Universal #1239

Legacy number: 1239

 Number  1235
 Original  Hierarchy of expletives:
argumentless passives and unaccusatives > expletive of displaced NPs > expletives of displaced CPs (S´) > weather predicates > referential NPs.

If a language allows null expletives on a certain point in the hierarchy, it will also allow null expletives on all the points higher up on the hierarchy.
 Standardized  IF there are null expletives on a certain point in the hierarchy, THEN there will also be null expletives on all the points higher up on the hierarchy.

Hierarchy of expletives:
argumentless passives and unaccusatives > expletive of displaced NPs > expletives of displaced CPs (S´) > weather predicates > referential NPs.
 Formula  argumentless passives and unaccusatives > expletive of displaced NPs > expletives of displaced CPs (S´) > weather predicates > referential NPs
 Keywords  expletive, hierarchy
 Domain  syntax
 Type  implicational hierarchy
 Status  achronic
 Quality  absolute
 Basis  English, Yiddish, Dutch, German (all W. Germanic, IE), Irish (Celtic, IE), Italian, French (both Italic, IE), Malagasy (Barito, Western Malayo-Polynesian)
 Source  Travis 1984: 218

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Discussion
Notes
EXPLETIVEs are grammatical elements having no semantic content and occurring in positions to which no thematic role is assigned.For example, “there” in (i) and “it” (ii) are expletives:(i) There is a man in the room.(ii) It seems that John is ill.
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
EXPLETIVEs are grammatical elements having no semantic content and occurring in positions to which no thematic role is assigned.

For example, 'there' in (i) and 'it' (ii) are expletives:
(i) There is a man in the room.
(ii) It seems that John is ill.