从能否去掉“的”再探“NP的VP”结构

Revisiting the “NP-de-VP” Construction from the Perspective of the Omissibility of “de”

摘要: 从“这本书的出版”引发的关于“NP的VP”的结构问题学术界已展开众多讨论。不同于大多聚焦于词类及其转换的研究，本文从实际语料出发，将重点讨论能否去掉“的”，分析这一特殊用法的表现特征及形成的原因。本文发现，在去掉“的”不影响语用的句子中，VP主要由一般或具体的动词构成，并与前面的名词构成主动关系；在去掉“的”后不成立或难以成立的句子中，动词多为抽象的动词，转化为名词义的能力较强，对“的”依赖性较强，此时动词与“的”前面的名词多构成被动关系。后者中的动词很可能是兼类词，其名词义与动词义都被广泛应用。上述现象表明，“NP的VP”结构中“的”的可省略性，与动词的名物化倾向及其兼类属性密切相关。

Abstract: Expressions such as “zhe ben shu de chūbǎn” (“this book’s publication”) have long drawn scholarly attention to the “NP de VP” construction. Departing from studies that primarily address parts of speech and their conversion, this paper examines attested instances that already contain the construction and adopts the omissibility of de as a diagnostic. The analysis shows that when de can be omitted without compromising pragmatic acceptability, the verb in VP is typically concrete or general, and the preceding NP receives an active interpretation. When de cannot be omitted or its omission results in marked degradation, the VP usually contains an abstract verb with a strong tendency toward nominalization and a high degree of reliance on de; in such cases, the NP is more likely to be interpreted as the undergoer. Verbs of the latter type often display heterosemy, with both their nominal and verbal readings firmly established. These findings indicate that the omissibility of de in the “NP de VP” construction is closely related to the verb’s nominalization propensity and its degree of word-class flexibility.