UNDEF__ ( marked ‘=Ø’ in Table 3 ) ( 21 ) I io  ng-u  n go  a ( e - sa  i ) kh ì. 伊容允我 （ 會 使 ） 去 He allow me to go . ( * He-allow me-I - may-go . ) 3362. Incompatible ( marked “*’ in Table 3 ) ( 22 ) a .* I io  ng - u  n go2 be - sa  i kh ì.* 伊容允我 使去 He-allow me-I - may not-go . ( allow : not allowed ) b .* I khn  g go  a be  kh ì.* 伊 勸 我 會 使去 He-advise me-to not likely-to go . ( advice : con jecture )3. Mutually Complementing ( marked “+’ in Table 3 ) ( 23 ) I siu  n ko  ng go2 e - sa  i kh ì.伊 想 講 我 會 使去 He thought that I could go . Table 2 shows a rather clear-cut picture of syntactic constraints between each of the three types of higher verb andthe auxiliary verb in the lower sentence . Syntactic Constraints __UNDEF__ ( Types __UNDEF__ of Higher Verbs with Auxiliary Verb ) Types __UNDEF__ of Higher Verbs Syntactic constraints with Auxiliary Verb Higher Verb __UNDEF__ of Authority strict Higher Verb of contingency not strict Higher Verb of Volition somewhat strict The higher verbs __UNDEF__ of authority given in Table 2 are quite restricted in selecting auxiliary verbs in the lower sentence . This is so because they inflict constraint on the agent __UNDEF__ of the lower sentence .
 
They generally disallow prediction ( e ‘ likely ’, be ‘ unlikely ’ ) , assertion __UNDEF__ of actualization __UNDEF__ of event ( u -‘ to exist , do , did ’, bo ‘ do not exist , does not , did not ’) , volition ( beh ‘ want to ’, m ‘ not want to ’ ) .
 
When m - is allowed with io  ng-u  n ‘ allow ’ or i  n-chu  n ‘ permit ’, it has a meaning different from its usual use . It means ‘ refuse ’ rather than ‘ unwilling ’. It is noteworthy that each group __UNDEF__ of higher verbs can combine with a different set of auxiliary verbs of authority--permission ( e -- sa  i ‘ may ’, be - sa  i ‘ may not ’ ) , feasibility ( e - ta  ng ‘ can ’ , be - ta  ng ‘ cannot ’ ) , advise ( thang ‘ may ’, m - thang ‘ may not ’ ) , and obligation __UNDEF__ ( ti [ h ( or ti [ h - a  i , a  i )‘ must ’, bia  n ( or m - bia  n )‘ need not ’, and ma  i ‘ don ’ t ’ ).337 The permission higher verbs ( io  ng-u  n ‘ allow ’ and i  n-chu  n ‘ permit ’ ) , which have been discussed before , and the prohibition higher verb ( ki  m-chi ‘ prohibit ’) have somewhat opposite sets of combinational restrictions . The meaning differenc e between two auxiliary verbs , be - sa  i and m - thang , both often translated as ‘ may not ’, becomes apparent when their combination with higher verbs denoting coercion and those verbs denoting advice is examined . ( See sentences ( 24) and ( 25) .
 
) ( 24 ) I bu kiung kio go2 b0-s2i /*/- thang kh ì, i kan-tan khcg go2* b0-s2i //- thang kh ì ni4-ni4 伊無強 叫 我 使/*呣 通 去 ， 伊干單 勸 我 *使 /呣通 去耳耳 He did not force me not to go , he merely persuaded me not to go . ( 25) Go2 bu ì- sd beh kem-chw lw b0-s2i /*/- thang / kh ì. Go2 beh chi.-chw lw * b8-s2i //- thang • hiah chhing - ppng , sr in-fi kian lw gai-hi2m .
 
我 無意思 欲 禁止 你 使/*呣 通 去 我 欲 阻止 你 使 /*呣 通 彼 倉碰 是 因為 驚 你 危險 I don ’ t mean to prohibit you from going . That I want to dissuade you from doing things hastily is because I am afraid you will be in danger . AUX VERB OF EVENT VERB HIGHER VERB + PERMISSION - PERMISSION PROHIBITION 0-s2i b0-s2i ‘ may ’‘ may not ’+ ADVICE - ADVISE DISSUASION thang /- thang ‘ may ’‘ may not ’‘ had better ’‘ had better not ’ COERCION kiung-kio 強 叫 force *+** kem-ch í 禁止 proh ibit *=** ADVISE khcg 勸 persuade **** tong 擋 stop , dissuade *** ( =) 338 chi.-ch í 阻止 stop , dissuade *** ( =) The higher verb of contingency can take almost any type of auxiliary verb in the lower sentence . When it takes an auxiliary verb of contingency , the whole sentence still expresses contingency . When it takes an auxiliary verb of authority , the whole sentence expresses contingency as well as authority ( e.g ., Go2 ioh lw tioh -3i khe .‘ I guess you have to go .’). Similarly , when it takes an aux iliary verb of volition , the whole sentence conveys both contingency and volition ( e.g ., Go2 thui-chhek i / kh ì.‘ I predict that he does not want to go ’) . There are a few higher verbs that require a modal auxiliary verb even though such a presence of the latter is semantically redundant . ( 26 ) a . Go2 chi.-chi  i ma  i /*Ø kh ì. 我 阻止 伊去 I-stop - him-don ’ t /Ø- go . I stopped him from going . b . Go2 thui-chhek i e /*Ø la  i . 我 推測 伊 會 來 I-predict - he-will /Ø- come . I predict that he will come . c . Li  ka  m beh kian-chh î i ti [ h-a  i /*Ø kh ì ?
 
When there is no Structural Marker , the whole sequence functions as a tone sandhi group , as in ( e ) and __UNDEF__ ( f ) ( There is no conjunction in __UNDEF__ ( c ) .
 
__UNDEF__ But __UNDEF__ the optional tone sandhi boundary after the personal pronoun is a phenomenon of the language in marking a noun phrase .
 
When the noun phrase is not a pronoun the boundary is obligatory ).8 It still holds that when there is no SMarker , the main verb and the complement are not divided by a tone sandhi group boundary . On the other hand , the tone sandhi gro up boundary that always occurs after a SMarker makes the two parts of the construction loosely related . Additional evidence of the looseness __UNDEF__ of this relationship can be seen in the possibility of inserting an element after the SMarker , like a subject kha ‘ foot ’ in ( h ) . h . Kia  ti [ h kha chiok thia . walk-conjunction - foot-very - painful __UNDEF__ 行 著 腳 足 疼 [ 走起來 腳 很 痛 ] When I walk , my feet hurt very much . The fact that the directional verbal ending can be modified by a degree means that the quality denoted by it is something gradable and comparable . Since their equivalents in English or Mandarin are not gradable , it is hard to translate these gradable Taiwanese constructions into those languages . In Taiwanese , those parts of speech that can take degree expressions are adjectives , emotive verbs ( e.g ., hi  n ‘ hate ’, lia  u-kai ‘ understand ’ ) , and some auxiliary verbs ( e.g . , e - hia  u ‘ can ’) . Another part of speech that can marginally be modified by a degree expression is the locative noun . c hiok la  i-bi  n 足內面 ‘ very much inside ’ ka  i go  a-kha  u 蓋 外口 ‘ very much outside ’ sio  ng te  ng-bi  n 上頂面 ‘ uppermost ’ khah tha  u-che  ng 卡頭 前 ‘ more to the front ’182 chiok e - kha 足下腳 ‘ extreme bottom ’ Though the grading of these locative nouns is very different from that of the directional verbal ending in terms __UNDEF__ of syntax , it is noteworthy that the two constructions are more or less equivalent semantically . Sentences ( a ) and ( a1 ) , ( b ) and ( b1 ) are synonymous . ( 28 ) a1. Chit-ki chhi  chh5k-jtp - khi  kah chiok la  i-bi  n e . this-M - splinter-pierce - enter-go - conjunction-very - inside __UNDEF__ 這 支 刺 鑿入 去 甲足 內面 的 [ 這 根 刺 插 得 很 深 ] This splinter goes very deep inside . b1. W - a  khn  g lia  u siu  go4-kha  u . chair-place - conjunction-too - outside 椅仔 khcg __UNDEF__ 了 傷 外口 [ 椅子 放 得 太 靠 外頭 了 ] The chair is placed too far outside . There are several types of degree expressions , but only those types listed above ( viz , the comparative construction [ coverb-noun adverb ], the intensifier adverbs , the negatives [ bo , be ] , and the combination __UNDEF__ of the last two [ Neg .+ Adverb and Adverb + Neg .]) can modify directional verbal endings . Other types __UNDEF__ of degree expressions ( e.g . , postverbal adverb , conjunction-complement , and reduplication ) which are possible with the adjectives can not occur , however , with directional complements . When a directional verbal ending is followed by a coverbal phrase ( Coverb + Locative ) , the former cannot be modified by a degree expression . The latter can , however , as in ( a1 ) . This is an indication that the directional verbal ending is modifiable by a degree expression because it contains some locative meaning .
 
When a locative is covertly expressed it is the location and not the direction or motion that is modified by a degree expression . Another restriction on the modification of the directional verbal ending ( V2 V3 ) is that when V2 is ko  e ‘ over ; across ’ or to - tn  g ‘ return ’ no such modification is possible .* ka  i to - tn  g = khe *蓋倒轉去 ‘ very-return - go ’* chin ko  e = khe * 真 過去 ‘ very-cross - go ’5 . AN INTRANSTIVE VERB AS PART OF MANNER ADVERBAL 183 If Taiwanese is peculiar in having extra devices for focusing or intensifying the directional complement , it also has a very special way of indicating focus on the main verb that , as a rule , denotes the manner of locomotion .
 
The device is nominalising __UNDEF__ the main verb by adding e ‘- ing ’ and prefix the resulting nominal with the coverb for instrument and manner io  ng ‘ with ’. When the main verb is s o nominalised in a coverbal phrase , the one in the original slot usually gets deleted if the verb is transitive ( PT 29 ) but remains in the same slot if the verb is transitive ( PT 30 ) .
 
PT 29 S io  ng V1 e ( V2 ) V3 PT 30 O io  ng e ka  V1 ( V2 ) ( V3 ) ( 29 ) a . La  n a  i io  ng cha  u e  khi . we-have to-with - run-nomialiser - go 咱 愛 用 走 的 去 [ 咱們 得 跑到 那裡 去 ] We have to run to get there . b . I io  ng pe  e  chhut = khi . he-with - crawl-exit - go 伊用 爬 的 出去 [ 他 爬出去 的 ] He crawled out . He went out by crawling . ( 30 ) a . Chit-te  toh-a  io  ng gia  eo gia - b0= chhut-khi , a  i io  ng l7ng eo . this-measure - table-with - lift-nominaliser - lift-cannot - exit-go , have to-with - carry downward-nominaliser 這 塊 桌仔 用 夯 的 夯  出去 ， 愛 用 擰 的 [ 這 張 桌子 扛 不 出去 ， 要 抬出去 ] You cannot get the table out by lifting it high ; you have to carry it without raising it high . That the io  ng-phrase is the focused element and not the directional complement is based on the following observations :1. The directional verbal complex ( V2 ) V3 can be deleted __UNDEF__ , but the io  ng-phrase cannot , as exemplified in sentence ( 30 a ) . This indicates which is the more essential element in the sentence .2. A sentence such as ( 29 b ) above is a proper answer to a  ow  uestion . For example , in the sentence that follows , a  n-na ‘ how ’ is the focused element and is answerable by the io  ng-phrase in ( 29 b ) .184 ( 31 ) I a  n-na  chhut = khi ? he-how - exit-go 伊按仔 出去 ?
 
[ 他 怎麼 出去 的 ?
 
] How did he get out ?3. When the si  e  construction , another focus device , is used , si  should be placed before the io  ng-coverb , and not before the main verb . As in the case of the shih...te construction in Mandarin ( see Cheng , 1981 ) what immediately follows the confirmative si  is the focused element .
 
( 29) b1. I si  io  ng pe  eo chhut = khi  eo . he-is - with-crawl - nominaliser-exit - go-nominaliser 伊 是 用 爬 的 出去 的 [ 他 是 爬出去 的 ] It is by crawling that he got . In an injunctive sentence , when la  i ‘ let me , let us ’6 precedes a predicate and denotes first person participation in a future action , another la  i can immediately precede the verbal ending khi ‘ go ’, if it occurs in the sentence . This means la  i ‘ let me , let us ’ is inserted between V1-V2 and V3 instead of between V1 and V2-V3. With such an addition the preverbal la  i can be retained or deleted without any change in meaning . Therefore ( a ) can be restated as ( b ) , and ( c ) can be restated as ( d ) .
 
( 30) a La  n la  i kia  chhut khe go4-kha  u . we ( inclusive )- let ’ s-walk - exit-go - outside __UNDEF__ 咱 來行出去 外口 [ 咱們 走到 外面 去 吧 ] Let ’ s walk . outside . b La  n ( la  i ) kia  chhut-la  i-khe go4-kha  u . we ( inclusive )- ( let ’ s )- walk-exit - let ’ s-go 咱 （ 來 ） 行出來 去 外口 [ 咱們 走到 外面 去 吧 ] Let ’ s walk outside . c Toh-a  la  n la  i ka  poa = chhut - khe . table-we ( inclusive )- let ’ s-inflictive - move-exit - go 桌仔 咱 來 給 搬出去 [ 咱們 把 桌子 搬到 外面 去 吧 ] Let ’ s move the table out . d Toh-a  la  n ( la  i ) ka  poa = chhut-la  i - khe . table-we -( let ’ s )- inflictive-move - exit-let ’ s-go 185 桌仔 咱 （ 來 ） 給 搬出來去 [ 桌仔 咱們 來 把 它 搬出去 ] Let ’ s mov e the table out .6. CONCLUSION In concluding this article , we would like to point out features of Taiwanese syntax that are not shared by Mandarin . It is hoped that such an analysis will contribute to better understanding of how Chinese ‘ dialects ’ differ from one another .1 ) It is possible in Taiwanese for four or even five verbs and coverbs to occur between a main verb and a locative noun denoting destination .
 
The distinction between coverb and verb in such a construction is much more difficult to d