Dependency between pre-classifier modifiers and classifiers: A root-based analysis

This paper investigates the selectional restrictions of pre-classifier modifiers in Numeral Classifier Constructions (NCC) in Mandarin Chinese. The adjectival modifiers da ‘big' and xiao 'small' can be used as phrase-internal modifiers by preceding a classifier in an NCC. However, the two modifiers trigger different modifying patterns. Specifically, when they precede a sortal classifier (SCL), the adjectives modify the sequence SCL+Noun, but when they are placed before a mensural classifier (MCL), the modifiee is the MCL without the noun. Facing the variation in the modifying scope, I assume that both da 'big' and xiao 'big' are modifiers of roots. They can modify a root projection, or they can modify an nP, and their position at the root level determines their modifying scope in the surface structure.