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Universal 909:
- Original
- In a language with only a single genitive, when a transitive clause is nominalized, the subject’s prior claim to the genitive case is absolute.
- Standardized
- In a language with only a single genitive, when a transitive clause is nominalized, the subject’s prior claim to the genitive case is absolute.
- Keywords
- nominalization, genitive, case, subject
- Domain
- syntax
- Type
- no genuine implication; rather: provided that
- Status
- achronic
- Quality
- statistical (according to author absolute)
- Basis
- languages in Givón 1990
- Source
- Givón 1990: 504
- Counterexamples
- Northern Basque (isolate) genitivizes only direct objects in infinitive (nominalized) clauses (Heath 1992: 842).
