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Tài is a high-frequency degree adverb in Chinese. While there has been a wealth of research on the adverb tài, but less attention has been paid to corpus study. This study adopts a corpus-based approach. Firstly, based on the result of corpus analysis and predecessors’ studies, the adverb tài has two functions, “high degree” and “excessively,” and five sentence patterns, tài +A/VP+ (particles), negative + tài +A/VP, tài + negative +A/VP, continuative forms of adverbs, and collocates nouns or idioms. Secondly, this study investigates how Chinese as a Second Language learners use the degree adverb tài and analyze their errors. This study also examines the functions and usages of the adverb tai in two of the Chinese textbooks used in Taiwan. It can be seen that the textbooks are lacking in the explanation of the adverb tài and its sentence patterns, which may lead to student mistakes. Finally, following the result of the above analysis and discussions, this study offers pedagogical sequences and teaching plans. It is hoped that these findings will contribute to the research of the degree adverb tài and that Chinese teachers would able to make teaching strategies for their students.
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