Verb-Copying Constructions in Chinese: Derivation and Syntax-Semantics Interface

It is argued that structurally the basic form of verb-copying constructions is [VP1 NP1 [V` V1 [VP2  NP2 [V` V2 XP]]]]. V1 is identical to V2 in terms of form, and V1 is a lexical item that is inserted in the course of derivation. XP has multiple properties. Such a structural architecture is based on the dual requirement of the syntactic system and the conceptual/semantic system. The arguments occupy different positions due to their different theta-roles and syntactic configurations, which give rise to lexical representations that are derived by the computational system in different ways to generate various types of verb-copying constructions.