Abstract
Under the generative approach, this paper proposes that many instances of apparent transitive usages of lai 'come' are all but illusions, and can be explained in terms of verb raising to an implicit outer light verb. More specifically, the "hidden meaning" of these construals comes from silent categories such as DO, EXIST, and CAUSE, which attracts the main verb due to prosodic considerations, triggering word order changes. We also look into issues concerning the falsifiability, diversity, and productivity of our analysis, while aiming to find a way to bridge the gap between the intensional and extensional aspects of human language.