Universals Archive
A database of proposed crosslinguistic laws and tendencies in grammar across the world’s languages. 2,029 published entries.
1,698 entries · page 10 of 34
| # | Standardized / Original | Domain | Type | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 505 | IF there are discontinuous affixes, THEN there is prefixing and/or suffixing. |
morphology | implication | affix-order, prefix, suffix |
| 506 | IF there are only suffixes, THEN there will be postpositions; IF there are only prefixes, THEN there will be prepositions. |
morphology, syntax | implication | prefix, suffix, postposition, preposition |
| 507 | IF both the derivation and inflection follow the root or they both precede the root, THEN the derivation is always between the root and the inflection. | morphology | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | root, order |
| 508 | IF there is inflection, THEN there is derivation. | inflection, word formation | implication | |
| 509 | IF the verb inflects for person-number or for gender, THEN it also inflects for tense-mood. | inflection | implication | verb, person, number, gender, tense, mood |
| 510 | IF the verb agrees with either the subject or the object in gender, THEN the adjective always agrees with the noun in gender. | inflection, syntax | implication | agreement, gender, verb, adjective<br> |
| 511 | IF the verb agrees with a nominal subject or nominal object in gender, THEN it also agrees in number. | inflection, syntax | implication | agreement, subject, object, noun, gender, number |
| 512 | Whenever there is number agreement between an NP and the verb and such agreement can be suspended depending on the order of NP and verb, it can only be suspended when the verb precedes the NP and the default number form of the verb is always singular. |
inflection, syntax | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | agreement, number, singular, verb, order |
| 513 | IF there is a trial, THEN there is also a dual. IF there is a dual, THEN there is also a plural. OR, BY CONTRAPOSITION: IF there is no dual, THEN there is no trial. IF there is no plural, THEN there is no dual. |
inflection | implication | number, trial, dual, plural |
| 515 | IF there is the category of gender, THEN there is always the category of number. | inflection | implication | number, gender |
| 516 | IF there are n genders in the non-singular, THEN there will be at least n genders in the singular. | inflection | implication | gender, number |
| 518 | IF there are gender categories in the noun, THEN there are also gender categories in the pronoun. | inflection | implication | gender, noun, pronoun |
| 519 | IF there are gender distinctions in the 1st person [of the personal pronoun], THEN there are gender distinctions in the 2nd and/or 3rd person. | inflection | implication | pronoun, gender, person, 1, 2, 3 |
| 520 | IF there are any gender distinctions in the plural of the pronoun, THEN there are some gender distinctions in the singular also. | inflection | implication | pronoun, gender, number, plural, singular |
| 521 | IF conjunction reduction has ergative alignment, THEN so does coreferential deletion in purposive constructions. IF coreferential deletion in purposive constructions has ergative alignment, THEN so does relativization. IF relativization has ergative alignment, THEN so does verb agreement. IF verb agreement has ergative alignment, THEN so does case marking. |
inflection, syntax | implicational hierarchy | alignment, ergativity, conjunction reduction, coreferential deletion, purposive, relativization, verb, agreement, case |
| 523 | IF the adnominal adjective agrees with the noun, THEN so does the adnominal demonstrative. | inflection, syntax | implication | agreement, demonstrative, adjective, NP |
| 526 | IF the adnominal demonstrative and the definite article occur on the same side of the head noun, THEN the demonstrative is consistently more peripheral than the article. | syntax | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | adnominal demonstrative, definite article, noun, order |
| 532 | IF a numeral system has only basic terms, THEN the largest value of L is 5 and the smallest value is 2. | lexicon | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | numeral |
| 533 | IF a numeral system has arithmetical operations, THEN its smallest value for L is 4. | lexicon | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | numeral |
| 535 | IF numeral classifiers are included in the dominant mode of forming quantification expressions, THEN plural marking on nouns will not be obligatory. | inflection, syntax | implication | numeral classifier, number, plural |
| 536 | IF a number is expressed by subtraction, or a subtraction occurs as a constituent of a complex expression, THEN the subtrahend is never larger than the remainder. | word formation | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | numeral |
| 537 | IF a number is expressed by subtraction as y-x, THEN every number z (z>y>n) is also expressed subtractively and with y as the minuend. | word formation | implication | numeral |
| 538 | IF in any sum the smaller addend precedes the larger, THEN the same order holds for all smaller numbers expressed by addition. | word formation | implication | numeral |
| 539 | IF in any sum the larger addend precedes the smaller, THEN the same order holds for all larger numbers expressed by addition. | word formation | implication | order, numeral |
| 540 | IF there are numerals in which the expression of the multiplier follows that of the multiplicand, THEN the numeral will follow the noun. | word formation, syntax | implication | numeral, order, noun |
| 542 | In numeral systems with only simple lexical representation: IF the limit number is 2, THEN there is a singular/plural distinction, and vice versa. IF the limit number is 3, THEN there is a singular/dual/plural distinction, and vice versa. |
inflection, word formation | mutual implication | numeral, number, dual, plural, singular |
| 543 | IF a link for addition occurs medially, THEN it always goes with the following numeral in a prepositional language and with the preceding numeral in a postpositional language. | word formation, syntax | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | numeral, order, postposition, preposition |
| 544 | When there is a word order variation in addition between larger and smaller, and one order has an overt link and the other has not, it is always the order smaller+larger which has the link. | word formation, syntax | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | order, numeral |
| 545 | IF a link for subtraction is final, THEN there are postpositions. | word formation, syntax | implication | numeral, postposition |
| 546 | IF a numeral expression contains a complex constituent, THEN the numerical value of the complex constituent itself in isolation receives either simple lexical expression or is expressed by the same function and in the same phonological shape, except for possible automatic phonological alternations, stress shifts, or overt expressions of co-ordination. |
word formation | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | numeral |
| 547 | The degree of morphological fusion varies inversely with the size of the numerical value. | word formation | implication | numeral |
| 548 | IF plural marking on nouns is optional, THEN the singular may be used on nouns in construction with numerals higher than 1. | inflection, word formation | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | noun, numeral |
| 549 | Provided the number marking of nouns distinguishes singular, dual, and plural, IF the plural is used in any instances where a set of two objects is designated, THEN the plural can be used on nouns in construction with the numeral ‘two’. |
inflection, syntax | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | number, dual, plural, numeral |
| 550 | IF numeral expressions for the smallest addends take the plural of the noun when they designate numbers >1, THEN complex numerals with one as an addend will take the plural of the noun if ‘one’ is not a separate word. | inflection, word formation | implication | numeral, noun |
| 551 | Where there is rule-governed variation between the use of the singular and plural of nouns accompanied by numerals: IF the number is a higher one, THEN the singular is favoured; IF the construction is a measure construction , THEN the singular is favoured; IF the construction is indefinite , THEN the singular is favoured; IF the noun is inanimate or impersonal, THEN the singular is favoured. |
inflection, syntax | implication | numeral, noun, number, singular, plural |
| 553 | IF a link for addition is final, THEN there are postpositions. | word formation, syntax | implication | numeral, postposition |
| 554 | IF there is free variation in Noun Quantifier order depending on the identity of the numeral, THEN one of the two orders is used with a continuous series of numbers beginning with ‘one’, or ‘one’ and the bases of the system are used with one of the orders. IF there is free variation in Noun Quantifier order with a particular numeral ‘x’, THEN the next higher is also in free variation or is in the opposite order to that of ‘x’ with the noun. |
syntax | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | numeral, order, noun, quantitative |
| 555 | IF there are both partitive and adjectival Quantifier Noun constructions, THEN the smallest number which employs the partitive is larger than the largest number which has the adjectival construction. | syntax | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | numeral |
| 557 | When there is an overt marker distinguishing absolute and contextual numbers, THEN this marker is added to the contextual form yielding the absolute form, and not vice versa. | word formation, syntax | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | numeral |
| 558 | Where there are contrasting forms for the absolute and contextual uses of cardinal numbers, there is always neutralization for some numerals, in which case the contextual form appears. | word formation, syntax | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | cardinal numeral |
| 560 | IF there is a separate absolute form for a particular numerical value, THEN there is a separate absolute form for the next lower value as well. | inflection | implication | cardinal numeral |
| 561 | Where there is a distinction between absolute and contextual cardinal numerals, IF the contextual form is used as a multiplier with a lower base, THEN the contextual form is also used with all higher bases. |
word formation | implication | cardinal numeral |
| 562 | IF an atomic numeral expression is borrowed from one language into another, THEN all higher atomic expressions are borrowed. | lexicon | implication | numeral, borrowing |
| 563 | IF the dual extends to non-pronominal agreement forms, THEN it also extends to personal pronouns and nouns. | inflection, syntax | implication | agreement, number, dual, noun, personal pronoun |
| 564 | IF there is a dual with nouns other than those denoting natural pairs, THEN there will be one with natural-pair nouns as well. | inflection | implication | number, dual, noun, pair |
| 565 | IF there is a duo-paucal, THEN there is a contrast between a general paucal and a multal. | inflection | implication | number, dual, paucal |
| 566 | IF the dual extends to nouns, THEN it also extends to pronouns. | inflection | implication | number, dual, noun, pronoun |
| 567 | IF 3rd person differentiates a dual, THEN so does 2nd. IF 2nd person differentiates a dual, THEN so does 3rd. |
inflection | mutual implication | pronoun, personal pronoun, number, dual, 3rd person, 2nd person |
| 568 | IF 2nd and 3rd person differentiate a dual, THEN so does (with more than chance frequency) 1st (but not vice versa). | inflection | implication | pronoun, personal pronoun, number, dual, 3rd person, 2nd person, 1st person |
| 571 | IF present and past tenses have completely identical stems, THEN there are other means of distinguishing these two tenses. | inflection | implication | persent tense, past tense |