Universal #1121
Legacy number: 1121
| Number | 1117 |
| Original | If a language has passives with agent phrases then it has them without agent phrases. |
| Standardized | IF there are passives with agent phrases, THEN there will be passives without them. |
| Formula | passive with agent phrases ⇒ passive without agent phrases |
| Keywords | diathesis, passive, agent |
| Domain | syntax |
| Type | implication |
| Status | |
| Quality | absolute |
| Basis | languages in Keenan 1985a |
| Source | Keenan 1985a: 249 |
Discussion
Counterexamples
Acehnese (W. Malayo-Polynesian) has a passive construction requiring an agent phrase (Lawler 1977). Durie (1981), however, argues that such a construction is in fact an unmarked active. (Keenan 1985a: 249)
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