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1. May 2020
FP
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Universal 1560: verb-initial ⇒ no verb agreement V. agreement with two noun phrases

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 1560: verb-initial ⇒ no verb agreement V. agreement with two noun phrases

Original
With possibly greater than chance frequency, the verb in verb-initial languages either agrees with no NPs, or with two NPs (both subject and direct object, or sometimes subject and indirect object).
Standardized
IF basic order is verb-initial, THEN the verb either agrees with no NPs or with two NPs.
Keywords
order, verb-initial, verb, agreement, subject, object
Domain
inflection, syntax
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
statistical
Basis
unknown
Source
unpublished statements of Keenan’s, reproduced in D. Payne 1990: 15
Counterexamples
FP

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One Comment

  1. FP
    FP

    Cf. #1518 about subject-final langugages, which are all VOS, following from Keenan’s survey (#1516): If a language is subject-final then either transitive verbs of unmarked sentences agree with no full noun phrase in the sentence or they agree with two noun phrases.

    1. May 2020

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