Event counting and discontinuity of the experiential perfect

Abstract

This paper investigates counting in the domain of events under the Mandarin experiential perfect marker -guo, with particular attention to the contrast between the two counting expressions, ⌜NUM xia⌝ and ⌜NUM ci⌝, for different levels of counting. The central question is why only certain activity verbs are compatible with ⌜NUM xia⌝ under -guo, and more generally, what constrains the availability of event counting in guo-marked sentences. I propose that the contrast in acceptability among different activity verbs can be attributed to the presence or absence of determinate endpoints in the relevant events. The discontinuity effect of -guo discussed in the literature can be derived through a presupposition requiring the relevant events in its input to have determinate endpoints.