A Study On The Similarities And Differences Of Modern Chinese Conjunctions And Associated Adverbs

Conjunction and correlative adverb, which are the two important connection methods in modern Chinese language, play a similar role in the cohesion of sentences and paragraphs. In certain conditions, they can be used alternatively or simultaneously. This paper chooses conjunction "qie(且)" and correlative adverb "you (又) " as the typical representatives of coordinate relatives, conjunction "er qie(而且)" and correlative adverb "hai (还) " as the representatives of progressive relatives, conjunction "dan(但)" and correlative adverb "que (却)" as the representatives of adversative relatives, trying to make some differentiations of them based on syntax, semantics and pragmatics, so as to get the similarities and differences, alternative and co-occurrence conditions of conjunction and correlative adverb.Based on the comparison and analysis of the representative words above, some differences and connections between conjunction and correlative adverb can be concluded:conjunction and correlative adverb have evident differences on syntax, which can be seen on syntactic functions, connectivity features and syntactic positions. In terms of semantics, as almost every correlative adverb belongs to some adverb subcategories such as adverb of time, range, degree, etc., their meanings are usually rich and uncertain. However, conjunction, as a typical connection method, is relatively more certain and set in semantics. In analysis of pragmatics, as many conjunctions are left from ancient times, some of them still have a classic color, which determines they can only be used in written language. Comparing with them, correlative adverbs are usually more flexible, they are frequently used both in written and spoken language. In addition, some conjunctions have a special discourse marking function, which is also a difference between conjunction and correlative adverb.Based on the above analysis of the similarities and differences between conjunction and correlative adverb, conclusions can be made:the basic alternative condition of conjunction and correlative adverb is the similarity of their meanings. Only when two words have a similar meaning, they can replace each other. When being replaced, the different syntactic functions of conjunction and correlative adverb should be noticed. If a connection function is possessed by only one of them, they are not interchangeable. When being replaced, attentions should also be paid on the right syntactic positions of them. Moreover, although some words are interchangeable in semantic and syntax, it is still not appropriate to replace them if they are different in pragmatics.In terms of the co-occurrence of conjunction and correlative adverb, the first condition comes to semantic as well. Only when expressing the same meaning, conjunction and correlative adverb can be used at the same time. In aspects of syntactic and pragmatic, the co-occurrence of conjunction and correlative adverb sometimes create conditions that do not exist when they are used separately. At other times, some limiting conditions which exist when they are used alone disappear when they are used at the same time. Conditions are different according to different words. In terms of the position, when being used simultaneously, conjunction always come before correlative adverb. Correlative adverb can be used after conjunction directly when they are connecting words, phrases or two clauses whose latter clause does not have a subject. When used in separate sentences or clauses which do not share the same subject, conjunctions are usually used before the subject of the latter sentence or clause; correlative adverbs are usually used after the subject, before the predicate.