A Corpus-Based Study on Mood Combination Preference in Two-Clause Composite Sentences in Modern Chinese

Every clause is associated with a specific expressive intention and bears a specific mood: declarative, interrogative, imperative or exclamative. Different moods are combined with the juxtaposition of clauses. A compound sentence has a homogeneous mood combination between its constituent clauses, while the mood in a complex sentence is usually counted on its main clause with the mood in its subordinate clause(s) drowned. Clauses in a Chinese sentence, however, are independent in terms of mood; that is to say, the mood of the whole sentence is the combination of moods of each clause. Tendency for mood combination of two-clause composite sentences in modern Chinese is demonstrated as follows: 1) Homogeneous mood combinations greatly exceed heterogeneous ones; the “declarative + declarative” type outnumbers other types; and there are more combinations with a declarative mood than those without; 2) The more convincing the meaning of a particle indicates, the more frequently the corresponding mood appears in the first part of the combinations; and the mood realized by a modal adverb appears in the second part if another mood is not realized by a modal adverb; 3) A conjunction highly restricts the mood combination; and the frequency of mood combination in coordinate and causal clauses is approximately equal, much higher than that in adversative clauses.

I'll go to Beijing, and he will go to Beijing too.
Are you going to Beijing, or is he going to Beijing?
Don't you want to go to Beijing? (But) I want to go (there).
Don't you want to go to Beijing? You must go (there). 13) interrogative + exclamative (Int. + Exc.) [ The research questions in the paper are: 1) What is the overall tendency of homogeneous and heterogeneous mood combination in two-clause composite sentences in modern Chinese?
2) Which mood appears most frequently in heterogeneous mood combinations?
3) Which mood combination outnumbers others? And what are the underlying factors? Halliday (2000, p. 104) held that a clause consists of "mood plus residue" and all the examples he analyzed are one-clause simple sentences, so there is no mood combination in English. Following Halliday's idea and testing English complex sentences, Peng (2000, p. 31) believed that all clauses have their own moods: the mood of conjoined clauses lies in the main clause if relative clauses are involved; whereas the mood of combined clauses is the combination of individual clauses if adverbial clauses are involved. Clauses in Chinese are generally believed to be more independent. "Every clause is associated with a specific expressive intention, and it bears a specific mood" (Xing, 2017, p. 168). Therefore, mood combination exists in Chinese language. In order to better demonstrate the frequency of mood combinations in modern Chinese, 3835 modern Chinese two-clause composite sentences were collected from the total of 860,000 Chinese characters of written texts. After a statistical analysis of the collated data, the major findings and explanation are as follows.

Homogeneous Mood Combinations Outnumbers Heterogeneous Ones
In terms of types of mood combination, homogenous combinations (

"Dec. + Dec." Combinations Outnumber Other Mood Combinations
In terms of combination types, "Dec. + Dec." combinations outweigh others: "Dec.  As homogeneous mood combinations are obvious and popular, the study of heterogeneous moods combinations turns out to be more significant, thus the focus in the rest part of the paper.

Mood Combinations with Declarative Exceed Those Without Declarative
There are 6 types of mood combinations with "Dec." and 6 types of mood combinations without "Dec.". Those with "Dec." as shown in the statistics are above 7.0% with an occurrence of more than 50 examples in the corpus, while those without "Dec." are below 7.0% with an occurrence of are fewer than 50 examples.

Frequency of Mood Combinations in Different Contexts
Frequency of mood combinations varies from mood to mood realized in their respective clauses. Furthermore, frequency of mood combinations is conditioned by specific contexts.

Mood Combinations Realized by Clause-Final Particles
Chinese moods are largely realized by clause-final particles such as ba (吧, a particle used at the end of an imperative clause either as a polite request or a consultative tone, or used at the end of an interrogative clause inclusively as a to-be-confirmed question, ma (吗, a particle used at the end of a question), ne (呢, a particle used at the end of a special, alternative or rhetorical question to indicate a question, or used at the end of a declarative clause to reinforce the assertion or play up the effect of exaggeration) and a (啊, an interjection attached to the end of a clause to express surprise or admiration <with a drawl>) (see the examples listed for the above-mentioned 16 types of mood combinations). Clause-final particles play a key role in determining the frequency of mood combinations.
The more convincing the meaning of a particle indicates, the more frequently the corresponding mood appears in the first part of the combinations; on the contrary, the more doubtful the meaning of a particle indicates, the more frequently the corresponding mood appears in the last place.
[17] a. Hòuhuǐ méiyǒu yòng de, shuí yuànyì jìn zuò méiyǒuyòng de shìqǐng ne? After a comparison of Example 17a, 17b and 17c, moods of the second clause are all realized by the particle ne, which indicates the speaker's doubt, and they appear in the second part of their corresponding sentences. Moods of the first clause are realized by de (的, an auxiliary used at the end of a statement to indicate certainty) (Example 17a) and le (了, an auxiliary used at the end of a clause or a pause in the middle of a sentence to indicate a change or a new situation) (Example 17b), both of which indicate the speaker's conviction, and they appear in the front of the sentences. But when moods of the first half are realized by ba (吧) (Example 17c) and ma (吗) (Example 17d), both of which indicate the speaker's doubtful attitude, but such mood combinations are not acceptable.
When particles reveal the speaker's conviction to approximately the same degree, moods in the combination may swap. See Example 18.
You keep it to yourself, and I (may) go (now).
I (may) go (now), and you keep it to yourself.
The same particle, when used in a mood combination, usually shows a different level of the speaker's conviction. The one with more conviction generally falls at the first half of the combination, and the one with less conviction is at the end of the combination. In Example 19, the first particle a reveals the speaker's exclamation, and the second a reveals his/her doubt. The first a is definitely more convincing, so the mood it indicates appears in the front.
[19] Duō hǎo de gōngrén a, zhè kě zǎ bàn ne？ When a mood is realized by one clause-final particle and another mood realized by two clause-final particles, In Example 20, the particle ba (吧) realizes an imperative mood in a polite way with no sense of doubt; by contrast, ne and ma both indicate an interrogative mood and the doubtful tone is strengthened, so ba (吧) mood is first and ne-ma mood is the second. However, both de (的) and le (了) reveal the speaker's declaration, and this mood is a conviction, while ne (呢) is simply a doubt, so de-le (的了) mood goes the first and ne mood goes the second. See Example 21.

Mood Combinations Realized by Modal Adverbs
Modal adverbs have a remarkable influence on mood combination in that the mood realized by a modal adverb appears in the second part and the mood in the first part is not realized by a modal adverb. Mood order in Example 22 can be explained by the above rule of clause-final particle, and so can it be done by the rule of modal adverbs. The former mood is a declarative, and no modal adverb helps. The latter mood is definitely realized by the modal adverb hébì (何必, a modal adverb used in rhetorical questions), which endows a stronger feeling, thus appearing in the second part of the sentence.
(Since) Mum is not willing to do, why do you force her?
When two moods are realized by two different modal verbs, the larger domain the modal adverb governs, the mood it expresses appear slater. The governing domain of a modal adverb can be easily ranked according to its place in a clause. There are 3 places of a modal adverb: MOD (,) + NP + VP; NP + MOD + VP; NP + VP+ (,) MOD (Duan, 1995, pp. 19-20). Modal adverbs in front of NP govern both NP and VP, thus having the largest domain. There are such words as nándào (难道, a modal adverb used to reiterate a rhetorical question), dàyuē (大约, an adverb meaning "probably, approximately"), xìngkuī (幸亏, a modal adverb meaning "luckily, fortunately", used to indicate the favorable conditions for removing difficulties), piānpiān (偏偏, a modal adverb meaning "contrary to expectations"), jiù (就, a modal adverb meaning "in that case, then", used to indicate a natural result under certain conditions or circumstances), yéxǔ (也许, a modal adverb meaning "maybe, probably"), nánguài (难怪, a modal adverb meaning "no wonder"), xìng'ér (幸而, a modal adverb similar to xìngkuī <幸亏> mentioned above), fǎnzhèng (反正, a modal adverb used to indicate the same result despite different circumstances), míngmíng (明明, a modal adverb meaning "obviously, plainly, undoubtedly", usually followed by a turn in meaning of the latter part of the context), qiàqià (恰恰, a modal adverb meaning "exactly, precisely"), zhíhǎo (只好, a modal adverb similar to "have to, cannot but"), bùfáng (不妨, a modal adverb meaning "might as well"), and etc. Other modal adverbs after NP only govern VP, thus having the less governing domain, such as jiǎnzhí (简直, a modal adverb indicating a tone of exaggeration, similar to "simply, at all"), hécháng (何尝, a modal adverb used in rhetorical questions to express "never"), hébì (何必), kě (可, a modal adverb meaning "but, yet, however", used to indicate a turn in meaning), qǐ (岂, a modal adverb indicating a rhetorical question), jiūjìng (究竟, a modal adverb meaning "actually, exactly", used in questions to press for an exact answer), dàodǐ (到底, a modal adverb used in a question for emphasis), guǒrán (果然, a modal adverb meaning "really, indeed, as expected"), jūrán (居然, a modal adverb meaning "unexpectedly, actually"), jìngrán (竟然, a modal adverb meaning "unexpectedly, actually"), fǎndào (反倒, a modal adverb meaning "instead, on the contrary"), wèimiǎn (未免, a modal adverb meaning "naturally, unavoidably") and so on. When modal adverbs after VP govern none, and the moods they indicate appear at the end. See Example 23. If two modal adverbs are before NP, they have the same power of commanding, then the power of expressing the speaker's subjective attitude counts. Qi (2002, p. 220) reported the rank of these modal adverbs: those revealing the speaker's sudden realization such as guǒrán (果然), nánguài (难怪), yuánlái (原来, a modal adverb indicating a sudden realization of something, meaning "so, it turns out") > those revealing the speaker's determination like dàgài (大概, a modal adverb meaning "probably, most likely"), yídìng (一定, a modal adverb meaning "surely, necessarily") > those revealing the speaker's demand like bìxū (必须, a modal adverb used to add a weight to an order), wùbì (务必, a modal adverb meaning "must, have to") > those revealing the speaker's admittance such as nénggòu (能够, a modal auxiliary meaning "possible, probable"), kéyǐ (可以, a modal auxiliary indicating permission). In Example 24, the modal adverb wùbì (务必) shows the speaker's demand, while the modal adverb yídìng (一定) shows the speaker's determination. The determination is stronger than the demand, so the mood revealed by determination appears at the second half of the combination.
(We) cannot relax our vigilance; (instead we) must persist on fighting against smuggling.

Mood Combinations in the Context of Conjunctions
Chinese clause/mood combination does not necessarily involve a conjunction. If a conjunction is used, mood combination is highly restricted. Example 25a is of "Dec. + Imp." mood pattern. When no conjunction is used, the clauses could be swapped to Example 25b, but the mood pattern changes into "Imp. + Dec.". Conjunctions are used in Example 25c, with the same meaning as Example 25a. Although the mood pattern is still "Dec. + Imp.", the order of the clauses could not be changed and its reversed mood pattern is not possible.
Because it is in the old town prison, you must try all you can to help Wei Dehua and his team get this done well.
Perhaps the world is too crowded, so the Creator is that stingy?
The topic of county economy is appealing to people, because it is very important.
Please take back your judgment on me, because you have misunderstood me.
The conjunction yīnwèi (因为) can be used alone, and its location in the sentence plays a role in the type and frequency of mood combination. When yīnwèi (因为)is used in the middle of a mood combination, there are five types of mood combinations: "Dec.+ Int.", "Dec.+ Exc.", "Exc.+ Dec." and "Imp. + Dec." and "Int.+ Exc.".
Do not be over sad, because you will give birth soon.
How is the inside room? Because it is too dark (here).
(N.B.: This is a composite sentence in Chinese, but its English counterpart is a sentence group consisting of two sentences.) When yīnwèi (因为)is used at the beginning of a mood combination, there are two types of mood combination. Comparatively speaking, mood combinations with yīnwèi (因为) in the middle are more frequent than those with yīnwèi (因为) at the beginning.
The conjunction suóyǐ (所以) can also be used alone. When it is in the middle of the combination, there are four types of mood combinations: "Dec + Int.", "Dec. + Imp.", "Dec. + Exc.", "Exc. + Dec.". When it appears at the beginning, there are two types of mood combinations with less frequency: "Dec. + Int." and "Exc. + Dec.".
You are indeed too honest and true to people, so you are easy to be cheated.
[33] Suóyǐ nǐ shì fùshìkāng bú shì fùshìshān, zěnme bǎ zán zhōngguórén dàngchéng rìběnrén yòng ne? It must be noted that yóuyú (由于, a conjunction meaning "because, owing to, thanks to") is a synonym of yīnwèi (因为) but the clause connected by yóuyú (由于) completely repels heterogeneous mood combination. yǐzhì (以致, a conjunction similar to "so that, as a result that", which is used at the beginning of the second part of a sentence to indicate the second part is the result of the first part, and yīncǐ (因此, a conjunction similar to "therefore, so", indicating the result and) are synonyms of suóyǐ (所以), and they share mood combinations like "Exc. + Dec.", "Dec.+ Exc." and "Dec. + Int.". Conjunctions suóyǐ (所以) and yīncǐ (因此) can go with "Dec. + Imp.", but yǐzhì (以致) cannot. The frequency of mood combinations with suóyǐ (所以) is higher than those with yǐzhì (以致) and yīncǐ (因此).
How big his body was! And (his body) blocked the whole sky.
Drinking beer can promote the production of breast milk, and you need to drink a little more.
The collected data conclude the relation between heterogeneous mood combinations and conjunctions as follows:

Mood Combination in the Context of Semantic Relations of Conjoined Clauses
Semantic relations of clauses roughly fall into three categories: coordinate complex sentences (coordinates), causal complex sentences (causals) and adversative complex sentences (adversatives). Different clause relations restrict different frequency of mood combination. Generally speaking, the frequency of mood combination in coordinates and causals is almost equal, much higher than that in adversative clauses. Dec.+ Imp.
Exc.+ Imp. Note. "128", "29" are numbers of cases in our data; "√" suggests no case in our data but possible cases in Chinese two-clause composite sentences; "×" indicates no case anywhere.
The above three categories can be divided into more subcategories. Coordinates include jaxtapositional, chronological, progressive and alternative. Causals include cause-effect, inferential, hypothetical, conditional and purposive. Adversatives include abrupt-adversative, concessive-adversative and negative-adversative. These relationships give a more specific picture of the frequency of mood combination in the context of different clausal relations. Write an application as soon as possible, and I will come to get it tomorrow.
The relations between clause relationships and heterogeneous mood combinations are concluded in Table 6. Heterogeneous mood combinations are more likely to appear in Group A: juxtapositional, chronological and cause-effect sentences, while Group C of alternative, purposive, conditional, negative-adversative, concessive-adversative sentences generally seem to refuse heterogeneous mood combinations.

Conclusion
Every clause in modern Chinese bears a mood, which basically falls into four types: declarative, integrative, imperative and exclamative. When clauses are conjoined to form a sentence, moods are accordingly combined.
There are 16 possible combinations if two moods are involved, among which the heterogeneous mood configurations with "declarative" are more frequently used than those without "declarative", and "declarative + interrogative/imperative/exclamative" is more frequently used than "interrogative/imperative/exclamative + declarative".
Tendency for mood combination in modern Chinese is mainly shaped by the design features of moods. The more features the two moods share, the more easily they form a combination. Three features are identified as [+ certainty], [+ willingness] and [+ emotion]. "Certainty" refers to the speaker's conviction of the sentence, "willingness" the speaker's desire or hope and "emotion" the speaker's psychological situation. The four moods bear the three features but differ from each other in the degree of the respective features, as shown in the Table 7. . Therefore, the combination of declarative and interrogative moods is more frequent than that of interrogative and imperative moods. Other comparisons can be made in the same way.
The order of the moods in the combination is mainly determined by the context. The mood in the front part of the combinations continues its preceding topic, while the mood in the back part proposes a new topic. Interrogative/imperative/exclamative mood is generally used to initiate an interaction with the participant after a declaration or an explanation; accordingly, interrogative/imperative/exclamative mood usually appears after a declarative mood. When interrogative/imperative/exclamative mood appears in the front, it represses the function of being interactive, which is against its nature, so interrogative/imperative/exclamative mood rarely appears