Universal 1743:
- Original
- Only in languages that have no overt articles do non-specific direct objects fail to be accusative-marked (or, in general, fail to be marked in the same way as specific direct objects).
- Standardized
- IF there are no overt articles, THEN non-specific direct objects fail to be accusative-marked.
IF there are no overt articles, THEN non-specific direct objects fail to be marked in the same way as specific direct objects.
- Keywords
- article, direct object, case, accusative, specificity
- Domain
- inflection, syntax
- Type
- implication
- Status
- achronic
- Quality
- absolute
- Basis
- unspecified
- Source
- Szabolcsi 1994: 223
- Counterexamples
