Guo1 and Guo2 in Chinese Temporal System

This paper aims to investigate the subtle nuances of meaning of two Chinese particles “guo1” and “guo2” as well as their different functions in Chinese temporal system. Two technical terms, “tense” and “aspect”, in traditional Chinese grammar are reconsidered in terms of the nature of these two concepts and the criteria to distinguish them. It is argued that in traditional Chinese grammar, “tense” and “aspect” are often mixed up by scholars, which has misled the study of “guo1” and “guo2”. Contrast to the traditional theory, this paper argues that “guo1” is the marker of the terminative aspect, while “guo2” is the marker of the past tense. Moreover, based on the markedness theory, the semantic and functional differences between “guo1” and “guo2” can be regarded as different usage of the particle “guo” in the unmarked or the marked sense.