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This paper aims to show the grammatical properties that distinguish ergative languages from nominative languages. It is assumed that the parameter that contrasts both types of languages has to do with the activation of the inherent ergative Case, which is assigned only in ergative languages. This means that this Case is never present in nominative languages. Additionally, it is argued that split systems tend to appear only in morphologically ergative languages as opposed to what happens in syntactically ergative languages, which do not exhibit splits. In line with this, tripartite case systems are predictable in morphological ergative languages. On the other hand, syntactically ergative languages tend to be more uniform in the sense that the nominative Case is usually assigned both to transitive objects and to intransitive subjects. This explains the reasons why there is a tendency in syntactically ergative languages for the absolutive arguments to exhibit a syntactic behavior commonly associated with the behavior of subject in accusative languages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows that there exists a strong connection between Case evaluation and the assignment of the [AGENT] and [EXPERIENCER] theta roles to the external arguments of unergative and transitive verbs in languages such as Apinajé, Apäniekrá, Parkatêjê, Xavante and Maxacali. Additionally, we investigate whether the ergative Case and the dative Case in these languages correspond to inherent Case or to structural Case. We assume that these Cases are structurally valued by the functional pospositions [mã] and [te] in the vP domain. The strongest evidence that favors this analysis comes from the fact that the functional head T° does not enter in the derivation with abstract Case to value. Furthermore, the distribution of the pospositions [mã] and [te] clearly demonstrates that they behave as adpositions in the sense that they can co-occur with pronominal prefixes and can come enclitic to oblique phrases that appear in passive constructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]