本研究旨在以生成語法角度探討中文之被動句，並分析中文與英文在相關 句法結構上之差異性。英文被動句以被動詞素 -en 為標記，並涉及了論元 移動。英文被動句之主詞是由深層結構之直接受詞移位衍生而來，以符合 名詞格位檢核 (Case filter) 之要求。相形之下，中文被動結構並不以動詞的 構詞變化來標示被動，而是透過‘被’字的出現來表現被動。本研究首先 檢視文獻中有關‘被’字句的三種主要研究方向，本研究所採取與支持之 立場為將‘被’分析為一個動詞，這是因為此被字動詞論可以充分解釋多 種中文被動式的句法現象，且不至造成理論的複雜化。此外，本研究分析 了被字後方的補語選擇特性，此論述加強鞏固了被字的動詞屬性: 被字後 方之次範疇選擇 (subcategorization) 須為表結果之動詞複合詞，而不能是一 個表狀態改變之單一動詞。本研究也顯示並探討了一些中、英文在被動式 方面的句法差異處，可作為日後中、英文二語習得或二語教學之相關研究 的基礎。

The present study aims to investigate passive constructions in Chinese within the framework of generative grammar. In English, a passive verb is marked by the passive morpheme –en, and it is assumed that passivization in English involves A-movement to Spec-IP to satisfy the Case filter (Chomsky, 1986). By contrast, Chinese employs no morphological markings to manifest passivity of a passive form. A passive sentence is typically marked by the presence of bei, a marker widely accepted as indicating passivization. Three main positions on the status of bei and the relevant derivational processes of passives are under scrutiny in the study. The position adopted is the verbal approach, in which bei is analyzed as a verb, in virtue of the fact that it can account for a range of phenomena without inviting theoretical complications. A preliminary account of some c-selectional properties of bei, as proposed in this study, reinforces the verbal approach by treating bei as a verb taking resultative verb compounds as complements. Inalienable objects constitute another area of grammar where passive verbs behave differently between English and Chinese. This study also provides a basis for future research on Chinese or English in a wider context of second language acquisition/teaching.