Verb copying in Mandarin Chinese

Abstract

This chapter examines the ambiguity in resultative constructions with verb copying in Mandarin Chinese (resultative de -clauses and resultative compounds) and argues that the ambiguity is the result of two different derivations, which have in common the fact that more than one copy of the verb is phonetically realized. It is argued that both standard movement and sideward movement (in the sense of Nunes 2001, 2004 ) are used for verb copying in resultative de -clauses, leading to different interpretations. In the case of standard movement, the subject of the resultative clause is raised to the matrix clause, accompanied by verb movement, yielding an object-result reading. In the case of subject-result reading, ergativity shift is involved and the subject of the resultative clause becomes the subject of the matrix clause. In the latter case, the verb is copied to accommodate a thematic noun phrase associated with a verb (via sideward movement). For both readings, due to a modifi ed structure in the lower copy, both copies are allowed to be pronounced, without violating the LCA. Using data from verb copying in resultatives, the chapter further examines how copying is restricted to avoid unwanted copying, lending independent support to Hornstein and Nunes' (2002) proposal that the copy operation may be triggered by θ-requirements.