Pre-classifier adjectival modification (PCAM) structures in Mandarin Chinese are subject to some unique constraints, such as: (i) only size adjectives are allowed; (ii) the pre-classifier adjectives resist further adverbial modification by degree adverbs and reduplicated forms of their own. This cluster of phenomena is explained in a measurement-based analysis. It is hypothesized that the pre-classifier adjectives introduce a measure function, which has some non-trivial order-preserving property and is constrained by a monotonicity restriction: what is measured must respect part-of relations. This analysis correctly predicts that only those classifiers and nouns that are associated with monotonic dimensions can be accessed by size adjectives, thus providing a motivated account of the elusive contrast between expressions like yi da tiao yu ‘one big Cl fish’ and *yi da wei laoshi ‘one big Cl teacher.’ And in so doing, the present analysis brings PCAM structures closer to some other constructions that make use of the same grammar of measurement across categories.

中文翻译：

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基于汉语的量词前修饰语形容词修饰：基于量度的分析

普通话中的预分类词形容词修饰（PCAM）结构受到一些独特的约束，例如：（i）仅允许大小形容词；（ii）预分类词形容词抵抗程度副词和自身重复形式的进一步副词修饰。在基于度量的分析中解释了这种现象簇。假设预分类器形容词引入了一个度量函数，该度量函数具有一些非平凡的阶数保持特性，并受到单调性限制的约束：所度量的内容必须遵守部分关系。该分析正确地预测，大小形容词只能访问与单调维度相关的那些分类器和名词，从而有动机地说明了像易大跳鱼“一条大Cl鱼”和“易大威老子”“一条大Cl老师”。这样一来，本分析使PCAM结构更接近于某些其他结构，这些结构利用了跨类别的相同度量语法。