Chapter 3 Properties of the Canonical Type of Mandarin Locative Inversion…28
3.3 Aspect Markers
The occurrences of aspect markers in Mandarin LIC have been much investigated in previous literature (Pan 1996, Du 1999, Zhang 2008). Much research claims that the aspect markers are obligatory in Mandarin LIC (Pan 1996, Lin 2001, Wu 2008). Some propose that only certain aspect markers like -zhe can occur in this construction while others suggest that all aspect markers are possible. Pan (1996) proposes that Mandarin locative inversion with transitive verbs must depend on morphological operation involving the aspect marker -zhe. Once the morphological operation is applied, the agent role of the transitive verb would be eliminated in
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Mandarin LIC. As a result, the locative DP can be mapped to the subject position in Mandarin locative inversion. However, Pan (1996) does not take into consideration other aspect markers such as -le and -guo, which can occur in Mandarin LIC as well.
Lin (2001) claims that all aspect markers are possible with locative subjects and accounts for the co-occurrence of locative subjects with aspect markers in terms of light verb analysis. Although we agree with this observation, we do not agree with his analysis of it. Lin (2001) argues that the locative subjects are licensed by the light verb EXIST, rather than by the verb. The light verb EXIST is assumed to be “typically predicated of an episodic, stage-level eventuality”; that is, the predicate which is predicated of a subject is temporal. Since the function of aspect markers in Mandarin is to place a temporal viewpoint on the verb, those locative subjects licensed by the light verb EXIST must occur with the aspect markers. However, it is not true that locative subjects licensed by the light verb EXIST must occur with aspect markers.
Lin (2001: 146) suggests that the locative subject sentences can be rephrased as you
‘have’ sentences when the action verb is used existentially, as shown below.
(62) a. Luzi-shang dun-zhe yi-guo niu-rou.
stove-top stew-DUR one-pot beef
Lit. ‘On the stove stewed a pot of beef.’
(Lin 2001, Chapter 3, example (29a))
b. Luzi-shang (zheng dun-zhe) you yi-guo niu-rou.
stove-top right-now stew-DUR have one-pot beef
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‘There is a pot of beef on the stove (being stewed).’
(Lin 2001, Chapter 3, example (40a))
Along the line of his analysis, it is reasonable for us to assume that the locative subject is also licensed by the light verb EXIST in you ‘have’ sentences. As shown below, in you ‘have’ sentences, aspect markers cannot be allowed.
(63) a. *Zhuozi-shang you-zhe yi-ben shu.
table-top have-DUR one-CL book
‘There is a book on the table.’
b. *Zhuozi-shang you-le yi-ben shu.
table-top have-PER one-CL book
‘There is a book on the table.’
As can be seen in (63), if the locative subject is licensed by the light verb EXIST and aspect markers can impose a temporal viewpoint on the verb you ‘have’, it is not clear why the aspect markers cannot occur in you ‘have’ sentences.
Despite the frequent use of aspect markers in Mandarin LIC, we claim that the aspect makers are not obligatory in Mandarin LIC and that all the aspect markers are possible in Mandarin LIC. We find that the aspect marker becomes unnecessary when the modal occurs, as demonstrated below.
(64) a. Tai-shang keyi zuo yixie ren.
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stage-top can sit some people
Lit. ‘On the stage can be sitting some people.’
b. Heiban-shang yao hua yixie chatu.
blackboard-top will draw some pictures
Lit. ‘On the blackboard will be drawn some pictures.’
c. Zhuozi-shang yinggai fang san-ben zidian
table-top should put three-CL dictionary
Lit. ‘On the table should be put three dictionaries.’
Pan (2003) also points out that bare verbs are also possible in this construction.
Consider the following sentence.
(65) Youjiao li yi-jia yuedudeng, ...,fang xie yanju.
Right.corner erect one-CL table.lamp put some smoking.set
Lit. “On the right corner was erected a table lamp, … put some smoking sets.”
(Pan 2003)
As the examples in (64) and (65) show, the aspect markers are not obligatory in Mandarin LIC.
In addition, as we look into the data taken from Academia Sinica Corpus, we observe that all aspect markers are possible in Mandarin LIC. Among the aspect
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markers, the use of -zhe is of the highest frequency. The aspect marker -le is also very common in Mandarin LIC. The aspect marker -guo is the least in frequency, but still possible, as shown in the example (66).
(66) Zheli qianbujiu zhu-guo liang-wei guniang. (Pan 2003)
here before long live-EXP two-CL girl
Lit. ‘Here lived two girls before long.’
Therefore, in view of the examples (64) and (65), we suggest that Mandarin preverbal locative phrases do not necessarily co-occur with aspect markers. Nevertheless, it seems to be true that Mandarin LIC tends to have the verb co-occurring with aspect markers. We speculate that the frequent use of the aspect markers in Mandarin LIC results from the semantics of Mandarin LIC. Most types of Mandarin LIC express the state of some entity. Yang and Pan (2001) indicate that the selection of the aspect markers is determined by the aspectual properties of verbs: change of state selects the perfective marker -le and resultative state selects the durative marker -zhe. Liu (2007) suggests that the semantic of the event specified in the verb is responsible for the choice of the aspect markers. In previous research, there have been many different opinions about the use of the aspect markers in Mandarin LIC. A genuine account for the frequent occurrence of aspect markers in Mandarin LIC will be left for further research.
3.4 Summary
This chapter has discussed the properties of the so-called canonical type of Mandarin LIC, which are near counterparts of English locative inversion. Like
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English locative inversion, the canonical type of Mandarin LIC requires that the preverbal locative phrase be an argument and express the location of the postverbal theme. However, Mandarin LIC differs from English in not being associated with discourse function. In addition, we have also shown that preverbal locative phrases in Mandarin LIC can appear in the form of either DP or PP. Observing that preverbal locative DPs and PPs show distinct syntactic properties, we claim that locative DPs and PPs are generated in different syntactic positions. Like English inverted locative PPs, Mandarin locative DPs are characterized by showing several subject properties in this construction. In contrast with locative DPs, locative PPs do not have any sign of subject properties. We assume with Coopmans’ (1989) the existence of an empty expletive at the subject position in Mandarin LIC when the preverbal locative phrase appears in the form of PP. Under this assumption, the locative PP is either generated in a preverbally VP-adjoined position or moved to the CP periphery position.
We have not addressed how a locative DP lands in the grammatical subject position in Mandarin LIC. As discussed in Chapter 2, an English locative PP is directly mapped to the subject position due to the discourse function (Bresnan 1994) or is moved from the predicate-internal position to the subject position (Levin and Rappaport 1995, Collins 1997, Wu 2008). In Chapter 4, we will discuss the transitive type of Mandarin LIC to explore how a locative DP fits in the subject position. The other special types of Mandarin LIC will also be discussed, which can shed some light on how a locative DP is mapped to the grammatical subject position in this construction.
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Chapter 4
Analysis of Mandarin Locative Inversion
4.1 Basic Facts
As discussed in Chapter 3, Mandarin and English manifest a similar phenomenon with respect to the types of verb compatible with LIC. Both unaccusative and passive verbs are allowed whereas unergative verbs are impossible in this construction. In fact, Mandarin allows broader classes of verbs occurring in LIC. Transitive verbs can also be allowed to enter this construction. Li and Thompson (1981) observe that a specific class of transitive verbs, called the verbs of placement, is the most frequently found in Mandarin LIC. The instances of placement verbs are as follows.
(67) fang ‘put’ hua ‘draw’ tu ‘expectorate’
zhong ‘plant’ ke ‘carve’ xie ‘write’
yin ‘print’ cang ‘hide’
(68) The Transitive Type
a. Qiang-shang hua-zhe yixie chatu.
wall-top draw-DUR some picture
Lit. ‘On the wall was intentionally drawn some pictures.’
b. Zhuozi-shang fang-le san-ben shu.
table-top put-PER three-CL book
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Lit. ‘On the table was carefully put three books.’
When a transitive verb enters this construction, no agent is implicated. As the examples (69) and (70) suggest, the agent-oriented adverbs, such as guyi
‘intentionally’ and xiaoxinyiyi ‘carefully’, are not allowed to occur in Mandarin LIC.
(69) a. Ta guyi zai qiang-shang hua-le yixie chatu.
he intentionally P. wall-top draw-PER some picture
‘He intentionally drew some pictures on the wall.’
c. *Qiang-shang guyi hua-le yixie chatu.
wall-top intentionally draw-PER some picture
Lit. ‘On the wall was intentionally drawn some pictures.’
(70) a. Ta xiaoxinyiyi zai zhuozi-shang fang-le san-ben shu.
he carefully P. table-top put-PER three-CL book
‘He carefully put three books on the table.’
b. *Zhuozi-shang xiaoxinyiyi fang-le san-ben shu.
table-top carefully put-PER three-CL book
Lit. ‘On the table was carefully put three books.’
Since no agent is implicated in Mandarin LIC, the transitive verb must have undergone some detransivization operation, which has their external agent role
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suppressed or deleted. Many previous studies have attempted to account for the absence of the agent role in the transitive type of Mandarin LIC, which will be discussed in the next section.
In addition to the transitive verbs, certain verbs such as miman ‘spread’ and chongman ‘fill’ can enter Mandarin LIC. Such examples as (71) are labeled as “the spreading verb type.”
(71) The Spreading Verb Type
a. Caoyuan-shang miman-zhe chenwu.
grassland-top spread-DUR morning fog
Lit. ‘The morning fog was spread on the grassland.’
b. Jiaoshi-li chongman huanle de qifen.
classroom-inside fill joyous DE atmosphere
‘The classroom was filled with joyous atmosphere.’
As Li and Thompson (1981) observe, the existential verb you ‘have’ can also take a locative DP as its subject, as exemplified by the following sentences.
(72) You ‘have’ verb type
a. Yuanzi-li you yi-zhi gou.
yard-insid have one-CL dog
‘There is a dog in the yard.’
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b. Chouti-li you ni-de yaoshi.
drawer-inside have your key
‘In the drawer is your key.’
In the types of Mandarin LIC discussed so far, the preverbal locative phrase must denote the location of the theme. However, there is a special type of Mandarin LIC observed by Yang and Pan (2001), in which the preverbal locative phrase denotes the location where an event occurs. Yang and Pan (2001) indicate that the sentences like (73) describe a function a location is meant for. Based on their account, we label these sentences as “the functional type”.
(73) The Functional Type
a. Tai-shang chang-zhe daxi.
stage-top perform-DUR opera
Lit. ‘On the stage is performing an opera.’
b. Wu-li kai-zhe hui.
room-inside hold-DUR meeting
Lit. ‘In the room is holding a meeting.’
In this study, we divide Mandarin LIC into five types: canonical type, transitive type, spreading verb type, you ‘have’ verb type, and functional type. After presenting our proposal, we will give a unified analysis for these different types of Mandarin LIC.
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4.2 Previous Analyses
4.2.1 Pan (1996)
Following Bresnan and Kanerva’s (1987) claim, Pan (1996) proposes a similar analysis to account for locative inversion in Mandarin Chinese. Pan observes that in addition to unaccusative verbs and passivized verbs, non-passivized transitive verbs such as fang ‘put’ and xie ‘write’ can undergo locative inversion in Mandarin Chinese.
Pan proposes that the fact that those non-passivized transitive verbs can undergo locative inversion is due to the morphological operation involving the durative marker -zhe, by which the agent role of a transitive verb is eliminated. Once the agent role is
deleted, the resulting argument structure of a transitive verb is similar to that of an unaccusative verb. Pan proposes that the zhe operation applies under three conditions, as follows.
(74) The zhe operation applies if
a. the verb in question is an accomplishment verb with the argument structure:
<agent, theme, location>;
b. there is a subject predicate relation between theme and location; and
c. the sentence in question is [-stative]
(75) Zhe operation: <agent, theme, location> → <theme, location>
Pan (1996) argues that the verbs like fang ‘put’ and xie ‘write’ only serve as transitives. Therefore, in the case of such transitive verbs, the zhe operation must apply before locative inversion.
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(76) Zhuozi-shang ke-zhe yi-ge zi.
table-top carve-DUR one-CL character
Lit. ‘On the table is carved a character.’
In (76), the verb ke ‘carve’ starts with the argument structure <agent, theme, location>.
When the aspect marker -zhe is suffixed to it, the zhe operation applies and ke-zhe
‘carve-DUR’ yields the argument structure <theme, location>. The zhe operation feeds locative inversion and the locative argument zhuozi-shang ‘on the table’ is mapped to the subject function.
Although Pan seems to offer a plausible explanation for the presence of the aspect marker -zhe and the deletion of the agent in Mandarin LIC, there are some problems.
First, as Du (1999) and Lin (2001) indicate, Pan does not explain clearly why the durative aspect marker -zhe triggers the deletion of the external agent argument whereas the perfective aspect marker -le does not. Other aspect markers such as -le and -guo are also possible in Mandarin LIC.
(77) Qiang-shang gua-le yi-fu hua.
wall-top hang-PER one-CL painting
‘On the wall was hung a painting.’
(78) Zhe-kuai di zhong-guo san-ke shu.
this-CL land plant-guo three-CL tree
‘On this land was planted three trees.’
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In addition, in Pan’s proposal, locative inversion with transitive verbs must depend on morphological operation, vacating the external argument position, which would be subsequently occupied by a locative phrase. However, in some instances of Mandarin LIC, we find that the transitive verbs are not necessarily accompanied by the aspect markers, for example, when the modal is present. If there is no aspect marker which is suffixed to the verb in Mandarin LIC, then the morphological operation could not apply.
(79) a. Heiban-shang yao hua yixie chatu.
blackboard-top will draw some pictures
Lit. ‘On the blackboard will be drawn some pictures.’
b. Tai-shang keyi zuo yixie ren.
stage-top can sit some people
Lit. ‘On the stage can be sitting some people.’
c. Zhuozi-shang yinggai fang san-ben zidian
table-top should put three-CL dictionary
Lit. ‘On the table should be put three dictionaries.’
Without application of the morphological operation, the external argument position would not be vacated and locative inversion could not be derived.
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4.2.2 Lin (2001)
Lin (2001) observes that the Mandarin verbs are less restrictive than English verbs in terms of thematic relations. Lin notices the unselectiveness of subjects in Mandarin Chinese, as shown in the following examples.
(80) a. Laowang kai-le yi-liang tankeche.
Laowang drive-PER one-CL tank
‘Laowang drove a tank.’
b. Gaosugonglu-shang kai-zhe yi-pai tankeche.
expressway-top drive-DUR one-line tank
Lit. ‘On the expressway drive a line of tanks.’
c. Zhe-liang poche kai-de wo xia-si le.
this-CL broken.car drive I scare-dead Particle
‘Driving this broken car made me scared to death.’
From the examples above, the subject of the transitive verb kai ‘drive’ can be an agent (80a), a location (80b), or a theme (80c). The unselectiveness of theta roles are also found in the object position. Given the unselective property of subjects and objects, he follows Hale and Keyser’s (1993) l-syntax,8 arguing that a theta-role is the relation
8 The assumption made by Hale and Keyser (1993) is given below:
At the lexical level, a verb can represented as a lexical relations structure (LRS) which is constructed only with four lexical categories, V, N, A, P, associated with four elementary notional types: event, entity, state, and interrelation, respectively.
L-syntax refers to Hale and Keyser’s theory of theta-role and syntactic LRSs for lexical verbs.
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between a light verb and the argument. In order to explain the contrast between Mandarin and English, Lin (2001) makes two assumptions as follows.
(81) a. A verb contains both the lexical root and the light verb in English but only the lexical root and no light verb in Chinese.
b. The combination of lexical roots and light verbs can be “quite liberal” in s-syntax.
According to (81), the selection of the light verbs in s-syntax is attributed to the thematic flexibility in Mandarin and the subjects are not selected by the main verb, but by a light verb.
Lin (2001) proposes a light verb analysis for the construction involving locative subjects. As many previous studies claim, only the locative phrase subcategorized by the verb can trigger inversion. However, Lin argues that the verbs such as gai ‘build’, kai ‘drive’, and xie ‘write’, which can occur with a locative subject, do not have an
internal locative argument. Although the verbs of placement like fang ‘put’ and xie
‘write’ seem to have internal locative argument, Lin assumes that the verbs of placement do not have any argument because of the unselective property of objects.
Lin suggests that the verbs of placement in Mandarin are characterized by their stative or existential use. The verbs of placement can take either a locative or a theme subject, without any sense of action or agentivity. He uses the following examples to show the stativity of the placement verbs.
(82) Zhuo-shang fang-zhe san-ben shu.
table-top put-DUR three book
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‘On the table was put three books.’
(83) Na san-ben shu fang zai shujia-shang shi nian le,
that three-CL book put at bookshelf ten year Prt
conglai meiyou ren dong-guo.
ever no person touch-EXP
Lit. ‘Those three books have been put on the bookshelf for ten years; no one ever touches it.’
Lin states that the stativity is expressed by a durative marker -zhe in (82) and by the time adverbial shinian ‘ten years’ in (83). He further argues that in addition to the verbs of placement, all kinds of action verbs in Mandarin can assume existential use and take a locative subject when being conflated with the light verb EXIST in the sentence. He observes that the locative subject sentences can be rephrased as the sentences with the action verb being replaced by you ‘have’, which is argued to be an existential verb.
(84) a. Luzi-shang dun-zhe yi-guo niu-rou.
stove-top stew-DUR one-pot beef
Lit. ‘On the stove stewed a pot of beef.’
c. Luzi-shang (zheng dun-zhe) you yi-guo niu-rou.
stove-top (right-now stew-DUR) have one-pot beef
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‘There is a pot of beef on the stove (being stewed).’
‘There is a pot of beef on the stove (being stewed).’