Universal #1957

Legacy number: 1957

 Number  1951
 Original  If a negative polarity item (NPI) (in particular an auxiliary) can occur in some affective context, it will also appear in all contexts to the right of this context:

comparative < conditional < interrogatives < negatives.
 Standardized  IF a negative polarity item (in particular an auxiliary) can occur in a comparative context, THEN it can also occur in a conditional context.
IF a negative polarity item (in particular an auxiliary) can occur in a conditional context, THEN it can also occur in an interrogative context.
IF a negative polarity item (in particular an auxiliary) can occur in an interrogative context, THEN it can also occur in a negative context.
 Keywords  negative polarity item, auxiliary, comparative, conditional, interrogative, negative
 Domain  syntax
 Type  implicational hierarchy
 Status  achronic
 Quality  absolute
 Basis  languages surveyed in Edmondson 1981, Edmondson 1983
 Source  Edmondson 1981, Edmondson 1983: 51

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