Study On "NP₁VNP₂" And Other Relative Derived Constructions

In mandarin Chinese some constructions are transactional and can derivede-constructions. Shen Jiaxuan (1999) explains these phenomena with "cognitive frame". Forexample, according to the frame of "agent-action-patient", we can infer that the transferreddesignation of "(someone) that drives the car" is the agent "someone", but not the time, localor manner. That is to say "someone drives the car"is a gestalt but "driving at night", "drivingon the road", "driving quickly" are not. The time, reason, manner, goal and so on, they are notin the cognitive frame, so they are not the transferred designation of the de-construction. Butthe "cognitive frame" cannot explain other phenomena that the "action", "tool", "patient" arein the same cognitive frame. Shen Yang (2003) revises the "subject and object extraction rule"(Zhu Dexi, 1978, 1983)and brings forward "de-construction extraction rule". It can only deal with the possibility ofextraction but cannot explain in what case extraction must happen and in what case it not. This study is trying to explain why there are such asymmetrical phenomena intransferred designation of de-constructions in mandarin Chinese. In fact, besides cognitiveframe and argument structure, theme order is also able to affect extraction of thede-construction. Compared with tool, patient more tends to act as object, so when subject ispatient, tool that acts as object cannot be extracted. That is to say, in the construction of"Nppatient V de" there is no empty place for tool. "Nppatient V de" is ungrammatical so ithas no function of transferred designation. Only "V Nppatient de" has the empty place fortool. We can mark this ability with ">" . The theme that is on the left of ">"is easier to beobject than the one on the right. This essay studies six primary themes: agent, patient, tool,local, result and object, and makes three theme orders: a. patient>object>tool>local b. result>tool>local c. patient>agent>localWhen the themes which are on the left of ">" and the right one both appear in the constructionof "NP1VNP2" and the left one is the subject, the right one cannot be extracted. In this case,"NP2" is not the transferred designation of "NP1Vde".