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 5 of 34
| # | Standardized / Original | Domain | Type | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 223 | IF there are phonemic alternations in root morphemes, THEN there are [the same?] phonemic alternations in non-root morphemes as well. | phonology, morphology | implication | root, non-root, alternation |
| 224 | IF there is an opposition labials vs. dentals, THEN there is an opposition of nasal vs. oral stops as well. | phonology | implication | labials, dentals, nasal, oral, stop |
| 225 | IF alignment is active, THEN there is no case inflection. IF alignment is ergative, THEN there are ergative, absolutive, (and locative) cases. IF alignment is accusative, THEN there are nominative, accusative, (genitive, dative, instrumental, and locative) cases. |
inflection, syntax | no genuine implication; rather: provided that | alignment, active, ergative, accusative, case, locative, nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, instrumental |
| 226 | IF clause structure is of the class type, THEN there is no case inflection. IF alignment is predominantly active, THEN there is either no case inflection or cases encode active and inactive participation rather than subject and object. IF alignment is predominantly ergative, THEN case marking non-distinctively expresses subject and object relations. IF alignment is predominantly nominative [i.e., ergative], THEN cases distinctively express subject and object. |
inflection, syntax | implication | alignment, class, active, ergative, accusative, subject, object, case |
| 227 | If there are only affixes which derive causatives form intransitive verbs, THEN these affixes will not have a permissive meaning. | morphology, semantics | implication | causative, transitivity, permissive |
| 228 | IF nouns inflect for case, THEN verbs inflect for some inflectional category. | inflection | implication | noun, case, verb |
| 229 | IF nominals inflect for number, THEN they also inflect for case. | inflection | implication | noun, number, case |
| 230 | IF constituent order is rigid, THEN cases are absent, and vice versa; If cases are absent, THEN the use of prepositions is extensive, and vice versa; IF order is rigid, THEN the use of prepositions is extensive, and vice versa. IF constituent order is flexible, THEN cases are present, and vice versa; IF cases are present, THEN the use of prepositions is sparse, and vice versa; IF order is flexible, THEN the use of prepositions is sparse, and vice versa. |
inflection, syntax | mutual implication | order, case, preposition |
| 231 | IF constituent order is rigid (or if there is no case inflection), THEN the gradation of adjectives is expressed by function words; IF constituent order is flexible (or if there is case inflection), THEN the gradation of adjectives is expressed inflectionally. |
inflection, syntax | implication | order, case, adjective, comparison, inflection, function word |
| 232 | IF constituent order is rigid and there is no case inflection, THEN there is a definite article, but not vice versa. | inflection, syntax | implication | order, case, definite article |
| 233 | Governors either follow or they precede their governees in all of the following constructions alike: (a) subject, object, and verb, (b) nominal attribute and head noun, (c) adjectival attribute and head noun, (d) adposition and noun phrase, (e) particle (especially conjunctions and interrogative words) and clause, (f) subject and verb in interrogative clauses, (g) indirect object, direct object, and subject, (h) core and circumstantial actants. |
syntax | mutual implication | order, subject, direct object, indirect object, verb, nominal attribute, adjectival, head noun, adposition, NP, particle, conjunction, interrogative word, clause, interrogative clause, core, circumstantial actant |
| 234 | In times of inflectional expansion, IF there is number inflection, THEN there is also case inflection; and IF there is case inflection, THEN there is also gender inflection. In times of inflectional reduction, IF there is gender inflection, THEN there is also case inflection; and IF there is gender inflection, THEN there is also number inflection. |
inflection | implication | number, case, gender |
| 235 | In phases of inflectional reduction and expansion of the fund of function words, IF there are numerals and/or quantifiers, THEN there are also prepositions; IF there are prepositions, THEN there are also adjectives; and IF there are adjectives, THEN there are also nouns and (personal) verbs. | syntax | implication | word class, numeral, quantifier, preposition, adjective, noun, verb |
| 236 | During inflectional expansion, IF there are cases marking subject, object, and attribute, THEN there are also local and other adverbial cases. During inflectional reduction, IF there are local and other adverbial cases, THEN there are also subject, object, and attributive cases. |
inflection | implication | case, subject, object, attributive, local, adverbial |
| 237 | IF adjectives inflect for any category, THEN nouns inflect for this category as well. | inflection | implication | adjective, noun, inflection |
| 238 | IF constituent order is rigid, THEN all determined constituents precede their respective determining constituents; in particular, subjects precede their predicates, verbs their complements (objects, prepositional phrases), prepositions their complements (noun phrases), head nouns their attributive adjectives, relative clauses, and complements (prepositional phrases). | syntax | implication | order, subject, predicate, verb, complement, object, PP, preposition, NP, head noun, attributive adjective, relative clause |
| 239 | IF constituent order is free, THEN all potentially declinable kinds of nominal words in relationships of determination — nouns, pronouns, adjectives (including articles) — are declined at least for case, the cardinal relational category, but presumably for number and gender as well. | inflection, syntax | implication | order, noun, pronoun, adjective, article, case, number, gender |
| 240 | IF there is ergative case marking, THEN with far more than chance frequency there is divergent ordering of genitive and adjective attributes, with genitives preceding and with adjectives following their head nouns; IF there is divergent genitive and adjective ordering, THEN supposedly with somewhat lower frequency, there is ergative case marking. |
inflection, syntax | implication | ergative case, order, attributive, adjective, noun |
| 241 | IF there is segmental relation marking, THEN word order is free, and vice versa. IF there is no segmental relation marking, THEN word order is rigid, and vice versa. |
inflection, syntax | mutual implication | inflection, order |
| 242 | During inflectional expansion, IF there is a plural, THEN there is also a dual. During inflectional reduction, IF there is a dual, THEN there is also a plural. |
inflection | implication | number, plural, dual |
| 243 | IF verbs inflect for dual number, THEN nouns inflect for dual number as well. | inflection | implication | number, dual, noun, verb |
| 244 | Inflectional systems either have all three of the following properties or none of them: (i) inflectional exponents are intimately joined to the units inflected; (ii) inflectional exponents vary with classes of units to be inflected (i.e. there are coexisting inflection classes); (iii) inflections express several categories cumulatively; (iv) inflectional exponents neutralize some paradigmatic distinctions. | inflection | mutual implication | inflection class, cumulation, syncretism, fusion |
| 245 | IF constituent order is free without limits, THEN nominal words are inflected, but not vice versa; IF constituent order is rigid without inversions, THEN there is no nominal inflection, but not vice versa. | inflection, syntax | implication | order, noun |
| 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 |
| 254 | IF there is a case distinction in the inflection of adjectives, THEN there is the same distinction in the inflection of nouns. | inflection | implication | case, adjective, noun |
| 255 | IF there is a number opposition for any other word class (especially nouns), THEN there is the same number opposition for pronouns. | inflection | implication | number, noun, pronoun |
| 256 | IF there is any opposition in gender (or noun class) for nouns, THEN there is the same opposition for pronouns. | inflection | implication | gender, noun class, noun, pronoun |
| 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 |
| 267 | IF there is Person and Number inflection, THEN there is Tense, Aspect, and Mood inflection. | inflection | implication | verb, inflection, person, number, tense, aspect, mood |
| 268 | IF any other meanings are expresssed by productive reduplication, THEN the meaning ‘change of degree or quantity’ is also expressed thus. | morphology, semantics | implication | reduplication |
| 269 | IF the plural of (personal) pronouns is not formed by suppletion, THEN these pronominal plural markers are the same as those used for nouns. |
inflection | implication | noun, pronoun, number, plural, suppletion |
| 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 |
| 271 | IF any grammatical distinction is made in the paradigm of the neuter gender, THEN this same distinction is also made in the paradigm of non-neuter genders. | inflection | implication | gender, neuter, markedness |
| 272 | IF there is any gender distinction in verb forms of 1st and 2nd person, THEN this same distinction is made in forms of 3rd person. | inflection | implication | verb, gender, person, 1, 2, 3 |
| 273 | IF there is any person or number distinction in the forms of a non-indicative mood, THEN there will be the same distinctions in the indicative mood. | inflection | implication | verb, person, number, mood, indicative, non-indicative |