LAUSR

Abstract This article reveals two faces of the adversative morpheme ke(shi) in Mandarin Chinese, focusing on the use of ke(shi) in a clause preceded by an antecedent clause. It has been noted in the literature that ke(shi) in the pre-subject position is a conjunction while ke(shi) in the post-subject position is an adverb; in this study, we find that these two positions/categories of ke(shi) are semantically/pragmatically different and not in free alternation. In our proposal, they differ in that only the conjunctive ke(shi) may mark an explicit contrast such as semantic opposition. Furthermore, even though both the conjunctive ke(shi) and the adverbial ke(shi) may mark an implicit contrast with respect to counterexpectationality, they do not specify the same type. Only the conjunctive ke(shi) may signal indirect counterexpectationality related to the antecedent clause, while only the adverbial ke(shi) may signal counterexpectationality independent of the antecedent clause. We conclude that the two cases of ke(shi) have different functions and should be regarded as distinct, independent items.