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 5 of 23
| # | Standardized / Original | Domain | Type | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 246 | IF constituent order is free, THEN words tend to be longer. | morphology, syntax | implication | word length, order |
| 247 | IF there is an accusative case distinct from the nominative, THEN there is a category of gender. | inflection, syntax | implication | gender, case, accusative, nominative |
| 248 | IF there is an Adverb as a distinct word class, THEN there are also Adjectives, Nouns, and Verbs. IF there are Adjectives, THEN there are also Nouns and Verbs. IF there are Nouns, THEN there are also Verbs. |
syntax | implicational hierarchy | word class, verb, noun, adjective, adverb |
| 249 | Predicate hierarchy 1A: non-presentative ascriptive predications (Xi)loc > A > N > (Xi)poss. This hierarchy says that if a predication type at a certain point in the hierarchy is predicable in that language, then all predication types preceding it in the hierarchy are also predicable in that language. |
syntax | implicational hierarchy | word class, predicate, possessive, noun, adjective, locative |
| 250 | IF parts-of-speech classification is truly flexible, THEN all classes of predicates can be used predicatively. | inflection, syntax | implication | word class, flexible, predicate, possessive |
| 251 | IF parts-of-speech classification is rigid and there is no or a small and closed class of manner adverbs, THEN nominal and possessive predicates can not be used predicatively. | syntax | implication | word class, rigid, manner adverb, predicate, nominal, possessive |
| 252 | IF parts-of-speech classification is rigid and there is no class of adjectives, THEN nominal and possessive predicates can not be used predicatively. IF parts-of-speech classification is rigid and there is a small and closed class of adjectives, THEN these adjectives and nominal and possessive predicates can not be used predicatively. |
syntax | implication | word class, rigid, adjective, predicate, nominal, possessive |
| 253 | IF presentative possessive predications are predicable, THEN presentative localizing predications will be predicable as well. | syntax | implication | predicate, hierarchy, possessive, locative |
| 257 | IF alignment is predominantly active, THEN (i) verbal diathesis is in terms of centrifugal vs. non-centrifugal versions, (ii) possession in nouns is distinguished as alienable vs. inalienable, (iii) Aktionsart is distinguished on verbs rather than tense. | inflection, syntax | implication | alignment, active, verb, diathesis, version, possession, alienable, inalienable, Aktionsart, tense |
| 258 | IF alignment is predominantly ergative, THEN (i) subject is initial and verb final, (ii) subject and predicate are separated intonationally, (iii) object tends to be morphologically unmarked, and (iv) subject has a special morphological marker. |
phonology, morphology, syntax | implication | alignment, ergative, order, subject, direct object, intonation |
| 259 | IF alignment is ergative or active, THEN primary and secondary topicalization cannot be by means of diathesis/voice alternations, but only by means of word order changes. |
inflection, syntax | implication | topicalization, diathesis, verbal voice, passive, version, alignment, active, ergative |
| 260 | IF alignment is predominantly ergative, THEN verbal person marking is by prefixes or by both prefixes and suffixes. |
inflection, syntax | implication | alignment, ergative, verb, inflection, person, prefix, suffix |
| 261 | IF alignment is predominantly ergative, THEN of verbal person markers those for object (if present) almost always precede those for subject. |
inflection, syntax | implication | alignment, ergative, verb, person, affix-order, subject, object |
| 262 | IF alignment is predominantly ergative, THEN there tend to be: possessive and affective verbs (verba habendi and verba sentiendi) in syntactic constructions distinct from that of verbs of action; a special affective case; nouns divided into lexical classes; "labile" (or "diffuse") verbs rather than a classification of verbs as transitive and intransitive; an opposition of inclusive and exclusive in the 1st person plural. | inflection, syntax, lexicon | implication | alignment, ergative, verb, affective verb, possessive verb, labile verb, affective case, noun class, personal pronouns, exclusive, inclusive, 1st person, transitivity |
| 263 | IF alignment is predominantly ergative, THEN there tend to be: (i) a special morphological category of words syntactically connected with nouns (i.e., attributive forms of verbs, adjectives, pronouns); (ii) an opposition of alienable and inalienable possession; (iii) number agreement of transitive verbs with direct object and of intransitive verbs with subject (perhaps expressed by suppletion of the verb stem). | inflection, syntax | implication | alignment, ergative, attribution, possession, alienable, inalienable, agreement, number, transitive verb, intransitive verb, subject, direct object, suppletion |
| 265 | IF alignment is predominantly active, THEN there tend to be the following properties as well: the class of inactive nouns is further subdivided by shape categories; the class of active nouns is further subdivided by animacy (person vs. animal); there are singular and plural verbs in suppletive relationship; there are polysemies of nouns based on analogies existing between animal and plant organisms and their functions. | inflection, syntax, lexicon | implication | alignment, active, noun, noun classification, active, inactive, animacy, verbal number, suppletion, polysemy |
| 266 | IF alignment is predominantly active, THEN both nouns and verbs are subdivided into active and inactive classes (animate vs. inanimate, action vs. state), and there is a corresponding distinction of active vs. inactive syntactic constructions, showing a distinction of objects into "near" and "distant" rather than direct and indirect/oblique. | inflection, syntax, lexicon | implication | alignment, active, noun, noun classification, animacy, verb, verb classification, action, state, object, direct, indirect, oblique |
| 270 | When nouns are distinguished as animate/personal and inanimate/impersonal and there is some (non-accidental) syncretism of this opposition, animate/personal forms will win out. | inflection, syntax | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | animacy, noun, syncretism |
| 278 | IF basic order is VOS, THEN there is no verbal inflection. | inflection, syntax | implication | order, VOS, inflection, verb |
| 281 | IF nouns take possessive affixes, THEN these nouns do not occur with possessive pronouns. | inflection, syntax | implication | noun, possession, possessive affix, possessive pronoun |
| 285 | IF the adjective inflects for gender and/or number and/or case, THEN the noun inflects for these categories also. | inflection, syntax | implication | adjective, noun, number, gender, case |
| 291 | IF there are ezâfe constructions, THEN possessors are expressed through affixes or clitics. | inflection, syntax | implication | ezâfe, possession, affix, clitic |
| 292 | IF there are ezâfe constructions, THEN possessors are expressed through affixes or clitics or there is an article. | inflection, syntax | implication | ezâfe, possession, article, affix, clitic |
| 293 | IF the verb agrees with the oblique object, THEN the verb agrees with the direct object. | inflection, syntax | implication | verb agreement, direct object, oblique object |
| 294 | IF the verb agrees with the direct object, THEN the verb agrees with the subject. | inflection, syntax | implication | verb agreement, direct object, subject |
| 295 | IF basic order is VSO, SVO, or SOV, THEN the verb has prefixes and suffixes. | morphology, syntax | implication | order, VSO, SVO, SOV, prefix, suffix |
| 296 | IF (i) basic order is VSO, SVO, or SOV, (ii) an auxiliary verb can occur before and after the main verb, and (iii) the adjective inflects for gender and case, THEN adjective and noun need not be adjacent. | inflection, syntax | implication | order, VSO, SVO, SOV, auxiliary, verb, noun, adjective, case, gender |
| 297 | IF nouns do not inflect for case and verbs carry no relational marking either, THEN basic order is SVO or OSV. |
inflection, syntax | implication | noun, case, verb, order, SVO, OSV, grammatical relations |
| 298 | Inversion of word order is always available to convey logical or emotional emphasis. | syntax, pragmatics | unconditional | order, inversion |
| 299 | IF there is no category of definiteness/indefiniteness, THEN word order is used for distinguishing 'given' (coming closer to the beginning of the sentence) and 'new' information (closer to its end). | syntax, pragmatics | implication | definiteness, order, given, new |
| 301 | Parataxis is used as a way of clause conjoining. |
syntax | unconditional | parataxis, juxtaposition, clause conjoining |
| 302 | General questions can be formed without inversion. | syntax | unconditional | order, inversion, yes-no question |
| 303 | Subjects in passive constructions tend to be encoded and to behave like subjects of basic intransitive constructions. | inflection, syntax | unconditional | subject, diathesis, voice, passive, transitivity |
| 304 | IF there are ergative or passive constructions in non-past or imperfective tenses, THEN there are ergative or passive constructions in past and perfective tenses. | inflection, syntax | implication | diathesis, passive, alignment, ergative, tense, non-past, imperfective, past, perfective |
| 305 | IF there is a three-member passive construction, THEN there will be a two-member passive construction, derived from the three-member construction by simple omission of the agent in an oblique object relation. | syntax | implication | diathesis, passive, oblique object |
| 306 | IF there is a passive of intransitive verbs, THEN there is a passive of transitive verbs as well. | inflection, syntax | implication | diathesis, passive, transitivity |
| 308 | IF active and passive voices differ in verb form, THEN the corresponding constructions differ from each other in form of at least one of the nominal actants. | inflection, syntax | implication | diathesis, passive, active, verb |
| 309 | IF active and passive voices differ from each other in the form of nominal actants, THEN they differ in verb form as well. | inflection, syntax | implication | diathesis, active, passive, verb |
| 310 | The citation form of the noun tends to be the nominative case form. | inflection, syntax | unconditional | noun, case, nominative, markedness |
| 311 | The citation form of the noun tends to be the indefinitive form, if indefinitive contrasts with other forms. | inflection, syntax | unconditional | noun, indefinitive |
| 312 | IF there is a noun form for use as as subject of intransitive verbs of state, THEN this form will also be used for intransitive verbs of action. | inflection, syntax | implication | subject, intransitivity, verb, active, stative |
| 313 | IF there is a noun form for use as as subject of intransitive verbs of action, THEN this form will also be used for intransitive verbs of state. | inflection, syntax | implication | subject, intransitivity, verb, active, stative |
| 314 | Indefinitiveness* tends to be expressed by zero. | inflection, syntax | unconditional | indefinitive, zero |
| 315 | IF any nominal forms function as direct objects, THEN they may also function as adverbial modifiers, especially adverbial modifiers of time. | inflection, syntax | implication | case, direct object, adverb |
| 316 | IF there is a syntactic form of the subjective* of nouns, THEN there will be a syntactic form of the accusative*, and vice versa. | inflection, syntax | mutual implication | case, subjective, accusative |
| 317 | IF the indefinite direct object is marked with a syntactic form of accusative*, THEN the definite direct object is marked with the same syntactic form. | inflection, syntax | implication | case, accusative, direct object, definiteness |
| 324 | Whenever the verb agrees with subject and object, IF the agreement affixes can occur in the orders s-o-V and o-V-s, THEN they can also occur in the order s-V-o. |
inflection, syntax | implication | verb agreement, subject, object, person, affix-order |
| 325 | Whenever the verb agrees with subject and object, IF the agreement affixes can occur in the orders s-o-V and s-V-o, THEN they can also occur in the order o-V-s. |
inflection, syntax | implication | verb agreement, subject, object, person, affix-order |
| 326 | Whenever the verb agrees with subject and object, IF the agreement affixes can occur in the orders s-o-V and V-s-o, THEN they can also occur in the order o-V-s. |
inflection, syntax | implication | verb agreement, subject, object, person, affix-order |
| 327 | IF the transitive verb agrees in person with the direct object, THEN at least some transitive verb forms agree in person with the subject of a transitive verb. | inflection, syntax | implication | verb agreement, subject, direct object, transitivity, person |