# Changes in Reference Grammar 1.7.8

10 September 2026 · Editorial revision of Reference 1.7.7 · Vocabulary revision 11

This edition changes the explanation and organization, not the language's rules. It implements the editorial review based on Mini's foundational document. All 175 numbered examples retain their Sino-Mini text, pinyin, English gloss, and IDs. Example numbers are stable identifiers rather than reading order.

The reference now begins with semantic words and the three predicate patterns. Ordinary modification, grouping, and the two uses of 的 are explained together. Negation is an application of the preceding-modifier rule. Modal meanings appear with productive verb stacking, and time, completion, and progressive 在 are treated together. Permission, causation, and perception illustrate complete 什 clauses instead of appearing as independent grammatical mechanisms. Relatives share a role table; infinitives and participles share their internal-order and participant explanations.

The organization has 19 numbered sections instead of 26. Numbers remain directly after comparisons in the first group, verbal expressions have their own group, and answers immediately follow yes/no questions. Vocabulary examples are distinguished from structural inventories. Repeated warnings and discussions of former designs have been removed from the reference's teaching prose.

## Section correspondence

| Reference 1.7.7 | Reference 1.7.8 |
|---|---|
| 1 Writing; 2 predicate frames | 1 Words and predicate patterns; general modification moves to 2 |
| 3 Nouns; 4 pronouns | 2 Grouping; 3 Nouns and pronouns |
| 5 Prepositions and purpose | 4 Prepositions; 12 Purpose |
| 6 Possession and existence | 5 Possession, existence, and location |
| 7 Qualities and quantity | 2 Modification and grouping |
| 8 Comparisons; 9 numbers | 6 Comparisons; 7 Numbers |
| 10 Coordination | 8 Coordination |
| 11 Topics and quantifiers | 9 Topics and boundaries; 2.2 modifier contrasts |
| 12 Questions; 14 reference expressions | 10 Questions and answers |
| 13 Embedded clauses and relatives | 9.2 Return boundaries; 11 Clauses with 什 |
| 15 Subordinating relations | 12 Subordinating relations |
| 16 Time; 17 aspect | 14 Time and ongoing action |
| 18 Modals; 19 stacking; 20 verbal order | 13 Verb stacking and word order; 的 introduced in 2.1 |
| 21 Negation | 2.2 General rule; examples in 13.1 and 14 |
| 22 Commands | 16 Commands and requests |
| 23 Results and complements | 15 Objects and descriptions; complete-clause examples in 11.1 |
| 24 Nonfinite expressions | 17 Infinitives and participles; event heads in 11.3 |
| 25 Connected examples; 26 quick reference | 18 Connected examples; 19 Quick reference |

## Rule-preservation review

The following constraints were checked against the archived 1.7.7 reference during the rewrite:

| Rule or distinction | Current explanation |
|---|---|
| Semantic words have contextual grammatical roles; no word-by-word object requirements | §§1, 13, 15 |
| Three predicate markers retained; ordinary finite statements retain subjects | §§1, 5, 16 |
| Ordinary modifiers precede words or whole expressions; introduced modifiers follow heads | §2 |
| Noun sequences nest right; successive 的 boundaries group left; 的 also introduces manner | §2.1 |
| Pronouns directly mark possession; 们 follows only 我/你/他/其; 他 personal, 其 inanimate | §3 |
| 自 binds to the local subject, including shared and supplied subjects | §§3, 8, 17 |
| Event prepositions precede objects; noun prepositions follow nouns | §4 |
| Sibling prepositions may reorder; a new relation does not silently nest inside its predecessor's landmark | §4 |
| 比 remains inside its comparative expression until an ordinary event relation or outer object resumes the event | §§4, 6, 13.2 |
| Existence and ambient qualities are subjectless; location is not an implied subject | §5 |
| 更/减/同 required for scalar comparison; standard may be contextual; extremes use 最 plus direction | §6 |
| Negated comparisons and nonunique extremes retain their interpretations | §6 |
| Numeral composition, classifiers, technical units, and dates unchanged | §7 |
| Each coordinated predicate retains its marker and its own objects, negation, aspect, and modifiers | §8 |
| A stated new subject starts a clause; a full stop ends subject sharing; dependent coordination remains local | §8 |
| Ordinary phrase continuations, including 但 不 后 一 钟, remain available | §8 |
| Every opening topic ends with a comma; ordinary finite subjects remain stated | §9.1 |
| Return comma closes all open dependents and resumes only the main clause; no inner topic or intermediate return | §9.2 |
| Final dependents follow other head modifiers; inner particles remain inside until the return boundary | §§4, 9.2, 13.2 |
| Quotations have independent sentence domains; list punctuation is not a return boundary | §§9.2, 11.1 |
| 吗 has outer scope; embedded polar questions are quoted or refer explicitly to their answer | §§10.1, 11.1 |
| Answers, conversational question intonation, question-slot 什, and ordinary reference expressions retained | §10 |
| 什 modifies a head without 啊 or a closing particle; it does not independently nominalize a clause | §§11, 11.3 |
| Relative head supplies one role only; omitted other objects remain contextually optional | §11.2 |
| Subject/object gaps retain their forms, including omitted 啊 with a recovered object | §11.2 |
| Prepositional relative role immediately follows 什; explicit subject retained; role local to that clause | §11.2 |
| Possessive relative has exactly one local third-person possessive modifier; no other recovered role | §11.2 |
| Opening and trailing relation clauses retain their comma rules; optional 则 takes a topic comma | §12 |
| 为 purpose, 给 beneficiary, 因 cause remain distinct; purpose does not entail achievement | §12 |
| Stacks nest right, share a subject, and assign expressed objects and trailing modifiers to the innermost action | §13 |
| Outer-action modification uses a separate verbal region; objects/recipients do not silently control inner actors | §§13.2, 17 |
| Manner after 的; repeated manner does not restart stacking; no silent result-compound interpretation | §§13.2, 15 |
| No tense/perfective/experiential markers; progressive 在 remains, once per action expression | §14 |
| Time does not imply completion; past habit need not have ceased; no dedicated would auxiliary | §14 |
| Completion, prior occurrence, ability, and interval-specific denial remain distinct | §§13–14 |
| Optional objects; repeated 啊 for separate roles; primary participant before associated item/name | §15 |
| 诶 describes subject qualities or directly caused object qualities, never incidental outcomes | §15 |
| Infinitive/participle internal order and return boundary unchanged; forms themselves do not mark occurrence or tense | §17 |
| Infinitive predicate attachment shares subject, including through 为; noun attachment supplies subject, not object | §§17, 17.1 |
| Independently named activities/infinitives have unspecified or explicitly modified participants | §17 |
| Pronoun before active participle names its activity; a personal-pronoun description uses a relative | §17 |
| Active noun modifier supplies subject; active participle differs from progressive 在 | §17.2 |
| Passive supplies first direct object only, omitting that 啊; underlying subject remains unspecified | §17.3 |
| Passive is not an independent event noun; no 从诶/从啊; source 从 is not an actor marker | §17.3 |
| Outer/inner passive negation differs; second objects retained; a 做什 inner subject cannot be passivized | §17.3 |

This is a manual editorial coverage review, not a proof that a parser accepts every example. Mechanical checks cover exact example preservation, vocabulary/readings, internal links, legacy anchors, and local export consistency.

## Local source and publication

The archived [1.7.7 reference](https://sino-mini.com/downloads/archive/grammar/reference-1.7.7.md) preserves the previous text. The current rendering template and renderer are `work/grammar-template.md` and `work/render-reference.py`; the former stale template and renderer are archived for history. [Anchor mappings](https://sino-mini.com/downloads/reference-anchor-map.json) preserve earlier section links.

The current reference and its local revision-11 export are updated. Vocabulary definitions, translation files, the site source, and the published site are unchanged. The separate working formal grammar and proposed conventions have not been adopted or revised by this editorial change.