A Study On The Derivation Of The Serial Verb Constructions With Directional Verbs Lai And Qu

Directional verb is a small subclass in modern Chinese. Verbs lai and qu are two important members in the subclass. They can act as predicates or complements, and they can express the meaning of direction and other kinds of extended meaning. Directional verbs lai and qu can be combined with other verbs to form SVCs.Within the framework of TG Grammar, the author of this thesis attempts to make a comprehensive study on the syntactic features, the derivation of SVCs with directional verbs lai and qu, and to provide a unified interpretation of their positions. By means of the relative principles, the author elaborates on the constraint conditions of serial verb constructions, the linear order of the relative verbs, the positions of directional verbs lai and qu.We first make a general review of the current studies on directional verbs lai and qu. Most linguists believe that directional verbs lai and qu can be combined with other verbs in a SVC. Lai and qu can be put before or after other verbs, and there is no ambiguity. But some linguists argue that, when directional verbs lai and qu are put in different positions, the corresponding constructions and meaning will be different. Based on the classification and distribution of empty categories in Chinese, we have found that there are PRO and pro in SVCs with directional verbs lai and qu. Under the guidance of light verb theory, the author analyzes three patterns of lai and qu:V+lai/qu+O, V+O+lai/qu, and O+V+lai/qu. Based on the analysis of the derivation of these three patterns, we point out that, due to the appearance of PRO and pro in a SVC, lai and qu can be incorporated to other verbs. Through move and merge, directional verbs lai and qu can be put in different positions of a sentence, and in the relative constructions there is no ambiguity.The thesis consists of four main chapters. Chapter one elaborates on the different opinions related to the position of directional verbs lai and qu, and discusses the studies on SVCs made by different researchers, based on which the outline of this thesis is made. Chapter two focuses on the discussion of the relative theories which can be used to analyze directional verbs lai and qu in a SVC. Chapter three discusses SVC with directional verbs lai and qu. The use of lai and qu can be further divided into two types: directional use and non-directional use. The directional use of lai and qu is related to the thesis. The syntactic features of directional verbs lai and qu in SVCs are discussed in detail. Chapter four analyzes the empty categories PRO and pro in SVCs with directional verbs lai and qu, and the derivation of SVCs with directional verbs lai and qu.