Learning to Talk: Grammar

Grammar development in children follows a predictable trajectory, beginning with simple structures and gradually expanding to more complex ones.
Initially, lexicon consists primarily of nouns (one-word stage), followed by the usage of verbs and adjectives. Around the age of 18-24 months, children begin to form two-word sentences, indicating the emergence of syntax.
Overgeneralization of rules is common. Children might apply regular rules to irregular cases (for instance, saying “runned” instead of “ran”).
Passive sentences and complex grammatical structures like subjunctive mood and conditional sentences develop later in childhood, around the age of seven or eight.
Telegraphic speech, which is using only essential words to convey a message (for instance, ‘want juice’), is typical among toddlers.
Understanding of grammar rules is often implicit. While children might not explain the rules verbally, they are likely to use them correctly in their speech.
Negative sentences initially follow the pattern of ‘no’ or ‘not’ + verb (for instance, ‘no go’). Later, they learn to use auxiliary verbs to form negatives (‘I don’t want’).
Questions are initially formed by using rising intonation at the end of sentences. Later, children learn to use inversion (‘Can I go?’) and auxiliary verbs (‘Do you want to play?’).
Holophrastic stage (around 12-18 months) is when a single word is used to convey a whole sentence or idea. For example, ‘juice!’ might mean ‘I want juice’.
The addition of function words (like prepositions, conjunctions etc.) is a key indication of the development of grammatical competence. This typically occurs after the two-word stage.
Multi-clause sentences, whether coordinated or subordinated, develop later as children’s cognition and language complexity grow.
Mastery of ‘there’ + ‘be’ sentences, signify children’s understanding of existential clauses. For example, ‘There is a cat’.
Around the age of three to four years, children begin to show understanding of indirect speech acts where the intended meaning is different from the literal one. For instance, understanding that ‘Can you pass the salt?’ is a polite request and not a question about ability.

Recall these points and examples to understand the progression of grammatical development and common characteristics at each stage in child language acquisition. Try to identify these features when analysing real-life children’s speech transcript.