| Abstract | 第1-9页 |
| 摘要 | 第9-10页 |
| List of Tables and Figures | 第10-11页 |
| List of Abbreviations | 第11-12页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第12-18页 |
| ·Research Orientation | 第12页 |
| ·Middle Construction: Object of the Research | 第12-15页 |
| ·Form and Meaning of MC | 第12-13页 |
| ·MC and its Related Constructions in English | 第13-15页 |
| ·Research Rationale | 第15-16页 |
| ·The Significance of the Study of English MC | 第15-16页 |
| ·Previous Studies and Their Inadequacies | 第16页 |
| ·The Organization of the Thesis | 第16-18页 |
| Chapter 2 Literature Review | 第18-26页 |
| ·Overview | 第18页 |
| ·Theoretical Account of MC Derivation and Constraints on Middle Formation | 第18-23页 |
| ·The Generative Studies | 第18-20页 |
| ·The Cognitive Studies | 第20-21页 |
| ·Semantic-syntactic Interface Studies | 第21-23页 |
| ·Lexical-entry Studies | 第21页 |
| ·Event Structure Studies | 第21-23页 |
| ·Empirical Studies | 第23-25页 |
| ·Summary | 第25-26页 |
| Chapter 3 Analysis of MC | 第26-47页 |
| ·Theoretical Framework: the Proto-Roles Hypothesis | 第26-30页 |
| ·Overview | 第26页 |
| ·The Proto-Roles Hypothesis | 第26-28页 |
| ·Some Familiar Role Types | 第28页 |
| ·The Theta System | 第28-30页 |
| ·Re-examination of Semantic Constraints on English MF | 第30-39页 |
| ·The Attributee Condition | 第30-32页 |
| ·The Aspectual Condition | 第32-33页 |
| ·The Pre-existence Condition | 第33-36页 |
| ·The Strong Volitional Condition | 第36-38页 |
| ·The Adverbial Condition | 第38-39页 |
| ·Classification of English MC | 第39-41页 |
| ·Classification of English MC Based on the Theta Roles of Subjects | 第39-40页 |
| ·Classification of English MC Based on the Different Behaviors of Verbs | 第40-41页 |
| ·Comparative study of Chinese MC | 第41-46页 |
| ·Semantic Constraints on Chinese MF | 第41-44页 |
| ·Classification of Chinese MC | 第44-46页 |
| ·Summary | 第46-47页 |
| Chapter 4 Acquisition Analysis and Research Hypotheses | 第47-53页 |
| ·Theoretical Proposals for L2 Acquisition of Argument Structures | 第47-49页 |
| ·The Semantic Approach | 第47页 |
| ·The Usage-based Approach | 第47-49页 |
| ·The Language Transfer Approach | 第49页 |
| ·Acquisition Analysis of English MC by Chinese L2 Learners and Research Hypotheses | 第49-52页 |
| ·Hypothesis about the Acquisition of the Five Semantic Conditions for English MF | 第49-50页 |
| ·Hypothesis about the Acquisition of Subclasses with Different Theta Roles as Subjects | 第50页 |
| ·Hypothesis about the Acquisition of Subclasses with Different Types of Verbs | 第50-52页 |
| ·Summary | 第52-53页 |
| Chapter 5 The Empirical Study | 第53-57页 |
| ·Research Design | 第53页 |
| ·Variables and Their Operational Definitions | 第53-54页 |
| ·Subjects | 第54页 |
| ·Instrument | 第54-55页 |
| ·Data Collection | 第55页 |
| ·Scoring | 第55-56页 |
| ·Data Analysis | 第56-57页 |
| Chapter 6 Results for Hypothesis Testing | 第57-68页 |
| ·Results of Hypothesis 1 | 第57-60页 |
| ·Results of Hypothesis 2 | 第60-63页 |
| ·Results of Hypothesis 3 | 第63-65页 |
| ·Summary | 第65-68页 |
| ·A Comprehensive Description of the Acquisition Pattern of English MC | 第65-66页 |
| ·A Summary of the Empirical Evidences of the Test Variables | 第66-68页 |
| Chapter 7 General Discussion | 第68-72页 |
| ·Theoretical Findings of the Semantic Conditions for English MF | 第68页 |
| ·Empirical Findings of the Language Acquisition Proposals | 第68-70页 |
| ·Some Unpredicted Acquisition Behaviors | 第70-71页 |
| ·Summary | 第71-72页 |
| Chapter 8 Conclusion | 第72-74页 |
| ·Conclusion | 第72页 |
| ·Pedagogical Implications | 第72-73页 |
| ·Limitations and Suggestions for Further Study | 第73-74页 |
| References | 第74-80页 |
| Appendix | 第80-85页 |
| Acknowledgements | 第85页 |
