본고에서는 유형론 연구에 기반하여 가장 전형적인 ‘능격-절대격’ 언어에서 능격동 사가 어떻게 실현되는지 살펴보았고 한·중 능격동사의 판단기준, 유형, 특징을 알아 보았다. 아울러 능격동사와 비슷한 개념인 절대격동사, 비능격동사, 비대격동사들의 정의와 하위분류들을 살펴보고 능격동사와의 차이점을 제시하였다. 그리고 한·중 능 격구문의 실현양상을 제시하고 그 통사적 특징을 분석하였으며 능격구문과 관련된 중간구문, 사동구문, 피동구문의 실현양상, 판단기준, 발전과정을 살펴보았다.

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.