BA-SENTENCES REVISITED
Xianmin Liu
East Asian Studies, Vanderbilt University
While teaching Chinese we have found
that some ba-sentences sound awkward or even wrong although they include all the
grammatical elements composing the disposal structure[Subj. + Ba-Referential/Specific
Noun + Verb + Resultative Element]. For example,
1) *Ta ba mama de xin shoudao le.
2) *Ta meiyou ba na-ben shu kandao.
3) ?Zhang San ba Li Si ai-shang le.
4) ?Ta qunian ba laopo si le.
5) *Wo ba zhei-jian shi wangbuliao.
6) *Wo ba zhei-ge xiangzi banbudong.
In this study we suggest that with everything being in line structurally, the
sense of disposal in ba-sentences still depends on two essential semantic
features: agentivity and object change.
Through data analysis we will show that
these two semantic notions distinguish between the typical ba-sentences and the
atypical ba-sentences or
ungrammatical sentences.
We hope that our findings in this study could serve as some semantic criteria
that not only explain why some ba-sentences are less acceptable than others but
also enhance students' understanding of ba-sentences and enable students to use
ba-sentences correctly and natually.