Category: Universals Archive

Universal 322: ergative (nouns) ⇒ non-zero allomorphs Original If nouns have a syntactic form of the ergative, then at least some of its allomorphs are…

Universal 338: Original If the verb agrees with subject and object and there are confix-forms such as o-V-s-o, then there are o-V-s forms as well.…

Universal 354: (s-V-o) & ¬(o-V-s) ⇒ verb-initial Original In the languages where the verb agrees with subject and object, if there are forms like s-V-o,…

Universal 370: vowel harmony ⇒ OV; umlaut ⇒ VO Original If a language has vowel harmony and perhaps other progressive phonological modifications, then basic word…

Universal 386: inflection (noun) ⇒ inflection (verb) Original If a language has nominal inflection, it also has verbal inflection. Standardized IF there is nominal inflection,…

Universal 402: cumulation (noun) ⇒ cumulation (pronoun) Original If in a language there is any cumulative expression in a nominal paradigm, there will be cumulative…

Universal 418: verb agreement (adverbial constituent) ⇒ verb agreement (non-adverbial constituent) Original There is no language which includes sentences where the verb agrees with an…

Universal 434: full passive ⇒ reduced passive; ¬ reduced passive ⇒ ¬ passive Original If a language has full passives, it also has the reduced…

Universal 450: genitive (possessee) ⇒ genitive (possessor) Original A possessee marked for genitive implies a construction in which the possessor is so marked. Standardized IF…

Universal 466: Original There are no differences in the grammatical patterning of subjects of the sentences meaning “a person/thing belongs to a certain group of…