漢語使用詞素「前」，以「前+數量詞+量詞+名詞」，也就是「前三位英國首相」的形式表達英語‘the first three prime ministers’的語意。此結構為直示表達語(deictic expression)，可表達「絕對觀點」與「相 對觀點」兩種語意。我假設「前」帶有「觀點特徵」（[Perspective]　feature)，引介「觀點變數」（Point-of-View variable)，此變數受說話者或內在主角(internal protagonist)所約束，分別產生「相對語意」與「絕對語意」。此分析證明名詞組與句子結構平行，皆可投射與篇章相關的句法結構，即「觀點詞組」（Perspective Phrase)。

Mandarin Chinese utilizes the morpheme qian ‘front’ in the [qian + Num + Cl + N] sequence (henceforth the qian phrase) to express the counterpart of the English phrase the first three prime ministers. The qian phrase is a deictic expression which may assume two different readings expressing ‘absolute’ and ‘relative’ points of view. I therefore argue that qian possesses a [Perspective] feature which introduces a Point-of-View variable (henceforth POV), which may be bound by the speaker or by an internal protagonist. If the POV variable is bound by the speaker, it results in a relative reading; if it is bound by an internal protagonist, it returns an absolute reading. This analysis suggests that nominal phrases are parallel to clauses in having a syntactic projection with pragmatically relevant features (i.e. the Perspective Phrase).