Grammatical development

Get doggy .

Get milk.

Get him .

Get Billy.

Get something to eat.

Lexically-specific constructions

Emergence of schematic constructions

Get doggy Get milk Get him Get Billy

Get __

VERB __

Features of grammatical development

• The earliest grammatical patterns are formally simplified.

• The earliest utterances tend to be lexically specific.

• Young children often memorize grammatical patterns.

• ‚Input frequency‘ seems to be an important determinant of

language acquisition.

• Children do not just memorize the patterns they hear, they

also analyze and organize the input data.

Complex sentences

Complex sentences

coordination subordination

complementrelative adverbial

finite finite finite non-fi.non-fi. non-fi.

Data

Children Age range Number of utterances

Number of complex sentences

Adam 2;3-4;10 46,498 4,389

Sarah 2;3-5;1 37,021 2,496

Nina 1;11-3;4 32,212 2,545

Peter 1;9-3;2 30,256 1,746

Naomi 1;8-3;5 14,656 802

Total 1;8-5;1 160,643 11,978

Proportion of complex sentences

01020304050

60708090100

2;0 3;0 4;0 5;0

Complement clauses

Complement clauses

Semantic types: 1. communicative verbs of saying (e.g. say, tell) 2. perception verbs (e.g. see, hear) 3. mental verbs (e.g. know, think)

Formal types: 1. I know (that) she will come. S-complement 2. I don’t know if she will come. IF-complement 3. I don’t know when she will come WH-complement

Early complement clauses

I think it’s a cow. (Adam 2,3)

See this is empty. (Peter 2,4)

I know you are here. (Peter 2,5)

Think he’s gone. (Nina 2,5)

I guess I’ve one. (Nina 2;6)

Think-clauses

I think I'm go in here. 3;1

And I think... we need dishes. 3;2

Think some toys over here too. 3;3

I think I play jingle bells… with the record player. 3;5

I think he's gone. 3;5

Oh... I think it's a ball. 3;5

It's a crazy bone... I think. 3;5

I think it's in here. 3;5

I think it's in here… Mommy. 2;7

Think it's in there. 2;8

• The subject is always I.

• The matrix verb appears always in present tense.

• There is no auxiliary, modal, or PP in the matrix clause.

• The complement clause is longer and more diverse.

• There is no that-complementizer.

• In some sentences I think follows the complement

clause.

Features of early think clauses

Development of think clauses3;0

3,6

4;0

4;6

I think__

Do you think__

I thought__

I’m thinking__ They think__ What do you

think__

guess clauses

I guess I better come…. 3;5

Guess I'll write some more white. 3;9

Guess I lay it down. 3;10

I guess saw me break them. 3;10

I guess I have one more. 4;4

That goes right here but it don't fit… I guess. 4;4

Now… I guess that goes right there… doesn't it? 4;4

Because it have both lines… I guess. 4;5

I guess this is a hill… like this. 4;9

I guess this is… 5;0

wish clauses

I wish I could play with dis [= a Christmas present]. 3;5

I wish I can keep it (pause) for writing on. 3;5

I wish I can keep dat so I can tick (pause) tick it. 3;5

I wish we can eat... 3;8

I wish we could eat that. 3;8

I wish I could have a tractor to drive in them. 3;8

I wish ... could ... make some more just like dat. 3;8

I wish you could color all dese. 3;9

I wish I could have a picnic. 3;11

Momma ... I wish I could come back here. 3;11

know clausesI know this piece go. 2;6

I know ... soldier marching. 2;8

How do you know it going eat supper? 3;0

How do you know dat a duck?. 3;0

How do you know dat convertible? 3;0

How do you know ... I saw ducks 3;0

How do you know ... put my cup up? 3;0

How do you know ... doesn’t hurt me? 3;1

Mommy ... How do you know dat’s Harvard Square bus? 3;1

Do you know de lights went off? 3;1

see clauses

Got to make them bigger… see? 2;3

See this is empty. 2;3

Let’s see we fix them. 2;3

See these are stamps. 2;4

See Daddy’s on the grass. 2;5

See boat has sails on it. 2;5

See the peoples going. 2;6

Mommy write it… see? 2;6

See I’m writing 2;6

See you do it? 2;7

remember clauses

Remember we played with Samantha? 3;0

Remember you reading de puzzle… 3;2

Remember I broke my window? 4;0

You have to put it in the barn… remember? 4;0

Remember it was Halloween and… 4;2

I remember the bee bite me in the belly…. 4;5

Remember I don’t had to go to the doctors? 4;5

Remember last year I knew how to make a two? 4;11

Hey ... remember that I hanged them on like that? 5;0

say clauses

The cowboy say (pause) “I'm angry at you”. 2;9

He sayed he has something to play with for me. 2;9

That means peoples say “put the kitty down”. 2;10

She gonna say I have a pretty dress on. 2;10

The kitty says he wants to come in. 2;10

He say the alligator's gonna bite him up. 2;10

You make a rabbit and a bear I said. 2;10

He said yes he will give you a cow. 2;11

She said she is gonna give me a pillow… 2;11

Dolly said “yes she (pause) she’s a witch. 2;11

tell clauses

She telled me she for get the doll carriage for me. 2;10

He telled me… me don’t scream again. 3;0

Tell me… I would like to come to your house again. 3;0

I’m gonna tell him I wanna go to his house. 3;3

I tell her… “no… no… baby that’s my stuff”. 3;3

I told you I could make a carrot. 4;2

I told you you’re cuckoo. 4;6

I wanna tell the kids ‘do you heard of this kind of water?’4;9

Tell Daddy I’m sick. 4;10

I told you I need the (…) to do it. 4;11

IF-complements

… and see if I’m tall. 2;10

Now let’s see if it fits on this little boy. 3;1

Let me see if there’s something else in her bag. 3;3

I want to see if you… 3;8

Let me see if I can touch you. 4;2

See if I can make a kite. 4;8

See if I can make you wink. 4;9

See if I can pour it like this. 4;9

See if it smells. 4;11

Let me see if you get anymore. 5;1

WH-complements

I wonder what a whale fish is. 3;8

I wonder what skinned means. 3;8

I wonder what dat is. 3;8

I wonder what dat noise is. 3;8

I wonder what it is. 3;8

Mommy… I wonder what dat is. 3;8

I wonder what dey are. 3;8

I wonder what dis is. 3;8

I wonder where the door is. 3;8

I wonder where the rest of it is. 3;8

WH-complements

Guess what it is? 3;5

Guess who we spun? 4;1

Guess what that is? 4;5

Guess what I can make still? 4;6

Guess what that is? 4;6

Guess what this is? 4;10

Guess what it is? 4;10

Guess what dis is? 4;11

Guess what dis is going to be, Mommy? 5;2

Guess how old I am? 5;2

IF + WH-complements

Early clauses: Let (me/us) see if __ I wonder wh __ Guess __ ? See if __

Later clauses:

(1) He doesn’t know where he’s driving. [4;0](2) Paul knows where it is, doesn’t he? [4;3](3) This airplane doesn’t know where it’s going. [4;4](4) She didn’t know where it was. [5;0]

Emergence of schematic constructions

I think __ Remember __

Emergence of schematic constructions

I think __ Remember __

Emergence of schematic constructions

He thinks __ I am thinking __

NP think __

NP VERB __

I think __ Remember __

Relative clauses

Structure of relative clauses

(1) The man who we saw was reading a book. SUBJ

(2) He noticed the man who was reading a book. OBJ

(3) The man who we saw was reading a book. OBJ

(4) He noticed the man who was reading a book. SUBJ

Children’s spontaneous relative clauses

(1) That’s the rabbit that fall off. [Nina 2;7]

(2) Look at dat train Ursula bought. [Adam 2;10]

(3) This is the sugar that goes in there. [Nina 3;0]

(4) That’s a picture I made. [Adam 3;0]

(5) Here’s a tiger that’s gonna scare him. [Nina 3;1]

(6) It’s a song that we dance to. [Nina 3;2]

Semantic complexity

(1) Here’s the tiger that’s gonna scare him.

> The tiger is gonna scare him.

(2) This is the sugar that goes in there.

> The sugar goes in there.

(3) It’s a song that we dance to.

> We dance to a song.

Data

Age range Finite Nonfinite

AdamSarahNinaPeterNaomi

2;3-4;102;3-5;11;11-3;41;9-3;21;8-3;3

1783262258

12036714416

1;9-5;1 305 287

Head of the relative clause

(1) The man who we saw was reading a book. SUBJ

(2) He noticed the man who was reading a book. OBJ

(3) He saw to the man who was reading a book. OBL

(4) The man who was reading a book. NP

(5) That’s the man who was reading a book. PN

Head of relative clause (total)

48,5

23,821,5

5,6

0,70

10

20

30

40

50

60

PN NP OBJ OBL SUBJ

prop

orti

ons

Head of relative clause (earliest)

80

2,57,5

10

00

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

PN NP OBJ OBL SUBJ

prop

orti

on

Head of relative clause (development)

PN

OBJ

NP

OBL

OBL

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

3;0 4;0 5;0

age

pro

po

rtio

n

PN

OBJ

NP

OBL

SUBJ

Motivating factors

• Semantic complexity. • Input frequency. • Information structure.• Pragmtic function.

Conclusion

PN-relatives are the earliest relative clauses that

children learn because:

(1) they suit the communicative needs of

young children

(2) they are semantically similar to simple

sentences.