Aspects Of Argument Structure

Argument structure is one of very important issues in linguistics, since it is an interface issue which involves semantics and syntax intersection. Many scholars make a great many researches on it. There are mainly three approaches to study it:lexical approach, semantic approach and syntax approach. Each approach emphasizes different aspects of the argument structure. At the beginning of the paper, I review the three approaches and introduce some relevant concepts of the argument structure.Based on the argument structure, this paper mainly deals with three important constructions:ditransitive construction, middle construction and ergative construction.The present thesis is to seek the semantic and syntax features of each construction in English and try to use some Chinese examples to support these ideas. However, there are some differences in English and Chinese.As for ditransitive construction, no matter in English or in Chinese, it is composed of agent, patient and recipient. In both languages, agent requires a volitional subject argument, and animacy; it carries out the transfer intentionally. The argument of patient, on the contrary, should be a three-dimensional physical concrete object and specific indefinite, which could be transferred. However, in the English ditransitive construction, the patient is transferred from the agent to recipient.In Chinese, the patient can move from the agent to the recipient and vice verse. The recipient must be an animate and a willing recipient.As for the middle construction, it is a special construction existing in both English and Chinese. In middle construction, it contains an implicit agent argument; the mechanism is the demotion of the external argument of the verb and the promotion of the internal argument. The verb can no longer assign the objective structural case to the head and the external argument is suppressed. Middle construction has special semantic and syntax features. Many scholars make effort on the study of the middle construction. Different views on the middle construction are offered.As for Ergative Construction, it is a construction similar to middle construction; however, there are some differences between them. Ergative construction can be divided into two types:paired ergative construction and unpaired ergative construction. The paper further discusses the semantic and syntax features of English and Chinese ergative construction.The present study tries to find out the argument structure of different constructions and make a comparison in English and Chinese on the argument structure in these construction, hoping to deepen insights into the argument structure of different constructions and benefiting linguistic researchers, make a little contribution to the form and meaning study in linguistics.