Distinguishing resultative constructions from small clause constructions
Yehao Hu, Gong Cheng
August 2021 

This article shows that resultative constructions and small clause constructions are structurally parallel to each other. On the one hand, drawing mainly on data from Mandarin Chinese, it argues for a small clause analysis of resultatives. On the other hand, building on the previous work by the constructivist approach, it proposes that the verbal roots involved in both resultatives and small clause constructions should be treated as event modifiers. The two constructions should involve the same basic syntactic structure in narrow syntax. Their different configurational meanings or event structures are attributed to their different compositional semantics at the C-I interface. For instance, the little v can be interpreted differently at the interface, although no different “flavors” of it are posited in narrow syntax. The conclusions achieved in this article instantiates the idea developed in Marantz (2013) and Wood and Marantz (2017) that syntax is autonomous from semantics: the same syntactic structure might express different meanings.

Format:	[ pdf ]
Reference:	lingbuzz/006176 (please use that when you cite this article)
keywords:	resultative construction, small clause construction, small clause, event modifier, attitude ascription, autonomy of syntax, result state, semantics, morphology, syntax
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