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Universal 491:

Posted in Universals Archive

Universal 491:

Original
If in a language with dominant SOV order there is no alternative basic order, or only OSV as the alternative, then all adverbial modifiers of the verb likewise precede the verb.
Standardized
IF SOV is the dominant order and there is no alternative basic order or only OSV as the alternative, THEN all adverbial modifiers of the verb likewise precede the verb.
Keywords
order, SOV, OSV, verb, adverb
Domain
syntax
Type
implication
Status
achronic
Quality
absolute?
Basis
30 languages of Greenberg 1963 sample
Source
Greenberg 1963: 80, #7
Counterexamples

One Comment

  1. FP
    FP

    1. Sanders 1972 suggested an alternative formulation to this universal (see #1404). 2. Cf. #664, where a general correlation between converbs and verb-final order is claimed. 3. Cf. #1339 for alternative basic orders.

    1. May 2020

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