Standard vs . sideward movement in verb copying * Lyn Shan Tieu

This paper examines three subtypes of the verb copying construction in Chinese. We begin by looking at Cheng’s (2007) analysis of the resultative verb copying construction, according to which both standard movement and sideward movement are required to account for the verb copying construction (VCC). Cheng suggests that the same analysis can be applied to verb copying with nonresultative phrases; this paper explores this claim by examining in greater detail two other subtypes of the VCC (verb copying involving manner phrases and duration/frequency phrases), looking at some differences between VCCs containing indefinite NP objects and those containing definite NP objects. In the context of the definite/indefinite object asymmetry, we discuss whether both types of movement are in fact motivated; that is, we examine whether both standard and sideward movement are required for a unified analysis of all subtypes of the VCC in Chinese.