Study Of The Potential Complement In The Mandarin Chinese

Based on traditional grammatical analysis and the theory of cognitive semantics, this dissertation studies the potential complement in modern Chinese and attempts to analyze and explain its structure, meaning and usage. There are seven chapters which involve three subjects—V de/bu C, V de/bu Hao, V de/bude--and five main subjects as follows.First, to examine the structure and meaning of the three potential complement constructions, this dissertation discusses the structural meaning of V de/bu C, V de/bu Hao, V de/bude, and also investigates the restrictive Conditions of a verb or a complement in these constructions.Second, this dissertation considers the semantic feature of the potential complement. By means of Force Dynamics cognitive models, it analyzes the inside semantic structure of the potential complement, and also explains the modal meanings of those three constructions.Third, on the usage of the potential complement, this dissertation mainly describes the asymmetric phenomenon between the affirmative and the negative types of the potential complement. In addition, it discusses the contextual conditions and the grammatical restrictions of the potential complement.Fourth, this dissertation contrasts and analyzes the Chinese potential complement and similar expressions in the Korean language. By comparing the grammatical structures and contextual conditions, it points out the common or different features existing in these two languages.Fifth, this dissertation offers some educational plans about the potential complement as a foreign language. It points out the lack of explanations in current textbooks and the types of errors made by foreign students about the potential complement, and it suggests some appropriate educational plans.This dissertation particularly explains the structural meaning, semantic features, and expression effects of the potential complement. This research not only advances the study of the potential complement in grammar, but also provides effective measures for Chinese education as a foreign language. There remain some questions that need further study, such as the meaning and usages of many individual constructions of the potential complement.