Contrastive Researches Of Semantic Information Between English And Chinese SVO Constructions

"Subject +Verb +Object"(SVO) works as one of the most basic pattern in English and Chinese SVO constructions, deserving our academic attention and research. However,in the aspect of the contrastive studies on semantic information between English and Chinese SVO constructions, mostly linguists only make detail research on a certain verb or a branch of pattern, without complete and systematic research. In this thesis, there are three questions: (1) What are the differences between the English and Chinese SVO constructions? (2) In which case, some verbs are transitive verbs in English but intransitive verbs in Chinese? (3) In which case, English intransitive verbs can be used as transitive verbs?On the basis of comparative analysis of English and Chinese SVO constructions in the technique of translation (Qian Gechuan 1980), a systematic and comprehensive contrastive analysis of semantic information between English and Chinese SVO constructions is made by taking advantage of three theories, i.e. the valence grammar, the construction grammar,and the prototype theory. In terms of the form of language, the SVO construction is that a transitive verb can only take an object. In English sentences, the object may include the following parts of speech: noun, pronoun, numeral, substantivized adjective, infinitive,gerund, subordinate clause and so on. And in Chinese sentences, the object may include the following parts of speech: noun, pronoun, adjective, verb phrases, noun phrases,subject predicate phrases, adjective phrases and clauses.After analysis, according to the different types of transitive verbs, there are five peculiarities in the English and Chinese SVO construction. They are depriving-class verbs,offering-class verbs, making-class verbs, body part ascending verbs, and transitive verbs in English but intransitive verbs in Chinese. According to this finding, some verbs which are transitive verbs in English but intransitive verbs in Chinese include JIANGLIN (befell),SHIHE (become well), XIANGSI (resemble), DAO (reach), NAOGUI (haunt), and ZOUJIN (enter). This research also find that there are still four cases in which English intransitive verbs can be used as transitive verbs. They are taking a cognate object, having a causative sense, taking a preposition, and taking a complement.In addition to the construction grammar, this study makes a systematic and in-depth analysis of the differences between English and Chinese SVO constructions with valence grammar and prototype theory. To sum up, the present research conducted within the framework of the semantic, the constructional and cognitive theories, reveals the differences between English and Chinese SVO constructions and is expected to help us get a better understanding of the two languages arid, furthermore, to shed light on contrastive studies of other constructions.