ABSTRACT
Verbs are traditionally distinguished between transitive and intransitive ones according to whether they can take true objects. Transitive verbs with predicate objects need to be further divided into strong transitive verbs with predicate objects, weak transitive verbs with predicate objects, auxiliary verbs, formal verbs and nominal verbs. Different verbs have different argument structures which accommodate different accompanying constituents or dependent items, commonly referred to as arguments. A necessary argument is indispensable for a sentence to have a complete or independent meaning, whereas an unnecessary argument extends the meaning of a sentence and complicates the structure. Argument-structure descriptive system for Chinese predicates (ASDS@) verb documents those semantic roles and syntactic formats that are actualised in real-world texts. Adjectives are generally distinguished between attributive adjectives and descriptive adjectives according to their grammatical functions. Different adjectives have different valent structures and keep company with different dependent items.
