THE SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS OF CHINESE IMPERSONAL V-QILAI CONSTRUCTION

Abstract

This paper investigates the Chinese impersonal V-qilai construction. Drawing on the results of a number of syntactic tests and semantic conditions, we propose an analysis in which the post-V-qilai modification element is the main predicate and the V-qilai complex constitutes a frame-setting clausal modifier. This view is supported by arguments regarding obligatory modification, the distributional facts of preverbal markers, and the behavior of frequency adverbs. Moreover, we suggest that, within the clausal adjunct, qilai selects and incorporates with verbs in their stative version, which gives rise to the absence of agentivity and to the verbal restrictions noted in the impersonal V-qilai sentences.

本研究以句法及語意角度探討漢語之非人稱「V-起來」結構。從一系列句法及語意的測試出發，我們主張此類句型中出現在「V-起來」後的修飾成分乃為句子的主要謂語，而「V-起來」此結構成分本身則是子句型態之修飾語，在語意上提供詮釋全句命題之框架背景設定。此一分析獲得來自修飾成分之不可省略特性及動前標記成分與頻率副詞之分布狀況等方面的支持。此外，我們同時提出，在非人稱「V-起來」子句型態修飾成分內，「起來」與衍生形成之靜態動詞相結合，如此一來，便可解釋為何此類結構不具施事性及其所呈現之動詞選擇限制。