Yang, Fengrong: BEI-passive revisited: a constraint-based approach
This paper revisits Chinese BEI-passive constructions by analyzing two less-studied passive structures: the passive in which the patient argument of the passivized verb maps onto a post-verbal position, as well as the passive with intransitive verbs. I claim that there is no subject in these constructions, by showing that the post-V patient, if there is one, is the object and not the dislocated subject of the clause. I propose that BEI is a raising verb and a passive marker in Chinese and that a grammatical subject is not necessary for every clause.
December 22, 2022 |