Semantic Differentiation and Syntactic Characteristics of the ‘Zenme (怎么) + M + VP’ Construction in Modern Chinese

This study investigates the semantic differentiation mechanisms and syntactic characteristics of the ‘Zenme (怎么) + Modal Auxiliary (M) + Verb Phrase (VP)’ construction in Modern Chinese. Although this construction shares a uniform surface structure, it manifests diverse semantic functions ranging from interrogatives (asking for method or cause) to rhetorical questions (expressing impossibility or inappropriateness). Moving beyond previous studies that attributed these variations primarily to syntactic position or pragmatic inference, this research examines the internal grammatical mechanisms of the construction—particularly the role of modal auxiliaries—based on Information Structure Theory and Factuality Presupposition. The analysis reveals that the semantic function of the construction is systematically constrained by the interaction between the semantic category of the modal auxiliary and the factuality of the event. First, ‘Method Questions’ arise when dynamic modality presupposes conditional possibility. Second, ‘Cause Questions’ are generated in the realis domain, where the event or intention is presupposed as factual, prompting an inquiry into its underlying cause. Third, ‘Impossibility’ emerges in the irrealis domain when the focus is placed on the lack of essential conditions (physical or logical). Fourth, ‘Inappropriateness’ is derived when the speaker challenges the normative validity of a controllable event, focusing on the violation of deontic necessity or permission. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that syntactic constraints—such as the presence of negation markers, conditional adverbs (e.g., cai), and sentence-final particles—along with the animacy of the subject and the controllability of the VP, play a decisive role in determining the semantic interpretation. In conclusion, the ‘Zenme (怎么) + M + VP’ construction serves as a complex grammatical interface where modality, factuality, and information structure interact to encode the speaker’s epistemic and evaluative stance.