On the Cantonese Resultative Predicate V-can*

This paper investigates a subtype of resultative predicate marked by the verbal particle-can in Cantonese and associated with adversative meaning. A number of central properties of this verbal particle and issues related to the phenomena of causativity and unaccusativity are explored with particular reference to the aspectual properties of the V-can predicates. We also examine the constraints on the structural projection of arguments of each type of predicate. It is shown that the possibility/impossibility of causative/unaccusative alternations of these predicates is determined by the lexical semantics of the predicates, and different licensing features of the relevant lexical properties