Different aspectual properties in Mandarin light verb constructions: the continuity between diachrony and synchrony

This study looks at the different aspectual encodings pertaining to three Mandarin Chinese light verb constructions jiyu, yuyi and jiayi, all generally meaning ‘give’. Assuming that light verbs typically follow the grammaticalisation path from independent lexical verbs to grammatical morphemes, I propose that the various aspectuality can be explained by the different grammaticalisation stages of the three verbs: the verb jiayi is the most grammaticalised followed by yuyi and jiyu. Their grammaticalisation status is evidenced by the usage-based data of independent and light verb constructions in a one-million-word Chinese corpus.