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This study is conducted in a broader picture of Cognitive Semantics ，which focuses on the linguistic representation of conceptual structure（Talmy，2012a）．Consequently，it employs a conceptual approach to analyze languages．This section will provide a general outline about COS，which is primarily based on Talmy（2000a，2000b，2012a）．
（1）The aim of COS is to characterize the general system of conceptual structure in language．
（2） It examines the formal properties of language from its conceptual perspective（Talmy，2012a）．
（3）Its short term and medium term aim is to account for the behavior of conceptual phenomena within language in terms of psychological structures，and to work out some of these structures based on its detailed illustration of how language realizes them．Its long term aim is to integrate linguistics with psychology into a unified cognitive structure（Talmy，2012a）．
（4）So，COS will be closely related to psychology．
（5）Linguistic concepts are psychological constructs，and the latter are also reflected on the former．
（6） By assuming a psychological basis for meaning， cognitive semanticists intend to handle the semantic gradience and modulation as Talmy has done（cf.Talmy，2000a，2000b）．
（7）In COS，the spatial structure in cognition is also significant in other cognitive domains such as time，psychology，society，and so on．
（8）COS is the semantics of grammar（cf.Talmy，2000a，2000b）．It is in fact a version of cognitive grammar（different from Langacker's Cognitive Grammar），because it is a key to conceptual structure in language．
（9）Language demonstrates this designed feature that it consists of two subsystems： open-class （OC） forms and closed-class （CC） forms（cf.Talmy，2000a，2000b）．The CC subsystem is the most fundamental conceptual structuring system that language has．It plays a central role in the endeavor to examine conceptual structure across all human cognitive systems（cf.Talmy，2012a）．
（10）In COS，word order，deixis markers and particles are treated as CC forms．
（11）Language is a system of psychological functioning through which the mind could be studied in general（cf.Talmy，2006）．
（12） In COS，the basic syntactic unit is a morpheme（cf.Talmy，2000b，Chapter 1）． Thus， an implicit CC form is taken as a super morpheme，including word order patterns，lexical categories，grammatical relations，and grammatical constructions（cf.Talmy，2012a）．
（13） The conceptual structuring function of a CC morpheme is also termed as its schematic function（cf.Talmy，2012a）．
（14） The meaning of a CC morpheme illustrates a deeper semantic organization（Talmy，2000a：471）which is termed as a schema．
（15） CC concepts are grouped into conceptual categories（Talmy，2012a）．Such categories can be arranged into five major schematic systems：configuration structure，perspective point，distribution of attention，force dynamics（cf.Talmy，2012a）， and cognitive state （cf.Talmy，2006；Lampert，2013）．
（16）Besides the five schematic systems，language also has two other conceptual organizations： figure／ground organization and factive／fictive organization（cf.Talmy，2000a，2000b，2012a）．
（17） All the schematic systems（including the ones that will be observed in the future）and the conceptual organizations（including the ones that will be observed in the future） aggregate a general cognitive system，which cognitive semanticists examine under the Talmyan overlapping systems model of cognitive organization（Talmy，2015）．
In sum， cognitive semantists are interested in various（e.g.， local／global，autonomous／interactive，and typological／universal， cf.Talmy， 2012a） aspects of conceptual structure．And the findings of COS are usually of a universal character．Last but not least，COS remains currently a rather young linguistic trend．