Abstract: As studies of quantifiers go further, the structure of "N. + M. + A." has been widely concerned by the academic circle and has aroused controversies. The key to the controversies is the formation mechanism of the structure. According to the theory of construction grammar,the paper discusses the formation mechanism of "N. + M. + A.". It demonstrates a similar constructional meaning with the prototype construction "N + M. + N." by construction coercion. That is:(1) "N.+ M." means to measure the "adjective";(2)The nature of the construction of "N. + M. + A." is nominal;(3) "Adjective", which is still an adjective, is nominalized in the construction of "N.+ M. + A.". The special point of the construction "N. + M. + A." is not the "N", but the "A", which is nominalized by the construction.

Key words: “N. + M. + A.”, construction, construction coercion, functional language, Chinese grammar