User:Ser be etre shi/sandbox

Morphology
Discuss some reconstructed Old Chinese prefixes from Baxter (and Schuessler?)

==Pronouns TODO: Include pronoun tables from Schuessler(? is that the book?).

The language did not have a special 3rd-person personal pronoun that could be used in subject position, but the distal demonstrative 彼 bǐ 'that, those' and the anaphoric demonstrative 是 shì frequently take that role.

Basic constituent order

 * SVO
 * OV in negations with pronouns
 * VOS in exclamations
 * Stability of VO order: SOV > SVO controversy

Noun phrases

 * structure

Verbs and verb phrases

 * structure
 * aspect markers (next to verbs and sentence-final)
 * the four semantic usages: yì, bèi, shǐ, wèi

Numbers
Numerals are formed in a similar way to those of contemporary Chinese, combining units with multiples of 10. For example, 二十三 èr shí sān '23' (lit. "2 * 10 + 3").
 * mention numerals can go before or after

Coverbs and postpositions

 * mention term "locational" by Zadrapa

Adverbs and adverbials

 * find notes about rán in Dawson
 * try to include something about bare nouns as instrumental adverbials before a verb (from Fuller, the skull?)

Topicalization

 * with yě, zé...

Negation
未 wèi may stand for 'never'.
 * include note about fú vs. bù; role of taboo

Interrogative sentences

 * yes/no
 * content

Exclamatory and imperative sentences

 * exclamatory
 * imperative

Comparisons

 * ADJ + yú
 * see if can find about anything else, including equality...

Complex sentences

 * parataxis and hypotaxis
 * complement clauses
 * relative clauses: with zhī, with suǒ and zhě
 * temporal clauses
 * conditional clauses


 * conditions
 * Conditions may be expressed by mere juxtaposition of clauses.


 * explanatory clauses
 * concessive clauses

Useful sentences

 * example of condition: 下士聞道，大笑之，不笑，不足以為道！(Daodejing 41) The unlearned discovers the Dao, and roars into laughter, Without the laughs, it would not be the Dao.
 * superlative: 天下之至柔，馳騁天下之至堅 (Daodejing 43) the world's softest steers the world's hardest
 * purpose clauses: 弱之勝強， 柔之勝剛 (Daodejing 78) Be submissive to overcome dominance, Be gentle to overcome toughness
 * topicalization (with yě) or coordination: 人之生也柔弱，其死也堅強. (Daodejing 76) People are born gentle and fragile, They die stiff and tough.
 * yi...wei: 天地不仁，以萬物為芻狗 (Daodejing 5) The sky and the earth do not care, They regard the myriad things as straw dogs
 * ke as a passive: 道可道，非恆道 (Daodejing 1) The Dao that can be stated, is not the eternal Dao
 * all (jiē): 天下皆知美之爲美 (Daodejing 2) Everyone knows what beauty is
 * comparison: 子曰、學如不及、猶恐失之. (Lunyu, chap. 8/泰伯) The Master said, "Learn as if you could not reach your object, and were always fearing also lest you should lose it." (Giles)
 * reciprocal: 音聲相和 (Daodejing 2) Music and voice are harmonized with each other