Skip to content
Universal 294:
- Original
- In all languages: if there is VSO, SVO, SOV, then the verb has prefixes and suffixes.
- Standardized
- IF basic order is VSO, SVO, or SOV, THEN the verb has prefixes and suffixes.
- Keywords
- order, VSO, SVO, SOV, prefix, suffix
- Domain
- morphology, syntax
- Type
- implication
- Status
- achronic
- Quality
- absolute
- Basis
- unspecified
- Source
- see Vardul’ 1969, referring to Rozdestvenskij
- Counterexamples
- Baltic Finnic languages: basic word order is SVO, but there are only suffixes and no prefixes.
The relevant languages are all SO. It is not so obvious why this should have implications for verbal affixes.