This study examined the realization patterns and generation mechanisms of the ionization of pseudo-VO compounds in Modern Chinese from the perspectives of constructional changes and constructionalization, leading to the following conclusions:
First, the types of pseudo-VO compounds were classified into seven categories: coordinative (联合式), stative-verbal (状动式), verb-complement (动补式), serial-verb (连动式), double-object (兼语式), modifier-noun (定中式), and reduplicative (联绵式).
Second, based on the five extended forms of separable words (V + noun/pronoun (的) + O, V + aspectual marker + O, V + temporal/numerical complement + O, V + O + V + 得 + stative complement / O + V + 得+ stative complement, V + adjective (的) + O), the study explored the occurrence and patterns of coordinative pseudo-VO compounds. Even within the same category of coordinative, differences in the number of types and frequency of occurrence for individual compounds suggest variations in the stages of constructional changes and constructionalization.
Third, an examination of the meaning of combined and separated forms of pseudo-VO compounds revealed three cases: when the meaning of the combined form contrasts with that of the separated form, when the combined form indicates completion while the separated form emphasizes the action, and when the use of the interrogative pronoun ‘什麼’ as an expanded element in separable words emphasizes the speaker’s dissatisfaction or negative subjectivity.
Fourth, by investigating the type frequency and occurrence frequency that reflect the productivity of coordinative pseudo-VO compounds, it was found that the stages of constructional changes and constructionalization vary among individual compounds: some remain in the stage of analogical thinking, some are transitioning from analogical thinking to analogization, and others have fully undergone constructionalization and constructional changes.
Fifth, the ionization of pseudo-VO compounds was viewed as a subschema of separable words, and various types were considered micro-constructions. A schema for the ionization of pseudo-VO compounds was constructed to analyze constructional changes. Among the types, coordinative exhibits all five basic extended forms of separable words, indicating that its constructionalization is most closely aligned with VO separable words. Words with a higher degree of VO construction tend to have higher usage frequency, and their separable uses are becoming increasingly stable.