Syntactic Hierarchy of the Typical Comparative Construction in Shanghainese

The paper proposes a Degree Phrase (DegP) and a Focus Phrase (FocP) before the comparative adjective in the typical comparative construction in Shanghainese, in which FocP is always base-generated higher than DegP, and thus form the pattern of FocP>DegP.It is further pointed out that the comparative subject can always be topicalized.Therefore, the typical comparative construction in Shanghainese is a topic structure in nature.The comparative standard can also be topicalized, providing that there is a DegP, or a FocP highlighting the comparative adjective as the new information in the comment.