Universal 1985:

Universal 1985:

Original

The negative of past tense forms of Ex and/or Cop tends to be more regular in formation than the present-tense negative.

Standardized

The negative of past tense forms of the lexical items for existential and copulative function tends to be more regular in formation than the present-tense negative.

Keywords

verb, existence, copula, negation, tense, past, present

Domain

inflection, syntax

Type

implication

Status

achronic

Quality

statistical

Basis

Bengali, Amharic, Bilen, Mundari, and impressions from other lgs, including other Afroasiatic, Hungarian, German, Spanish, Twi

Source

Ferguson 1972: 110

Counterexamples