Im Che-Gyong. 1996. The Thematic Structure of Ergative Construction. Studies in Modern Grammatical Theories 9: 77-96. Ergative sentences in English and Korean show some asymmetries with their accusative counterparts in such constructions as imperatives, prenominal -ing forms, and dative or double object construction. The primary purpose of this paper is to show that these asymmetries can be explained by assuming VP-Internal Subject Hypothesis, Thematic Hierarchy in VP-Shell Structure and Minimal Link Condition. I also found that causatives cannot co-occur with ergatives and this can be explained by the principles suggested by the Minimalists. The results from the study are the following: (i) Asymmetries in imperatives, prenominal -ing forms can be explained by the difference in argument structure between ergatives and accusatives: the former have only one argument with Theme role but the latter have two arguments, Agent and Theme. (ii) Case theory alone cannot solve the ungrammaticality of ergative sentences in which the goal is the surface subject. We need the following thernatic hierarchy: Agent > Theme > Goal plus MLC suggested in Chomsky(1993). (iii) MLC also explains the non co-occurrence of Korean ergatives with causatives; a supporting evidence that MLC comprises the Specified Subject Condition as well as the notion of government in barrierhood.

• 임채경 | Im Che Gyong