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Universal 679: double negation ⇒ Neg Verb Neg
- Original
- If there is double negation within a language, then the negatives normally precede and follow the verb.
- Standardized
- IF there is double negation, THEN negation precedes and follows the verb.
- Keywords
- double negation, order, negation
- Domain
- syntax
- Type
- no genuine implication; rather: provided that
- Status
- achronic
- Quality
- statistical
- Basis
- sample of 345 languages in Dryer 1988b
- Source
- inferred from Dryer 1988b: 98
- Counterexamples
In Dryer’s 345-language sample, there are 20 languages that exhibit double negation, whith negatives normally both preceding and following the verb.