華語情態詞「能」和潛能式在表現情態時 經常可以替換使用，例如「吃了這麼多東西，當然吃得飽」也可以說「吃了這麼多東西，當然能吃飽」，但有些時候卻不能，例如「我睡不著」不能說成「我不能睡著」，因為「我睡不著」的意思是「我想睡，但是無法入睡」，而「我不能睡著」的意思是「我想睡，但是因為某些原因，不允許我去睡」。因此本論文的研究動機是了解潛能式和情態詞「能」的差異，以及如何將研究成果應用於對外華語教學上。為達成此目標，首先，本論文整理了過去的研究中相關的文獻，接著確定了本論文的情態架構，接著再討論潛能式和情態詞「能」的結構特色以及情態類型，也確定了兩者都可以表現動力、認知、義務情態三者，但是各有限制，最後則是分別檢測比較潛能式和情態詞「能」在表現這三種情態類型時的替換限制，發現影響替換規則的因素包括：述補複合詞是否具有主事意義，述補複合詞的結構緊密程度、述補複合詞是否為慣用語，而經常被討論的潛能式的否定範疇則必須考慮命題、事件的時間性，最後分析了常用的兩套教材(正中書局出版《實用視聽華語一》、遠東出版社出版《遠東生活華語一、二》)的特色，再根據結構複雜度以及語義情態複雜度提出教學排序的建議。

韓(1999)提出祈使句是指句中主要動詞是祈使情態(imperative mood)的句子，與其他句型相較下，在其他語言中祈使句具有特別的動詞構詞或句法表現；然而，中文祈使句並無任何構詞或句法機制以表現祈使情態，因此，中文祈使句的句法表現和直述句相似。本論文動機為觀察到中文祈使句與其他語言祈使句的相異處，進而研究中文如何區別中文祈使句與其他句型的差異。同時，前人對於中文祈使句的研究多從描述性觀點出發，缺理論辯證，以致分析上產生缺失；因此，本文試從衍生句法的觀點分析中文祈使句的句法結構。 本論文主要有三個研究目的: 首先，本論文研究中文祈使句的句法特徵。其次，本論文研究如何區別中文祈使句與其他句型的差異，並發現中文的附加問句可以用來區別祈使句與直述句。並且，本論文發現中文的否定祈使句“別”字句與義務性情態詞“要/不要”在句法表現上雖有相同處，但亦表現出多方面的句法相異處。再者，本論文從衍生句法的觀點研究中文祈使句的句法結構。因為中文缺乏句法標記與構詞變化，因此無法從句法層面看出中文祈使句的話語效力 (force)與情態(mood), 但藉由時制定位(tense anchoring)與祈使句的關係，本論文提出中文祈使句結構中具有祈使算子(imperative operator)。 / Han (1999) proposes imperatives are sentences whose main verbs are in the form of the imperative mood. Imperative sentences possess a distinct morphology within the verb or may be distinguished by their syntactic realization from other clause types. However, Chinese imperatives do not demonstrate verb-inflection nor do they impose morphological mechanisms to indicate mood; thus, it seems that imperatives in Chinese are similar to declaratives. This thesis observes the differences between imperatives in Chinese and in other languages, and these differences lead us to conduct a study on how Chinese distinguishes imperatives from other clause types. Moreover, this thesis finds that the previous analyses of Chinese imperatives lack theoretical grounds, as several problems and wrong prediction arise under those analyses. Thus, this study researches on the structure of Chinese imperatives from the perspective of generative grammar. The thesis has three main goals. First, this thesis investigates the syntactic characteristics of Chinese imperatives. Second, this thesis seeks to discern how Chinese distinguishes imperatives from other clause types. This study utilizes tag questions to distinguish imperatives and declaratives. Furthermore, this study finds that the imperatives bie1 and deontic Modalsobligation yao sentences are alike in some ways, but different in other ways. Third, from a generative perspective, this thesis proposes a syntactic structure of imperatives in Chinese. Although it seems difficult to find syntactic evidence of the imperative force and mood as well as a structure of imperatives because Chinese imperatives lack a morpho-syntatic strategy, this thesis proposes that Chinese possesses an imperative operator in imperatives, by examining the evidence from tense anchoring and imperatives.

情態動詞「會」在前人的研究當中，具有許多不同的功能，例如表能力、表預知、表一般特性等不同的功能。本論文採用Monosemy View，認為「會」在語言表面上所呈現出之不同用法，並不是武斷毫無關係的，而是存在著非常密切的語意關連性。再者，透過此觀點，我們希望嘗試找出這些不同功能之間的語意關係。本研究提出三個假設如下：第一，情態動詞「會」有一個語意核心，表說話者對於句子命題的體現(realization)，有著非常高的把握；第二，情態動詞「會」在句子裡擔任一個運符(operator)的角色，其作用是將說話者對此句子的語態加諸在此句子之上；第三，本篇論文提出「會」所呈現出許多不同的功能，是經由情態動詞與句子之情態內容所交互作用的結果。 / Carrying multiple functions--such as ability, prediction and generic--the modal verb hui in Mandarin Chinese has been extensively studied by previous researchers. This thesis, following the monosemy view, claims that the various functions of hui are not arbitrary, but closely related to one another. To account for the correlation between the various functions of hui, this thesis proposes three hypotheses. First, hui denotes assurance, indicating that the speaker’s attitude towards the realization of the propositional content is full of high assurance. Secondly, hui functions as an OPERATOR of the proposition denoted by the sentence. Thirdly, hui's multiple functions are context-derived. This thesis maintains that it is the interaction between the modal verb hui and the sentence’s proposition that results in the different functions carried by hui.