Hierarchical Contrastive Sentence Research

Hierarchical contrastive sentence is a commonly used pattern of the complex sentence in modern Chinese. Based on the relevant theories of the small triangle, this thesis studies the hierarchical contrastive sentences among which the four common sentences, i.e., "Budan...Erqie...", "Budan...Faner... ", "Shangqie...Hekuang...", "Bieshuo...Jiushi..." are selected for the comparison analysis. By comparison method, replacement method, combination of description and explanation, we analyzed a large number of language facts to conclude the usage differences of typical hierarchical contrastive sentences. First of all, according to the characteristics of the four sentence patterns and the traditional pattern classification, the four sentences are divided into two parts: progressive complex sentences and retrospective complex sentences. Then, from the three aspects of grammatical expression, meaning and pragmatic value, "Budan...Erqie...", "Budan...Faner... ", "Shangqie...Hekuang...", "Bieshuo...Jiushi..." are analyzed to find out the differences and the relationship between them. Besides, their mutual substitution cases and the differences in the practical usage are also researched. Finally, through the analysis of the two typical complex sentences, we can summarize the similarities of the two kinds of sentences, i.e., syntactic level contrastive sentence and their differences. On the basis of the above analysis, three conclusions can be drawn. Firstly, it is, to some extent, unilateral to summarize these complex sentences by the semantic characteristic of “progressive”. Secondly, "Budan...Faner... " also has the meaning of reverse pass. Thirdly, there is a symmetry between the grammatical expression, meaning and pragmatic value of "Shangqie...Hekuang...", "Bieshuo...Jiushi...".Furthermore, the expression emphasis of "Bieshuo...Jiushi..." is the previous clause.