Universals Archive
A database of proposed crosslinguistic laws and tendencies in grammar across the world’s languages. 2,029 published entries.
1,130 entries · page 12 of 23
| # | Standardized / Original | Domain | Type | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 985 | IF there is an allative comparative, THEN basic order is VSO. | syntax | implication | comparative, order, VSO |
| 986 | IF there is locative comparative, THEN basic order is either SOV or SVO. | syntax | implication | comparative, order, SOV, SVO |
| 987 | IF there is an exceed comparative, THEN basic order is SVO. | syntax | implication | comparative, order, SVO |
| 988 | IF there is separative comparative, THEN there is absolute anterior consecutive deranking and total identity deletion. | syntax | implication | comparative, deranking, identity deletion |
| 989 | IF there is allative comparative, THEN there is absolute posterior consecutive deranking and total identity deletion. | syntax | implication | comparative, deranking, identity deletion |
| 990 | IF there is locative comparative, THEN there is absolute simultaneous deranking and total identity deletion. | syntax | implication | comparative, deranking, identity deletion |
| 991 | IF there is adverbial comparative, THEN there is absolute deranking and total identity deletion. | syntax | implication | comparative, deranking, identity deletion |
| 992 | IF there is exceed comparative, THEN there is conditional deranking and limited identity deletion. | syntax | implication | comparative, deranking, identity deletion |
| 993 | IF there is conjoined comparative, THEN there is no deranking and no identity deletion. or IF there is conjoined comparative, THEN there is balancing and no identity deletion. |
syntax | implication | comparative, deranking, balancing, identity deletion |
| 994 | IF there is absolute anterior consecutive deranking, THEN basic order is SOV. | syntax | implication | deranking, order, SOV |
| 995 | IF there is absolute posterior consecutive deranking, THEN basic order is VSO. | syntax | implication | order, VSO, deranking |
| 996 | IF there is conditional deranking, THEN basic order is SVO. | syntax | implication | order, SVO, deranking |
| 997 | IF there is absolute deranking, THEN basic order is either SOV or VSO. | syntax | implication | order, SOV, VSO, SVO, deranking |
| 998 | IF there is particle comparative, THEN there is no deranking and total identity deletion. or IF there is particle comparative, THEN there is balancing and total identity deletion |
syntax | implication | comparative, deranking, balancing, identity deletion |
| 999 | IF there is posterior consecutive deranking and basic order is SVO, THEN there is conditional deranking. | syntax | implication | order, SVO, deranking |
| 1000 | IF there is posterior consecutive deranking and basic order is VSO, THEN there is absolute deranking. | syntax | implication | order, SVO, deranking |
| 1001 | IF there is an Exceed-1 Comparative, THEN adjectives are verby. IF adjectives are verby and there is an Exceed Comparative, THEN this comparative is of Exceed-1 type. |
syntax | implication | comparative, word class, adjectives, verb |
| 1012 | IF there is an Exceed-2 Comparative or an Exceed-3 Comparative, THEN the adjectives are nouny. IF the adjectives are nouny and there is an Exceed Comparative, THEN the comparative will be of Exceed-2 or of Exceed-3 type. |
syntax | implication | comparative, adjective, nouny |
| 1021 | IF basic order is verb-initial, THEN genitive tends to follow the noun. | syntax | implication | order, verb-initial, noun, attributive |
| 1022 | IF the parts-of speech system is of types 1-2/3, THEN basic word order is predicate-initial or predicate-final. | syntax | implication | word class, order |
| 1023 | IF the parts-of speech system is of types 1-3/4, THEN there is no variation in the ordering of Subject and Predicate (unless the potential ambiguity arising from solved by morphological means). | syntax | implication | word class, order |
| 1024 | IF the parts-of speech system is of types 1-3/4 and basic word order is Predicate-final, THEN there is ModifierHead basic word order within the term phrase (unless the potential ambiguity arising from a deviant order is solved by morphological means). | syntax | implication | word class, order |
| 1025 | IF there is a parts-of speech system of types 1-3/4 and Predicate-initial word order, THEN there is HeadModifier basic word order within the term phrase (unless the potential ambiguity arising from a deviant order is solved by morphological means). | syntax | implication | word class, order |
| 1026 | IF there is a parts-of speech system of types 1-3/4, THEN there is no variation in the order of Head and Modifier within the term phrase. | syntax | implication | word class, order |
| 1027 | IF there is a parts-of speech system of types 1-2/3 and Predicate-final basic word order, THEN there is Modifier Head basic word order within the predicate phrase. | syntax | implication | word class, order, head, modifier |
| 1028 | IF there is a parts-of speech system of types 1-2/3 and Predicate-initial basic word order, THEN there is Head Modifier basic word order within the predicate phrase. | syntax | implication | word class, order, head, modifier |
| 1029 | IF there is a parts-of speech system of types 1-2/3 and Predicate-initial basic word order, THEN there is no variation in the order of Head and Modifier within the predicate phrase. | syntax | implication | word class, order, head, modifier |
| 1030 | IF there is a dominant VSO order and the language has parts-of-speech system of types 1-3/4, THEN the adjective always follows the noun. | syntax | implication | word class, order, VSO, adjective, noun |
| 1031 | IF VO, THEN Non-tensedness, Non-casedness, WITH-Construction, and Non-Absolute Converb. IF Non-tensedness, THEN VO, Non-casedness, WITH-Construction, and Non-Absolute Converb. IF Non-casedness, THEN VO, Non-tensedness, WITH-Construction, and Non-Absolute Converb. IF AND-construction, THEN VO, Non-tensedness, Non-casedness, and Non-Absolute Converb. IF Non-Absolute Converb, THEN VO, Non-tensedness, Non-casedness, and WITH-Construction. |
inflection, syntax | mutual implication | order, VO, verb, object, non-tensedness, non-casedness, WITH-construction, converb |
| 1032 | IF basic word order OV, THEN Tensedness, Casedness, AND-Construction, and Absolute Converb. IF Tensedness, THEN basic word order OV, Casedness, AND-Construction, and Absolute Converb. IF Casedness, THEN basic word order OV, Tensedness, AND-Construction, and Absolute Converb. IF AND-construction, THEN basic word order OV, Tensedness, Casedness, and Absolute Converb. IF Absolute Converb, THEN basic word order OV, Tensedness, Casedness, and AND-Construction. |
inflection, syntax | mutual implication | order, OV, verb, object, tensedness, casedness, AND-construction, converb |
| 1052 | IF word order is SOV, THEN there are no preclitics. IF word order is VSO, THEN there are no postclitic question markers. |
syntax | implication | order, interrogative sentence, question marker, clitic |
| 1054 | IF there is agreement within NPs, THEN there is almost certainly agreement within clauses. | inflection, syntax | implication | NP, clause, agreement |
| 1055 | IF there is agreement within clauses, THEN agreement is likelier to be used than not to be used within NPs. | inflection, syntax | implication | agreement, NP, clause |
| 1056 | IF determiners and modifiers both agree with head nouns, THEN head nouns do not agree with attributive nouns. IF head nouns do not agree with attributive nouns, THEN both determiners and modifiers agree with head nouns. |
inflection, syntax | mutual implication | agreement, NP, determiner, modifier, attribution |
| 1057 | IF determiners agree within NPs, modifiers are likelier also to agree than not to agree. | inflection, syntax | implication | agreement, NP, determiner, modifier |
| 1058 | IF verbs agree in number, THEN they are very likely to agree in person. | inflection, syntax | implication | agreement, verb, number, person |
| 1059 | IF verbs agree in person, THEN they are even likelier also to agree in number. | inflection, syntax | implication | agreement, verb, number, person |
| 1060 | IF verbs agree in gender, THEN they are very likely also to agree in number. | inflection, syntax | implication | agreement, verb, number, gender |
| 1061 | IF verbs agree in person, THEN they are likelier not to agree than to agree in gender. | inflection, syntax | implication | agreement, verb, person, gender |
| 1062 | IF verbs agree in Gender, THEN they are likelier to agree than not to agree in Person. | inflection, syntax | implication | agreement, verb, person, gender |
| 1063 | Whenever NP-internal constituents agree in only a single category, this will not be Definiteness; it will most likely be Number. | inflection, syntax | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | agreement, NP, number, definiteness |
| 1064 | Whenever there is agreement both within clauses and within NPs, IF NP-constituents agree in Number, THEN clause constituents will almost certainly also agree in Number. | inflection, syntax | implication | agreement, NP, clause, number |
| 1065 | Whenever there is agreement both within clauses and within NPs, IF clause-constituents agree in number, THEN NP constituents are very likely also to agree in number. | inflection, syntax | implication | agreement, NP, clause, number |
| 1066 | Whenever predicates agree with subjects in number and there is a politeness contrast for pronouns of address, with plural forms serving as polite singulars, the more verb-like a predicate the likelier it is to agree according to surface features of the subject (i.e., to be plural), and the more noun-like a predicate the likelier it is to agree according to the referential semantics of the subject (i.e., to be singular). | inflection, syntax, semantics | unconditional | agreement, number, politeness |
| 1079 | IF case, and especially genitive, is marked (enclitically) at the end of NPs, THEN word order is mainly SOV, NP Postposition, Genitive Noun, Noun Adjective (Greenberg’s type 24). | inflection, syntax | implication | case, enclitic, order, adposition, attributive, adjective, noun |
| 1086 | If pronominal reference can reach into certain anaphoric islands, THEN also outside. | syntax | implication | anaphoric island, pronominal reference |
| 1087 | IF there is agreement with full noun phrases, THEN very likely there is agreement with pronouns. | inflection, syntax | implication | agreement, noun, pronoun |
| 1099 | IF there are mono-valent resultatives formed from bi-valent verbs , THEN there must be bi-valent resultatives formed from tri-valent verbs. | inflection, syntax | implication | resultative, valence |
| 1100 | (holistic) Type A vs. Type B |
phonology, morphology, syntax | mutual implication | nasal vowel, syllable, order, attributive, adjective, noun, prefix, suffix, preposition, postposition, serial verb, number, compounding, consonant, agreement, subject |
| 1104 | Regardless of alignment, the ‘antecedent’, i. e. the controller, of a reflexive is A (or S, where it is extended to intransitive). | syntax | unconditional | reflexive, subject, agent, controller |