Abstract
The empirical scope of this chapter is quite limited and the aim is very modest too. The main empirical focus will be on sentences like (1): the double object construction in (1a) and the prepositional dative construction in (1 b); sentences of the type illustrated in (2), with the gei-phrase preceding song ‘give’, will only play a minor role. As to the aim, all I want to do is see how we can reconcile the Mandarin double object and prepositional dative constructions (henceforth, recipient constructions) with the single complement hypothesis discussed in chapter 1.
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Notes
I simplify Hoekstra’s approach considerably. For instance, in both structures, Hoekstra argues, the indirect object, NP1, contains an adjoined preposition. This adjoined P may be empty, as in English and German (in which case it must be licensed by a [+V] category), or it may be overt, like French à . Furthermore, it may be able to assign Case independently, as is the case in German and French, or it may not, like in English, in which case it must be Case-governed (by a verb or the head of I) in order to be able to assign Case to the NP it is adjoined to. Thus, concretely, in reference to (3), NP1 in (3a) is Case dependent on the matrix verb as the adjoined empty P contained in it can only Case mark the NP by virtue of being Case-governed by the matrix verb. NP2 in (3a) is Case-marked by HAVE. In (3b), on the other hand, the matrix verb assigns Case to NP2 (through BE), while NP1 gets Dative case from the adjoined P (which is empty in German, for instance, and overt, à, in French). In a way, one could regard HAVE and BE as labels for [+V +Case] and [+V —Case] respectively.
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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Sybesma, R. (1999). Two Objects. In: The Mandarin VP. Studies in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, vol 44. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9163-8_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9163-8_4
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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