Title

On the Notion “Possible Verbs of Chinese”

Author

Ting-chi Charles Tang 

Genre

Article  

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Abstract

    The present paper discuss the notion “possible verbs of Chinese” by investigating Chinese verbs in terms of their phonetic shape (e.g. monosyllabic verbs, dissyllabic verbs, trisyllabic verbs), lexical structure (e.g. simple verbs, derivative verbs, compound verbs), argument structure (e.g. subject-predicate compounds, predicator-object compounds, predicator complement verbs, modifier-head compounds, coordinate compounds), thematic relation, syntactic function, and strict sub-categorization. The present paper also discusses the correlation or interaction between Chinese morphology and syntax with regard to the X-bar convention, the argument linking principle, and the case theory. It is hoped that our study will lead to a better understanding of Chinese word-syntax and its relevance to universal grammar and language acquisition.