Definiteness Or Indefiniteness In "Yi(one)+ Classifier+Modifier(s)+Noun" Construction

“The subject of Chinese sentence tends to be definite and the object tends to be indefinite”,which firstly was proposed by Zhao Yuanren in 1968.And this viewpoint was accepted by most Chinese scholars.But Fan Jiyan(1985)found there were many sentences in which the subjects are all played by indefinite NPs.And in these indefinite NP subject sentences,the sentences with “yi(one)+ classifier + noun” construction as their subjects account for a large proportion.In fact,when the “yi(one)+ classifier + noun” construction plays the role of subject,it is often modified to form a complicated “yi(one)+ classifier + noun” construction,including,“modifier(s)+ yi(one)+ classifier + noun” construction,“yi(one)+ classifier + modifier(s)+ noun” construction,and “modifier(s)+ yi(one)+ classifier + modifier(s)+ noun” construction.Depending on the position of the modifier,this language phenomenon has caused hot discussion among scholars.One of the hot topics is the referential property of the “yi(one)+ classifier + noun” construction and relationship between its referential property and the number of modifiers.In this regard,scholars mainly hold two opposing views.The scholars represented by Fan Jiyan(1985),Wang Canlong(2003),Meng Yanli(2005)and Xiong Ling(2012)held a view that the complex “yi(one)+ classifier + noun” constructions has definite function.Besides,the number of modifiers can influence the referential function of the noun phrase,specifically,the “yi(one)+ classifier + modifier(s)+ noun” construction have definite function when more modifiers were added to the noun phrase.Another group represented by Wang Jue(2001),Zhou Sijia(2011)and Fu Yiqin(2013)held the opposite idea.They think the “yi(one)+ classifier + noun” construction is indefinite in meaning.Moreover,the reference of the complex “yi(one)+ classifier + modifier(s)+ noun” construction has no connection with the number of modifiers.specially,the increase of the number of the modifiers in “yi(one)+ classifier + modifier(s)+ noun” construction does not improve the definite meaning of the noun phrase,because the modifiers in this construction are descriptive modifiers without restrictive.This thesis focuses on “yi(one)+ classifier + modifier(s)+ noun” construction and tries to answer the following two questions.The one is does the “yi(one)+ classifier + modifier(s)+ noun” construction have definite function? And the other one is that does the number of the modifier(s)have effect on the reference of the “yi(one)+ classifier + modifier(s)+ noun” construction.From the perspective of semantics and cognition,the following conclusions are made by analyzing the corpus with the definiteness theories.The “yi(one)+ classifier + modifier(s)+ noun” construction has no definite function,but it can derive the definite meaning under certain conditions.Moreover,the number of the modifier has effect on the reference of the “yi(one)+ classifier + modifier(s)+ noun” construction.Specifically,although the increase of the quantity of modifier(s)can not change the indefinite nature of the noun phrase,it can enhance the definite degree of the noun phrase and make the noun phrase close to definite.