A Typological perspective on Czech Agreement: Conflict Mechanisms between Ad Formam and Ad Sensum Features

Agreement is a context-sensitive phenomenon in which specific syntactic constituents share grammatical features such as gender, number, person, and case, reflecting a language's hierarchical structure. Czech, characterized by sophisticated inflectional morphology, generally enforces strict subject-predicate agreement. However, exceptional patterns emerge in specific syntactic environments where grammatical norms (ad formam) and referential intent (ad sensum) diverge. These variations suggest that Czech agreement is not a mechanical feature-copying process, but a complex phenomenon shaped by the interplay of word order, syntactic hierarchy, linear proximity, and information structure. This study investigates the typological characteristics of Czech agreement, elucidating mechanisms of feature conflict and variation within its morphosyntactic structure. Applying Lyons’ (1968) context-sensitivity and Corbett’s (2006) four parameters (controller, target, domain, features), this research systematizes agreement across NP-internal, clausal, and dual domains. To analyze conflicts between formal and semantic agreement, the study examines numerical mismatches in collective nouns, gender conflicts in personal neuter nouns, neutralization in quantifier phrases, and the interplay between feature resolution and First Conjunct Agreement. Ultimately, this research demonstrates that Czech agreement is a dynamic mechanism determined at the interface of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, providing a foundation for universal and Slavic typological discourse.