Universal 604: N Poss ⇒ N Rel;
equivalently: Rel N ⇒ Poss N
- Original
- If the possessive adjective follows the noun, then the relative clause follows the noun.
- Standardized
- IF the possessive adjective follows the noun, THEN the relative clause follows the noun.
OR, BY CONTRAPOSITION:
IF the relative clause precedes the noun, THEN the possessive adjective precedes the noun. - Keywords
- possessive, noun, adjective, order
- Domain
- syntax
- Type
- implication
- Status
- achronic
- Quality
- absolute
- Basis
- sample of 350 languages in Hawkins 1983
- Source
- Hawkins 1983: 111
- Counterexamples
Since the 1990s, Hawkins proposes alternative explanations of his universals (see e.g. Hawkins 1993: 234).