The semantic constraint on gapping in Mandarin Chinese

Abstract

I argue that gapping in Mandarin Chinese as a deletion operation (cf. Wei 2011; Ai 2014) is administrated by some semantic constraints and the discourse in which they occur, in line with Kuno (1976); Tsao (1979) and Wei (2011). Specifically, I argue that the semantic combination of the VP (cf. Paul 1996a, b, 1999) and the object NP (cf. Li 1998) in gapped sentences cannot be [−generic, -definite]. That is, the VP in the gapped clause cannot have a [-generic] interpretation and simultaneously for the object to have a [−definite] interpretation. If so combined, gapping in Mandarin Chinese will be blocked.