Universal #12

Legacy number: 13

 Number  13
 Original  If direct objects may control agreement (or take case marking) without doing so obligatorily, it will be the more definite and/or the more animate direct objects which are agreed with (or case marked) obligatorily.
 Standardized  IF direct objects may control verb agreement (or take case marking) without doing so obligatorily, THEN it will be the more definite and/or the more animate direct objects which are agreed with (or case marked) obligatorily.
 Keywords  agreement, case, direct object, definite, animate
 Domain  inflection, syntax
 Type  no genuine implication; rather: provided that
 Status  achronic
 Quality  absolute?
 Basis  unspecified
 Source  Plank 1991c: 535, Croft 1988: 161

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Discussion
Notes
1. Even though direct contraposition does not work, the claim at issue may be of an essentially implicational nature:
IF less definite and/or less animate direct objects control verb agreement (or are optionally case-marked), THEN more definite and/or more animate direct objects also control verb agreement (or are also case-marked).


2. Cf. ##46, 488, 1284.
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
1. Even though direct contraposition does not work, the claim at issue may be of an essentially implicational nature: IF less definite and/or less animate direct objects control verb agreement (or are optionally case-marked), THEN more definite and/or more animate direct objects also control verb agreement (or are also case-marked).

2. Cf. <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=46"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">, <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=488"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">, <a class="innerLink" href="browse.php?entry_id=1284"><img src="../img/entry.gif" border="0">.