Universal #511
Legacy number: 511
| Number | 509 |
| Original | Whenever the verb agrees with a nominal subject or nominal object in gender, it also agrees in number. |
| Standardized | IF the verb agrees with a nominal subject or nominal object in gender, THEN it also agrees in number. |
| Formula | verb agreement in gender (subject V object) ⇒ > verb agreement in number (subject V object) |
| Keywords | agreement, subject, object, noun, gender, number |
| Domain | inflection, syntax |
| Type | implication |
| Status | achronic |
| Quality | absolute |
| Basis | 30 languages of Greenberg 1963 sample |
| Source | Greenberg 1963: 94, #32 |
Discussion
Counterexamples
Andi (conservative dialects, NE Caucasian) and earlier probably further Caucasian languages (Corbett 1991: 198ff.); numerous South American languages (e.g. Arawak and Jê) and Papuan languages (e.g. the Ndu family) (Aikhenwald 2000: 244)
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