Fix oblique case noun agreement for Serbo-Croatian 5+ quantities#195
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@grhoten still checking with Jelena about details (thou I think it's correct). Adding you to see if this is the correct way to tackle it. |
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Changes seem reasonable, and there are tests.
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Summary
This change fixes noun agreement for 5+ quantities in Serbo-Croatian (
sr,hr). In Serbo-Croatian, numerals 5+ (and indeclinable quantifiers like pet) always govern the Genitive Plural of the counted noun (5 brodova / 5 земаља), even when embedded in an oblique case context (e.g., Locative, Instrumental, Dative: "u 5 brodova", "sa 5 brodova").applyGatedGenitiveinSerboCroatianCommonConceptFactoryto enforceCASE_GENITIVEwhenmode == GOVERNED_PLURAL.QuantifyTest#testSerboCroatianto verify 5+ quantity handling underlocative,instrumental, anddativecontexts.Before vs. After Code Fix Comparison
1. Masculine Noun Example: brod ("ship") with$n = 5$
main){$unit :quantify withValue=5}{$unit :quantify withValue=5 case=locative}✅ With: Correct ("o 5 brodova")
{$unit :quantify withValue=5 case=instrumental}✅ With: Correct ("sa 5 brodova")
{$unit :quantify withValue=5 case=dative}✅ With: Correct ("ka 5 brodova")
2. Feminine Noun Example: zemlja ("land/country") with$n = 5$
main){$unit :quantify withValue=5 case=locative}✅ With: Correct ("u 5 zemalja")
{$unit :quantify withValue=5 case=instrumental}✅ With: Correct ("sa 5 zemalja")
Detailed analysis
Serbo-Croatian Numerals 5+ and Oblique Case Governance
In Serbo-Croatian (Bosnian/Croatian/Montenegrin/Serbian or BCMS), the behavior of numerals 5 and above—along with indeclinable quantifiers like pet ("five"), šest ("six"), nekoliko ("several"), or mnogo ("many")—presents a classic linguistic phenomenon known as the Genitive of Quantification (genitivus quantitativus) combined with Case Masking / Case Invisibility.
1. The Core Grammatical Rule
When cardinal numerals 5 and higher govern a noun phrase:
2. Examples Across Case Contexts
Consider the noun brod (m. "ship"):
A. Direct Case Contexts (Nominative / Accusative)
B. Oblique Prepositional Contexts (Locative, Instrumental, Dative)
Notice that the prepositional case requirement is "absorbed" or masked by the indeclinable numeral pet, preserving the Genitive Plural brodova:
Locative context (Preposition o / na normally requires Locative Plural ending -ima):
o pet brodovima)Instrumental context (Preposition sa normally requires Instrumental Plural ending -ima):
sa pet brodovima)Dative context (Preposition ka / prema normally requires Dative Plural ending -ima):
ka pet brodovima)3. Comparison with Numerals 1–4
The behavior of 5+ contrasts sharply with smaller numerals:
4. Diachronic & Theoretical Explanations
A. Historical Origin (Proto-Slavic)
Originally in Proto-Slavic, numerals 1–4 were adjectives, whereas 5–10 (pętь, šestь, etc.) were abstract feminine collective nouns (declining as$i$ -stem singular nouns meaning "a group of five" or "a five-ness").
As nouns, they took partitive/adnominal complements in the Genitive Plural (e.g., "a five-ness of-ships"). Over time, as these words lost their nominal paradigm and became uninflected adverbial quantifiers, the Genitive Plural complement became frozen in place.
B. Syntactic Analysis (Generative Syntax / QP-Hypothesis)
In formal syntactic literature (e.g., Željko Bošković, Steven Franks):
C. Verbal Agreement Default
Because the QP headed by 5+ lacks person/number/gender features, verbs agreeing with a 5+ subject take default agreement: 3rd Person Neuter Singular (or 3rd Person Singular in non-past tenses):
5. Academic References & Citations