ABSTRACT
There are two different word orders when a verb is followed by a verbal classifier and a noun, namely, VMN and VNM. There is no clear correspondence between the different V-N semantic relations and the word orders. More importantly, when N is the patient, location, theme, or object of causation, both word orders are possible, though not in every case. And the constraint has nothing to do with the referent of N, be it human or not. This chapter takes the referentiality of N as the start point, a different one from earlier practice, to study its constraints on word order and explore the functional differences between the two word orders and why. The phased development of the two word orders in modern Chinese is also investigated. To sum up, VMN differs dramatically from VNM in expressive function: VNM can express realis events without recourse to other grammatical means. VNM is much stronger than VMN in combining with other components.
