英语中动结构的基本特性与界定条件

Basic Features and Defining Conditions of the English Middle Construction

中动结构是一种跨语言语法现象,一经提出便引起了语言学界的关注。文章重点探讨了英语中动结构的基本特征和界定中动结构的具体条件,认为中动结构的界定必须从句法和语义两个方面展开,其句法特性包括受事做主语、主动形式表示被动意义、及物动词呈不及物化形式、句子通常用一般现在时、必须带状语修饰等,其语义特性包括隐含施事、非事件性、泛指性、情态性、可能性等。

The middle construction,a grammatical phenomenon of cross-language,has immediately drawn due attention from the linguistic circle since its occurrence. This paper mainly discusses the basic features and boundary conditions of the middle construction,and opines that the middle construction should be defined in two ways： one is the grammatical way and the other the semantic way. The syntactic features include the patient used as a subject,passive meanings shown through active forms,transitive verbs presented in intransitive forms,a sentence normally written in the simple present tense and the use of an adverbial as its modifier. The semantic features include an implied agent,non-eventiveness,genericity,modality and possibility,etc.