What question did this study set out to answer?

To explore how the Mandarin conditional structure conveys minimal sufficiency through exhaustification mechanisms.

January 17, 2026Language and Linguistics 語言暨語言學0 citationsOpen Access

Exhaustifying conditionals

CTCheng-Yu Edwin TsaiTrinity College Dublin

Key Points

To explore how the Mandarin conditional structure conveys minimal sufficiency through exhaustification mechanisms.
Analyzed the structure of Mandarin conditional sentences involving the particle jiu.
Examined the role of the exclusive focus expression zhiyao and its effect on interpretations.
Proposed a semantic model involving multiple layers of exhaustivity.
Established that jiu functions as an exhaustivity operator in conditionals.
Showed that zhiyao acts as an agreement marker, indicating the presence of an additional exhaustivity operator.
Discussed the implications of these findings for existing theories of Mandarin conditionals.

Abstract

Abstract A Mandarin conditional sentence with the form p, jiu q, where jiu is a preverbal particle, can (but not always) convey the minimal sufficiency interpretation that nothing more — other than p — needs to be true in order for q to be true. Moreover, the exclusive focus expression zhiyao can be inserted in p without changing the minimal sufficiency interpretation. This paper proposes an exhaustification-based semantic account, according to which: (i) jiu is a special exhaustivity operator over a conditional structure, giving rise to what I call the at least component; (ii) the at least component is subject to another layer of exhaustification by a covert exhaustivity operator O, giving rise to the minimal sufficiency reading; and (iii) zhiyao is an agreement marker inside the antecedent clause which signals the existence of O at the root level. Previous accounts of conditional jiu are also reviewed and discussed.

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