The Comparative Study Of Resultative Complements "Hao", "Wan" And "Cheng"

Serving as resultative complements, "hao", "wan" and "cheng" have the similar meaning of finished successfully with the same semantic item of finished. They are used frequently and sometimes could be used alternatively. Based on the analysis of language data, this paper makes a comparison between "hao", "wan" and "cheng" from three aspects: semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic. Semantically, the comparison will be made from the aspects of semantic ambiguity and semantic orientation. Syntactically, the comparison will be made from the following angles:the differences of form and quantity of the three words' object; the differences of their positive or negative indication to verbs, the duration of the effect and the choice of domination. Pragmatically, the paper will discuss the frequency of use, the psychology of gain and loss influencing choice, the sentence association, and the effect of the expression. The author is trying to give a relatively definite conclusion through careful observation, thorough comparison and systematic induction.The paper is divided into the following five parts.Part One is the introduction with a brief introduction of the aims, significance and steps of the comparison of "hao", "wan" and "cheng" as well as the researching methods and language material of this paper. And the accomplishment of former studies is summarized. Part Two analyses the meanings of "hao", "wan" and "cheng". This part focuses on the semantic meanings of "hao", "wan" and "cheng" working as complements. Based on the explanation of the dictionary and analysis of language data, the semantic ambiguity of the three words are discussed according to the semantic background. Then from the angle of semantic orientation, the different emphasis of semantic orientation of the three words is analyzed from the perspective of single-oriented meaning and multi-oriented meaning based on the language data.Part Three is the syntactic analysis of "hao", "wan" and "cheng". Beginning with the three words'association with object, including the differences of form and quantity of the object, this part then studies the three words'association with verbs involving the differences of their positive or negative indication to verbs, the length of the duration of the effect and the choice of domination and discusses the causes of the differences. Then by analyzing the syntactic structure in which "hao", "wan", and "cheng" show up, the author compares the different characteristics of the syntactic structure.Part Four is the pragmatic analysis of "hao", "wan" and "cheng". This part begins with the comparison of the frequency of use of the three words, and then discusses the difference of choice of "hao", "wan" and "cheng" according to the speaker's traditional psychology of gain and loss. In addition, the part compares their associative difference in sentences, the difference of effect in imperative sentences and interrogative sentence.Part Five serves as the conclusion of the paper. Resultative complements "hao", "wan" and "cheng" share the same semantic item of finished. However, they vary in their emphasis of meanings and semantic orientation. Syntactically, "hao", "wan" and "cheng" vary in their influences on the object's form and quantity and are different in the negative and positive indication to verbs, the duration of the effect and the choice of domination when they associate with verbs. Pragmatically, they are different in the frequency of use, the effect and association with sentences. The comparison of the above three aspects of "hao", "wan" and "cheng" provides reference for using them more accurately and fills in the gap of comparative study of the three words.