Possibility Modals in Late Archaic Chinese and the Morpho-Syntax of Their Complements: A View from First Phase Syntax

This chapter explores possibility modals in Chinese, unraveling the morpho-syntax of their complements through the lens of First Phase Syntax. In our analysis, we concentrate on the syntactic differences between the two basic possibility modals kě 可 and néng 能 in Late Archaic Chinese. We propose that although both modals are dynamic possibility modals hosted in the lexical layer, they differ in their syntax and in the event structure of the complement they select. The default complement of kě always refers to a result state and is unaccusative; in order to introduce the external argument of the complement verb, the functional morpheme yǐ 以 is required heading the causing event. By contrast, the default subject of a modal predication with néng is a causer or agent. We suggest that the morpho-syntactic changes within VP during the Early Middle Chinese period led to the weakening of the constraints on the complement of kě and the loss of overt marking of the res head by affixation.