ABSTRACT
This chapter first discusses the syntactic conditions that license the patterns, which is to be followed by the respective tendency of their use from the perspective of semantics, mood and pragmatics. A brief introduction to the nature of the basic components involved may function as a good starter. Referential components can be subdivided into the identifiable and the non-identifiable. An identifiable component will be used when the speaker expects the listener to be able to accurately identify the entity mentioned in discourse; otherwise, a non-identifiable component will be used. In Chinese, the identifiable and the non-identifiable will take particular forms. The dichotomy of identifiable vs. non-identifiable reference reflects the fact that the speaker, when speaking of something, takes into account whether the message is known or unknown to the listener at the time of speaking. In general, the speaker tends to use non-identifiable reference when introducing new information and to use identifiable reference when indicating given information.
