TEMPORAL SEQUENCE STRUCTURE AND THE ASPECT MARKER-ZHE IN CHINESE.

This paper discusses the distribution of aspect marker -zhe in Chinese serial verb constructions (SVCs) with the aim of accounting for the factors that constrain its distribution. It is proposed that both event types and temporal structure should be taken into consideration. It has been pointed out that the occurrence of the aspect marker -zhe with in SVCs requires that V) denoted an unbounded eventuality. That is, when the first subevent of an SVC is an activity, a stage-level state, or a semelfactive, the aspect marker -zhe must occur in the SVC, whereas when the first subevent of an SVC is an accomplishment, an achievement, or an individual-level state, the aspect marker -zhe must not occur. In addition, the aspect marker -zhe is obligatory when the two subevents have full overlapping temporal structure, while it is prohibited when there is no or partial overlap in temporal structure. Moreover, we have explained why an SVC without -zhe may have multiple readings, but the ambiguous readings disappear when it occurs with the aspect marker -zhe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]