On Classification of Transitivity

The traditional definition of transitivity divides clauses into transitive clauses and intransitive clauses. Clauses with objects are transitive. This definition, however, includes some clauses without any transitivity like 王冕(Wangmian)死(die)了(le)父亲(father). Following Event Views which classify events expressed by verbs into causative, inchoative and stative, clauses can be divided into transitive, intransitive and non-transitive correspondingly. The SVN structure can represent transitive, intransitive and non-transitive clauses respectively. This classification is instantiated by analyzing the semantic structure of some Chinese clauses and the differences between the three types of clauses are further illustrated through the analysis.