Universal #555

Legacy number: 555

 Number  553
 Original  If a language has both partitive and adjectival Quantifier Noun constructions, the smallest number which employs the partitive is larger than the largest number which has the adjectival construction.
 Standardized  IF there are both partitive and adjectival Quantifier Noun constructions, THEN the smallest number which employs the partitive is larger than the largest number which has the adjectival construction.
 Keywords  numeral
 Domain  syntax
 Type  no genuine implication; rather: provided that
 Status  achronic
 Quality  absolute
 Basis  56 languages mentioned in Greenberg 1978a
 Source  Greenberg 1978a: 285 (#47)

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Discussion
Notes
1. In general there is a preference for the partitive with larger numbers. For example, in some dialects of Berber (Afro-Asiatic), ‘one’ and ‘two’ are adjectives. Above ‘two’ all numerals are in a genitive-like construction with the noun and may have the genitive particle. In Russian and some other Slavic languages, in the direct cases numbers larger than ‘four’ govern the genitive plural. 2. This generalization is subject to the following limitation: In some languages in complex numbers the construction is determined by the smallest addend, particularly if it is adjacent to the noun. Thus, in Russian ‘twenty-one’ has the same construction as ‘one’.3. The preference of the partitive for higher numbers is in accordance with some other generalizations: The higher the numbers, the more likely it is to be treated as as noun, and thebasic noun-noun construction is of the genitive type. (Greenberg 1978a: 285-286).
Comment
Frans Plank · 3 Aug 2006
1. In general there is a preference for the partitive with larger numbers. For example, in some dialects of Berber (Afro-Asiatic), 'one' and 'two' are adjectives. Above 'two' all numerals are in a genitive-like construction with the noun and may have the genitive particle. In Russian and some other Slavic languages, in the direct cases numbers larger than 'four' govern the genitive plural.

2. This generalization is subject to the following limitation: In some languages in complex numbers the construction is determined by the smallest addend, particularly if it is adjacent to the noun. Thus, in Russian 'twenty-one' has the same construction as 'one'.

3. The preference of the partitive for higher numbers is in accordance with some other generalizations: The higher the numbers, the more likely it is to be treated as as noun, and thebasic noun-noun construction is of the genitive type. (Greenberg 1978a: 285-286).