Universal 1008: Exceed-2 V Exceed-3 Comparative ⇒ adjectives are nouny
- Original
- If a language has an Exceed-2 Comparative or an Exceed-3 Comparative, it is nouny. If an Exceed-language is nouny, it has either an Exceed-2 or an Exceed-3 Comparative.
- Standardized
- IF there is an Exceed-2 Comparative or an Exceed-3 Comparative, THEN the adjectives are nouny.
IF the adjectives are nouny and there is an Exceed Comparative, THEN the comparative will be of Exceed-2 or of Exceed-3 type.
- Keywords
- comparative, adjective, nouny
- Domain
- syntax
- Type
- implication
- Status
- achronic
- Quality
- statistical
- Basis
- sample of 110 languages
- Source
- Stassen 1985: 180
- Counterexamples
1. In Exceed-2 Comparative, the comparative predicate is expressed in a subordinate form which functions syntactically as an adverbial phrase.In Exceed-3 Comparative, the comparative predicate is constructed as the sole main verb, while the exceed-verb receives some subordinate form (e.g., the form of a participle, or of an infinitive).2. The exceed comparative is an instance of fixed-case comparative constructions, in which the standard NP is invariably constructed as the direct object of a special transitive verb, the meaning of which can be glossed as ‘to exceed’, ‘to surpass’ or ‘to excel’.