Universal #1991

Legacy number: 1991

 Number  1985
 Original  The negative of past tense forms of Ex and/or Cop tends to be more regular in formation than the present-tense negative.
 Standardized  The negative of past tense forms of the lexical items for existential and copulative function tends to be more regular in formation than the present-tense negative.
 Keywords  verb, existence, copula, negation, tense, past, present
 Domain  inflection, syntax
 Type  implication
 Status  achronic
 Quality  statistical
 Basis  Bengali, Amharic, Bilen, Mundari, and impressions from other lgs, including other Afroasiatic, Hungarian, German, Spanish, Twi
 Source  Ferguson 1972: 110

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