| In this thesis, we propose a unified analysis of two long-disputed structures in Chinese: the bei and the ba constructions, which exhibit a number of unexpected properties given standard assumptions with respect to passivization and Case theory since: (i) the bei passive cannot suppress the verb's Case and theta-role assigning abilities; (ii) the Agent DP is not demoted; (iii) DP movement does not occur to satisfy the Case Filter. It is shown that many of the puzzling properties in these constructions, especially the unusual word order, can be treated as consequences of some general principles. While the standard analysis of passivization is challenged, strong empirical evidence is found favoring the VP-Internal Subject Hypothesis, the UTAH (Baker 1988), the proposal that DP movement occurs to satisfy the requirement that a Case assigner discharge Case (Fukui and Speas 1986), and that a chain may receive more than one Case feature. |
