Temporal Quantification in Eventuality Sentences and Its Typological Inference: A Case Study Based on Contrast Between Chinese “V+T (de)+N” and Its Translated English Construction

Based on the theory of event semantics, and through a series of comparison between "V+T(de)+N" (T-type), "V+Q+N" (Q-type) and the English corresponding constructions, and between "V+T(de)+N" and verb-copying construction, the present study finds that both T-type and Q-type Chinese constructions represent events, while the English Q-type represents events, the T-type represents processes (non-events).The event property of "V+T(de)+N" derives from the D-quantification function of the T element, whereas the process property of the English "V+N+FOR T" construction derives from the A-quantification function of the "T" element.The quantificational differences show that, in Chinese, quantification on events and things is realized in the same way as D-quantification, but in English, quantification on events is realized through A-quantification compared to D-quantification on things.This implies that the modes of perception of Chinese and English speakers may diverge in that, whereas "events" are perceived in Chinese, "processes" are perceived in English.The study also finds that "V+T(de)+N" and verb-copying construction in Chinese are synonymic constructions, but English has neither of the constructions, which may be inferable for a typological hypothesis, that is:A temporal D-quantificational event construction in a language entails a verb-copying construction.