Abstract
Motivated by the lack of a consensus on the basic judgment data on gapless (or indirect exclusive) bei passives in Chinese, in this study we used quantitative methods to test the weak NP analysis, proposed by Lin (2009, Licensing “gapless” bei passives. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 18(2). 167–177), which is constructed on informally collected acceptability judgment data. Three experiments were designed to obtain a comprehensive body of judgments that followed the rigorous data collection standards as advocated by Gibson and Fedorenko (2013, The need for quantitative methods in syntax and semantics research. Language and Cognitive Processes 28(1–2). 88–124). The experimental results showed that despite acceptable indirect exclusive bei sentences observed in the literature, the generation of such bei passives is limited. The results also cast doubt on the weak NP hypothesis for gapless bei passives given that the test items all received low acceptability irrespective of the presence of the alleged weak NP licensor. In addition, the experimental results revealed that the retained object in indirect bei passives cannot be licensed by any pragmatically significant relation, such as a direct kinship relation manipulated in the experiments. Taken together, the experimental findings were shown to draw implications for the affectedness typology of passives. We argue that the continuity approach (Shibatani 1985, Passives and related constructions: A prototype analysis. Language 61(4). 821–848; Washio 1993, When causatives mean passive. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 2. 45–90) fares better than the core syntax/semantic approach (Oshima 2006, Adversity and Korean/Japanese passives: Constructional analogy. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 15. 137–166) to capturing the affectedness patterns of passives in Korean, Japanese and Chinese.
Funding statement: This work was partially supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, under Grant No. 99-2410-H-003-096.
Acknowledgements
We would like to express our gratitude to Colin Philips for his valuable comments and suggestions on an initial draft of this article. We are also grateful to Yafei Li, Chien-jer Charles Lin and Hooi Ling Soh for the inspiring discussions. Thanks also go to Yoshihisa Kitagawa for sharing with us his insightful works on experimental syntax. Earlier versions of this article were presented at the 19th Annual Meeting of International Association of Chinese Linguistics (IACL-19), Nankai University, Tianjin, China, June 11–13, 2011 and at the Workshop: In Search of New Ways to Understand Language Variation, Change and Acquisition, University of the Basque Country, Spain, June 25–26, 2012. The helpful comments from the audiences at those presentations, especially C.-T. James Huang and Rui-heng Ray Huang, are greatly appreciated. We also wish to acknowledge the two anonymous Linguistics reviewers for providing constructive comments. Mistakes are exclusively our own.
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Appendix
A Sample of the Questionnaire in Experiment 1
Instruction:
Hello! This is a questionnaire survey related to Mandarin Chinese sentences. The survey provides six items for you to judge. Each item depicts a contextual situation, and consists of two parts: background information and target sentences to be judged. The background information presents knowledge for the target sentence. Please read the two background sentences, and according to them, judge whether the target sentence reads smooth, natural, and complete. If you think so, please check the box “acceptable”. By contrast, if you do not think so, please check the box “unacceptable”. We suggest that you should read each item carefully, and follow your intuition and experience when making the judgment.
Example 1Background:
| Lao | Huang-de | pengyou | Lao | Zhao | shi | zui | bu | xihuan |
| Lao | Huang-POSS | friend | Lao | Zhao | be | most | not | like |
| canjia | yanhui | de | ren. |
| attend | party | DE | person |
‘Lao Huang’s friend Lao Zhao is a person that does not like attending parties the most.’
| Lao | Zhao | shi | diyi-ge | ju | bei | xiang | Lao | Huang | jingjiu | de | ren. |
| Lao | Zhao | be | first-CL | raise | cup | toward | Lao | Huang | toast | DE | person |
‘Lao Zhao was the first guest to make a toast to Lao Huang.’
Qing yiju beijing ju de zixun, zixi yuedu ben ju.
‘Please read this sentence carefully with reference to the background information.’
Target sentence:
| Lian | Lao | Zhao | dou | chuxi-le | yanhui. |
| even | Lao | Zhao | DOU | attend-ASP | party |
‘Even Lao Zhao showed up in the party.’
Yiju beijing ju de zixun, ni juede mubiao ju keyi jieshou ma?
‘On the basis of the background information, do you think that the target sentence is acceptable?’
| (V) acceptable | () unacceptable |
Example 2
Background:
| Lao | Huang-de | pengyou | Lao | Zhao | shi | ge | feichang |
| Lao | Huang-POSS | friend | Lao | Zhao | be | CL | very |
| xihuan | canjia | yanhui | de | ren. |
| like | attend | party | DE | person |
‘Lao Huang’s friend Lao Zhao is a person that likes attending parties the most.’
| Lao | Zhao | shi | diyi-ge | ju | bei | xiang | Lao | Huang | jingjiu | de |
| Lao | Zhao | be | first-CL | raise | cup | Toward | Lao | Huang | toast | DE |
| ren. | ||||||||||
| person |
‘Lao Zhao was the first guest to make a toast to Lao Huang.’
Qing yiju beijing ju de zixun, zixi yuedu ben ju.
‘Please read this sentence carefully with reference to the background information.’
Target sentence:
| Lian | Lao | Zhao | dou | chuxi-le | yanhui. |
| even | Lao | Zhao | DOU | attend-ASP | party |
‘Even Lao Zhao showed up in the party.’
Yiju beijing ju de zixun, ni juede mubiao ju keyi jieshou ma?
‘On the basis of the background information, do you think that the target sentence is acceptable?’
| () acceptable | (V) unacceptable |
1. Background:
| Xiaoli | han | Xiaomei | zhe | liang-ge | nuhaizi | gen-zhe |
| Xiaoli | and | Xiaomei | this | two-CL | girl | follow-ASP |
| tamen | de | biaojie | Ahua | zai | yeshi | mai | dongxi. |
| they-POSS | cousin | Ahua | at | night.market | buy | thing | |
‘The two girls, Xiaoli and Xiaomei, were following their cousin, Ahua, and shopping at the night market.’
| Laobanniang | Atao | dasheng | zebei-le | |
| lady.boss | Atao | loudly | scold-ASP | Xiaoli |
‘The lady boss Atao scolded Xiaoli loudly.’
Qing yiju beijing ju de zixun, zixi yuedu ben ju.
‘Please read this sentence carefully with reference to the background information.’
Target Sentence:
| Ahua | bei | Laobanniang | Atao | tongma-le | Xiaoli. |
| Ahua | BEI | lady.boss | Atao | blame-ASP | Xiaoli |
‘Ahua was affected by the lady boss’s blaming Xiaoli.’
Yiju beijing ju de zixun, ni juede mubiao ju keyi jieshou ma?
‘On the basis of the background information, do you think that the target sentence is acceptable?’
| () acceptable | () unacceptable |
2. Background:
| Along | han | Ahu | zhe | liang-ge | nanhaizi | han | tamen-de |
| Along | and | Ahu | this | two-CL | boy | and | they-POSS |
| gege | Dakong | zuo | ai | xundaochu | li. |
| brother | Dakong | sit | at | student.affair.office | inside |
‘The two boys, Along and Ahu, were sitting in the office of student affairs with their brother Dakong.’
| Xu | jiaoguan | zhize-le | qizhong | yi-ge | nanhaizi. |
| Xu | military.officer | reprove-ASP | among | one-CL | boy |
‘Military officer Xu reproved one of the boys.’
Qing yiju beijing ju de zixun, zixi yuedu ben ju.
‘Please read this sentence carefully with reference to the background information.’
Target Sentence:
| Dakong | bei | Xu | jiaoguan | zhize-le | yi-ge | nanhaizi. |
| Dakong | BEI | Xu | military.officer | reprove-ASP | one-CL | boy |
‘Dakong was affected by Military officer Xu’s reproving one of the boys.’
Yiju beijing ju de zixun, ni juede mubiao ju keyi jieshou ma?
‘On the basis of the background information, do you think that the target sentence is acceptable?’
| () acceptable | () unacceptable |
3. Background:
| Dahua | han | Xiaohua | zhe | liang-ge | nanzi | han | jiancao |
| Dahua | and | Xiaohua | this | two-CL | man | and | mowing |
| Gongren | Laohuang | zai | tiyuchang. |
| Worker | Laohuang | at | stadium |
‘The two men, Dahua and Xiaohua, were in the stadium with the mower Laohuang.’
| Guanliyuan | Pan | bobo | yongli | ti-le | Dahua. |
| superintendent | Pan | uncle | exert | kick-ASP | Dahua |
‘Uncle Pan, the superintendent, kicked Dahua hard.’
Qing yiju beijing ju de zixun, zixi yuedu ben ju.
‘Please read this sentence carefully with reference to the background information.’
Target Sentence:
| Laohuang | bei | Pan | bobo | ti-le | Dahua. |
| Laohuang | BEI | Pan | uncle | kick-ASP | Dahua |
‘Laohuang was affected by Uncle Pan’s kicking Dahua.’
Yiju beijing ju de zixun, ni juede mubiao ju keyi jieshou ma?
‘On the basis of the background information, do you think that the target sentence is acceptable?’
| () acceptable | () unacceptable |
4. Background:
| Xiaosong | han | Xiaobo | zhe | liang-ge | shaonian | han |
| Xiaosong | and | Xiaobo | this | two-CL | teenager | and |
| luren | Xielaoda | zai | malu | pang. |
| passer-by | Xielaoda | at | road | side |
‘The two teenagers, Xiaosong and Xiaobo, were on the side of the road with the passer-by Xielaoda.’
| Jiaojing | Yezhengyi | yongli | zhuazhu-le | qizhong | yi-ge | shaonian. |
| traffic.police | Yezhengyi | exert | catch- ASP | among | one-CL | teenager |
‘The traffic policeman Yezhengli caught one of the teenagers with force.’
Qing yiju beijing ju de zixun, zixi yuedu ben ju.
‘Please read this sentence carefully with reference to the background information.
Target Sentence:
| Xielaoda | bei | jiaojing | Yezhengyi | zhuazhu-le | yi-ge | shaonian. | |
| Xielaoda | BEI | traffic.police | Yezhengyi | catch-ASP | one-CL | teenager |
‘Xielaoda was affected by the traffic policeman Yezhengyi’s catching one of the teenagers.’
Yiju beijing ju de zixun, ni juede mubiao ju keyi jieshou ma?
‘On the basis of the background information, do you think that the target sentence is acceptable?’
| () acceptable | () unacceptable |
5. Background:
| Xiaodong | han | Xiaoxi | zhe | liang-ge | xiaohai | han | tamen-de |
| Xiaodong | and | Xiaoxi | this | two-CL | child | and | they-POSS |
| jiefu | Dabaoge | zai | sushidian | li | paidui. |
| brother.in.law | Dabaoge | at | fast.food.restaurant | inside | line |
‘The two children, Xiaodong and Xiaoxi, were lining up in the fast food restaurant with their brother-in-law, Dabaoge.’
| Dianzhang | Dawei | da-le | Xiaodong. |
| manager | Dawei | hit-ASP | Xiaodong |
‘Manger Dawei hit Xiaodong.’
Qing yiju beijing ju de zixun, zixi yuedu ben ju.
‘Please read this sentence carefully with reference to the background information.’
Target Sentence:
| Dabaoge | bei | dianzhang | Dawei | da-le | Xiaodong. |
| Dabaoge | BEI | manager | Dawei | hit-ASP | Xiaodong |
‘Dabaoge was affected by Manager Dawei’s hitting Xiaodong.’
Yiju beijing ju de zixun, ni juede mubiao ju keyi jieshou ma?
‘On the basis of the background information, do you think that the target sentence is acceptable?’
| () acceptable | () unacceptable |
6. Background:
| Dahua | ji | Xiaohua | zhe | liang-ge | nusheng | han | tamen-de |
| Dahua | and | Xiaohua | this | two-CL | girl | and | they-POSS |
| bobo | Xulaodie | zai | chaoshi | mai | drink |
| uncle | Xulaodie | at | supermarket | buy | yinliao. |
‘The two girls, Dahua and Xiaohua, were buying drinks at the supermarket with their uncle Xulaodie.’
| Baoquan | Xiaomage | tui-dao-le | qizhong | yi-ge | nusheng. |
| security.guard | Xiaomage | push-down-ASP | among | one-CL | girl |
‘The security guard Xiaomage pushed down one of the girls.’
Qing yiju beijing ju de zixun, zixi yuedu ben ju.
‘Please read this sentence carefully with reference to the background information.’
Target Sentence:
| Xulaodie | bei | baoquan | Xiaomage | tui-dao-le | yi-ge |
| Xulaodie | BEI | security.guard | Xiaomage | push-down-ASP | one-CL |
| nusheng. | |||||
| girl | |||||
‘Xulaodie was affected by the security guard’s Xiaomage’s pushing down one of the girls.’
Yiju beijing ju de zixun, ni juede mubiao ju keyi jieshou ma?
‘On the basis of the background information, do you think that the target sentence is acceptable?’
| () acceptable | () unacceptable |
B Sample of the Questionnaire in Experiment 2
Instruction:
Hello! This is a questionnaire survey related to Mandarin Chinese sentences. The survey provides six items for you to judge. Each item depicts a contextual situation, and consists of two parts: background information and target sentences to be judged. The background information presents knowledge for the target sentence. Please read the two background sentences, and according to them, judge whether the target sentence reads smooth, natural, and complete. If you think so, please check the box “acceptable”. By contrast, if you do not think so, please check the box “unacceptable”. We suggest that you should read each item carefully, and follow your intuition and experience when making the judgment.
Example 1
Background:
| Lao | Huang-de | pengyou | Lao | Zhao | shi | zui | bu | xihuan |
| Lao | Huang-POSS | friend | Lao | Zhao | be | most | not | like |
| canjia | yanhui | de | ren. |
| attend | party | DE | person |
‘Lao Huang’s friend Lao Zhao is a person that does not like attending parties the most.’
| Lao | Zhao | shi | diyi-ge | ju | bei | xiang | Lao | Huang | jingjiu | de |
| Lao | Zhao | be | first-CL | raise | cup | toward | Lao | Huang | toast | DE |
| ren. | ||||||||||
| person | ||||||||||
‘Lao Zhao was the first guest to make a toast to Lao Huang.’
Qing yiju beijing ju de zixun, zixi yuedu ben ju.
‘Please read this sentence carefully with reference to the background information.’
Target sentence:
| Lian | Lao | Zhao | dou | chuxi-le | yanhui. |
| even | Lao | Zhao | DOU | attend-ASP | party |
‘Even Lao Zhao showed up in the party.’
Yiju beijing ju de zixun, ni juede mubiao ju keyi jieshou ma?
‘On the basis of the background information, do you think that the target sentence is acceptable?’
| (V) acceptable | () unacceptable |
Example 2
Background:
| Lao | Huang-de | pengyou | Lao | Zhao | shi | ge | feichang |
| Lao | Huang-POSS | friend | Lao | Zhao | be | CL | very |
| xihuan | canjia | yanhui | de | ren. |
| like | attend | party | DE | person |
‘Lao Huang’s friend Lao Zhao is a person that likes attending parties the most.’
| Lao | Zhao | shi | diyi-ge | ju | bei | xiang | Lao | Huang | jingjiu | de |
| Lao | Zhao | be | first-CL | raise | cup | toward | Lao | Huang | toast | DE |
| person | ||||||||||
| ren. | ||||||||||
‘Lao Zhao was the first guest to make a toast to Lao Huang.’
Qing yiju beijing ju de zixun, zixi yuedu ben ju.
‘Please read this sentence carefully with reference to the background information.’
Target sentence:
| Lian | Lao | Zhao | dou | chuxi-le | yanhui. |
| even | Lao | Zhao | DOU | attend-ASP | party |
‘Even Lao Zhao showed up in the party.’
Yiju beijing ju de zixun, ni juede mubiao ju keyi jieshou ma?
‘On the basis of the background information, do you think that the target sentence is acceptable?’
| () acceptable | (V) unacceptable |
1. Background:
| Zhangasan | shi | Wangwu-de | tangshu. |
| Zhangasan | be | Wangwu-POSS | uncle |
‘Zhangasan is Wangwu’s uncle.’
| Lisi | da-le | Wangwu | liang | xia. |
| Lisi | hitASP | Wangwu | two | time |
‘Lisi hit Wangwu twice.’
Qing yiju beijing ju de zixun, zixi yuedu ben ju.
‘Please read this sentence carefully with reference to the background information.’
Target sentence:
| Zhangsan | bei | Lisi | da-le | Wangwu | liang | xia. |
| Zhangsan | BEI | Lisi | hit-ASP | Wangwu | two | time |
‘Zhangsan was affected by Lisi’s hitting Wangwu twice.’
Yiju beijing ju de zixun, ni juede mubiao ju keyi jieshou ma?
‘On the basis of the background information, do you think that the target sentence is acceptable?’
| () acceptable | () unacceptable |
2. Background:
| Xie | xiansheng | shi | Wuxiaochun-de | biaoge. |
| Xie | mister | be | Wuxiaochun-POSS | cousin |
‘Mr. Xie is Wuxiaochun’s cousin.’
| Liu | zhuren | tui-le | Wuxiaochun. |
| Liu | chairman | push-ASP | Wuxiaochun |
‘Chairman pushed Wuxiaochun.’
Qing yiju beijing ju de zixun, zixi yuedu ben ju.
‘Please read this sentence carefully with reference to the background information.’
Target Sentence:
| Xie | xiansheng | bei | Liu | zhuren | tui-le | Wuxiaochun. |
| Xie | mister | BEI | Liu | chairman | push-ASP | Wuxiaochun |
‘Mr. Xie was affected by Liu zhuren’s pushing Wuxiaochun.’
Yiju beijing ju de zixun, ni juede mubiao ju keyi jieshou ma?
‘On the basis of the background information, do you think that the target sentence is acceptable?’
| () acceptable | () unacceptable |
3. Background:
| Yuehan | laoshi | han | Damao | hu | bu | renshi. |
| John | teacher | and | Damao | mutually | not | know |
‘Mr. John and Damou do not know each other.’
| Peter | zuzhang | tongma-le | Damao | yi | dun. |
| Peter | director | blame-ASP | Damao | one | time |
‘Director Peter blamed Damao once.’
Qing yiju beijing ju de zixun, zixi yuedu ben ju.
‘Please read this sentence carefully with reference to the background information.’
Target Sentence:
| Yuehan | laoshi | bei | Peter | zuzhang | tongma-le | Damao | yi | dun. |
| John | teacher | BEI | Peter | director | blame-ASP | Damao | one | time |
‘Mr. John was affected by Director Peter’s blaming Damao once.’
Yiju beijing ju de zixun, ni juede mubiao ju keyi jieshou ma?
‘On the basis of the background information, do you think that the target sentence is acceptable?’
| () acceptable | () unacceptable |
4. Background:
| Dong | xiansheng | han | Afu | hu | bu | renshi. |
| Dong | mister | and | Afu | mutually | not | know |
‘Mr. Dong and Afu do not know each other.’
| Dahua | chize-le | Afu. |
| Dahua | scold-ASP | Afu |
‘Dahua scolded Afu.’
Qing yiju beijing ju de zixun, zixi yuedu ben ju.
‘Please read this sentence carefully with reference to the background information.’
Target Sentence:
| Dong | xiansheng | bei | Dahua | chize-le | Afu. |
| Dong | mister | BEI | Dahua | scold-ASP | Afu |
‘Mr. Dong was affected by Dahua’s scolding Afu.’
Yiju beijing ju de zixun, ni juede mubiao ju keyi jieshou ma?
‘On the basis of the background information, do you think that the target sentence is acceptable?’
| () acceptable | () unacceptable |
5. Background:
| Wukong | shi | Xiaoxiaobao-de | gege. |
| Wukong | be | Xiaoxiaobao-POSS | brother |
‘Wukong is Xiaoxiaobao’s brother.’
| Xiaohua | zou-le | Xiaoxiaobao | wu | fenzhong. |
| Xiaohua | beat-ASP | Xiaoxiaobao | five | minute |
‘Xiaohua beat Xiaoxiaobao for five minutes.’
Qing yiju beijing ju de zixun, zixi yuedu ben ju.
‘Please read this sentence carefully with reference to the background information.’
Target Sentence:
| Wukong | bei | Xiaohua | zou-le | Xiaoxiaobao | wu | fenzhong. |
| Wukong | BEI | Xiaohua | beat-ASP | Xiaoxiaoxiaobao | five | minute |
‘Wukong was affected by Xiaohua’s beating Xiaoxiaobao for five minutes.’
Yiju beijing ju de zixun, ni juede mubiao ju keyi jieshou ma?
‘On the basis of the background information, do you think that the target sentence is acceptable?’
| () acceptable | () unacceptable |
6. Background:
| Xiaowang | shi | Meimei-de | jiefu. |
| Xiaowang | be | Meimei-POSS | brother-in-law |
‘Xiaowang is Meimei’s brother-in-law.’
| Xiaolin | xunchi-le | Meimei. |
| Xiaolin | reproach-ASP | Meimei |
‘Xiaolin reproached Meimei.’
Qing yiju beijing ju de zixun, zixi yuedu ben ju.
‘Please read this sentence carefully with reference to the background information.’
Target Sentence:
| Xiaowang | bei | Xiaolin | xunchi-le | Meimei. |
| Xiaowang | BEI | Xiaolin | reproach-ASP | Meimei |
‘Xiaowang was affected by Xiaolin’s reproaching Meimei.’
Yiju beijing ju de zixun, ni juede mubiao ju keyi jieshou ma?
‘On the basis of the background information, do you think that the target sentence is acceptable?’
| () acceptable | () unacceptable |
C Sample of the Questionnaire in Experiment 3
Instruction:
Hello! This is a questionnaire survey related to Mandarin Chinese sentences. The survey provides six items for you to judge. Each item contains a sentence. If you think that the sentence reads natural and smooth, you check the box “acceptable”. By contrast, if you do not think so, please check the box “unacceptable”. We suggest that you should read each item carefully, and follow your intuition and experience when making the judgment.
Example 1
| Zhe | shi | yiliao | zhong | de | shi. |
| this | be | expectation | inside | DE | matter |
‘This is as we expected.’
| (V) acceptable | () unacceptable |
Example 2
| Xiang | banfa, | ta | hui | zai | ban | hui | Taiwan. |
| think | solution | he | will | again | move | return | Taiwan |
‘He will do everything he can to move back to Taiwan.’ (intended meaning)
| () acceptable | (V) unacceptable |
| 1. Suiran | lingsheng | zai | xiang | le, | zhuxi | haishi | xiang | ba |
| although | bell | at | ring | LE | chairman | still | want | BA |
| hua | jiang | wan, | jieguo, | zhuxi | bei | lingsheng | xiang-le. |
| word | speak | finish | consequently | chairman | BEI | bell | ring-ASP |
‘Although the bell was ringing, the chairman still tried to finish his words; as a result, the chairman was affected by the ringing of the bell.’
| () acceptable | () unacceptable |
| 2. Xiaoliu | zuijin | yizhi | kesou, | shangke | de | shihou, |
| Xiaoliu | recently | always | cough | In class | DE | time |
| na-wei | jiangshi | bei | ta | keshou-le | ershi | fenzhong. |
| that-CL | lecturer | BEI | he | cough-ASP | twenty | minute |
‘Xiaoliu has been coughing recently. In class, that lecturer was affected by his coughing for twenty minutes.’
| () acceptable | () unacceptable |
| 3. Sunbaba | hen | danxin | erzi | qichuan | de | maobing. | Shang | ge |
| Sunbaba | very | worry | son | asthma | DE | problem | last | CL |
| yue, | Sunbaba | bei | erzi | qichuan-le. |
| month | Sunbaba | BEI | son | asthma-ASP |
‘Sunbaba was very worried about his son’s asthma. Last month, he was affected by his son’s asthma.’
| () acceptable | () unacceptable |
| 4. Zhe-ge | geshou | yingan | shizai | hen | cha. | Jinxing | luyin | ||
| This-CL | singer | sense.of.tone | really | very | bad | engage | recording |
| de shihou, | luyinshi | bei | ta | zouyin-le | san | hui. |
| DE time | recording.engineer | BEI | he | out.of.tone-ASP | three | hui. |
‘This singer really has a very bad sense of tone. In the middle of recording, the recording engineer was affected by his getting out of tone three times.’
| () acceptable | () unacceptable |
| 5. Wawa | yizhi | xiang | yao | chi | tang, | danshi | Mama | buken, | |
| baby | constantly | want | ask | eat | candy | but | Mama | refuse |
| jieguo, | Mama | bei | Wawa | ku-le | liang-ge | xiaoshi. |
| consequently | mother | BEI | baby | cry-ASP | two-CL | hour |
‘The baby kept asking for candy, but Mama refused; as a result, Mother was affected by the baby’s crying for two hours.’
| () acceptable | () unacceptable |
| 6. Ta | yizhi | xiang | zousi | dupin. | Zuihou, | yinwei |
| he | constantly | want | smuggle | drugs | eventually | because |
| wo-de | dayi | bei | ta | chenggong-le. |
| I-POSS | carelessness | BEI | he | succeed-ASP |
‘He kept trying to smuggle drugs. In the end, because of my carelessness, he got successful on me.’
| () acceptable | () unacceptable |
© 2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston