Universal #342
Legacy number: 342
| Number | 341 |
| Original | If the dominant position of the subject with respect to the verb depends on their morphological characteristics, the dominant order in such a language will be Verb-Object. |
| Standardized | IF the dominant position of the subject with respect to the verb depends on their morphological properties, THEN the dominant order will be Verb-Object. |
| Keywords | verb, subject, object, order |
| Domain | inflection, syntax |
| Type | implication |
| Status | achronic |
| Quality | statistical |
| Basis | languages surveyed in Kozinsky 1981 |
| Source | Kozinsky 1981 |
Discussion
Counterexamples
Languages of the Pano family (Chakobo, Movima, Itonama). In these languages, which have the general dominant order S(O)V, the order VS (=OVS, =VOS) becomes obligatory if the verb has a form expressing the infinite action (Kozinsky 1981)
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