Category: Universals Archive

Universal 215: N G (possessive construction) ⇒ QuantN (partitive construction) Original If a language has a noun-genitive order in the possessive construction, it has quantitative-noun…

Universal 231: rigid order ⇒ gradation of adjectives expressed by function words;flexible order &rArr gradation of adjectives expressed inflectionally Original If constituent order is rigid…

Universal 247: Acc ⇒ Gender Original The presence of the category of gender is connected with the development of the morphological opposition of nominative/accusative. In…

Universal 263: Original Among the morphological frequentalia of ergativity one may mention: the morphological category of words that are syntactically connected with nouns (verbs, adjectives,…

Universal 279: zero person marker (indicative mood) ⇒ 1Sg v 3Sg Original If a zero expression occurs in the form of a certain person in…

Universal 295: Original In all languages: if there is VSO, SVO, SOV, an auxiliary verb, which can occupy the position before and after the main…

Universal 311: Original If among the syntactic functions of the form there is the subject of intransitive verb of state, then the subject of intransitive…

Universal 327: transitive verb agrees with SUBJ ⇒ intransitive verb agrees with SUBJ Original If transitive verbs agree with their subjects in some grammatical feature,…

Universal 343: Original If the subject expressed by an independent personal pronoun usually follows the verb, then the nominal subject also follows the verb. Standardized…

Universal 359: Original If in a language an incorporated direct object follows the verb stem, then the autonomous subject follows the predicate. Standardized IF an…