Preschool Syntactic Development

Question 1

Nouns:
Label: P______, p_____, th____, i____.

P_____________= ‘s

P________= more than one:
s/es, irregular

C_______ or M_____ Nouns

Noun Development:
L________ category of child word knowledge.
Acquired by: semantic (of i________ to the child) and concrete (can be s____/t________).

Answer 1

Nouns:
Label: Person, place, thing, idea.

Possessives= ‘s

Plural= s/es, irregular

Count or Mass Nouns

Noun Development:
Largest category of child word knowledge.
Acquired by: semantic (of interest to the child) and concrete (can be seen/touched).

Question 2

Pronouns:
Take the place of n______.

P_________:
refer to people or things
1st, 2nd, 3rd person
singular/plural
I, we, me, them, she, us, you, it, him

P____________:
belonging/ownership
1st, 2nd, 3rd person
singular/plural
my, mine, hers, his, their/s, your/s, our/s, its

R_____________:
when subject and object are the same
1st, 2nd, 3rd person
singular/plural
myself, ourselves, yourself, himself, herself, themselves

D____________:
Not affected by tense, number, subject/object
this, that, these, those, somebody, nobody, all, everything, everyone.

Pronoun Development:
Appear at 3__-3__ months
Pronouns for s____, then o______
o_______, then p___________
R________ take until 5 years to master.

Pronoun Development Examples:
Level 1: I
Level 2: my, it, me, mine
Level 3: you, your, she, them
Level 4: we, he, they, us, you, theirs
Level 5: her, its, our, herself, himself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves

Answer 2

Pronouns:
Take the place of noun.

Personal:
refer to people or things
1st, 2nd, 3rd person
singular/plural
I, we, me, them, she, us, you, it, him

Possessive:
belonging/ownership
1st, 2nd, 3rd person
singular/plural
my, mine, hers, his, their/s, your/s, our/s, its

Reflexive:
when subject and object are the same
1st, 2nd, 3rd person
singular/plural
myself, ourselves, yourself, himself, herself, themselves

Demonstrative:
Not affected by tense, number, subject/object
this, that, these, those, somebody, nobody, all, everything, everyone.

Pronoun Development:
Appear at 31-34 months
Pronouns for self then others
objectives, then possessives
Reflexives take until 5 years to master.

Pronoun Development:
Level 1: I
Level 2: my, it, me, mine
Level 3: you, your, she, them
Level 4: we, he, they, us, you, theirs
Level 5: her, its, our, herself, himself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves

Question 3

Verbs:
What a person or thing does, or what happens.

A______ Verbs: can do/does

Regular: -ed
Irregular

Copula/L_______ Verbs:
Link the subject to the sentence, change according to person:
She is happy. I am angry. They are funny.

Auxiliary/H_________ Verbs:
Work with another verb for tense.
She is jumping. He was jumping.

M______ Auxiliary Verbs:
Express ability, necessity, obligation.
I can tell them. I will tell them. I should tell them. I might tell them.

Verb Forms are impacted by:
p________: 1st, 2nd, 3rd
n________: singular or plural
completed or ongoing/s______ or c________
when/tense/present, past, future

Completion of Verbs:
Simple (no indication of c__________): walk
Progressive (over a period of t____): walking
Perfect (action has been c_________): have/had walked
Perfect progressive (action took place over t____, is now c__________):
had/have been walking

Verb Acquisition:

1. Irregular as wh______ words
2. R_______ rule: -ed (over-apply)
3. Simple a______ verbs: eat, read
4. L_____ contextual verbs: put, go
5. M_____ Verbs: want, know, think
6. Intransitive Verbs:
   verbs that do not require an o______
   He cried.
7. Transitive Verbs:
   verbs requiring an o_____
   She hit the ball.

Answer 3

Verbs:
What a person or thing does, or what happens.

Action Verbs: can do/does

Regular: -ed
Irregular

Copula/Linking Verbs:
Link the subject to the sentence, change according to person:
She is happy. I am angry. They are funny.

Auxiliary/Helping Verbs:
Work with another verb for tense.
She is jumping. He was jumping.

Modal Auxiliary Verbs:
Express ability, necessity, obligation.
I can tell them. I will tell them. I should tell them. I might tell them.

Verb Forms are impacted by:
person/1st, 2nd, 3rd
number/singular or plural
completed or ongoing/simple or continuous
when/tense/present, past, future

Completion of Verbs:
Simple (no indication of completion): walk
Progressive (over a period of time): walking
Perfect (action has been completed): have/had walked
Perfect progressive (action took place over time, is now complete):
had/have been walking

Verb Acquisition:

1. Irregular
2. Regular rule -ed (over-apply)
3. Simple action verbs: eat, read
4. Less contextual verbs: put, go
5. Mental Verbs: want, know, think
6. Intransitive Verbs:
   verbs that do not require an object
   He cried.
7. Transitive Verbs:
   verbs requiring an object
   She hit the ball.

Question 4

Adjectives:

Modify a n_____:
colour, size, shape, texture, etc.

Positioned between a_____ and n___.
The red duck. A large house.

May be c__________ or s__________.
Better, best.

Can be descriptors (look like n______):
The flower garden. The garden shed.

Answer 4

Adjectives:

Modify a noun:
colour, size, shape, texture, etc.

Positioned between article and noun.
The red duck. A large house.

May be comparative or superlative.
Better, best.

Can be descriptors (look like nouns):
The flower garden. The garden shed.

Question 5

Adverbs:

Describe verbs/actions.

May be derived by adding -ly to a___________.
sadly, happily, prettily, quickly

May be positioned before the v____.
She excitedly called to her friend.

May be positioned after the v_____.
She fell hard. We’re leaving now.

Answer 5

Adverbs:

Describe verbs/actions.

May be derived by adding -ly to adjectives.
sadly, happily, prettily, quickly

May be positioned before the verb.
She excitedly called to her friend.

May be positioned after the verb.
She fell hard. We’re leaving now.

Question 6

Prepositions:
Used before n_____/p_______ to show p_______/l_______, t___, d________, c________.

T____:
On (Sunday), In (the morning), before, after, until, since, during

L________:
beside, on top of, next to, under, below, inside, outside, behind

D_________:
towards, away, around, through, left, right,

C_________:
because of, versus, in spite of, despite, of

Answer 6

Prepositions:
Used before nouns/pronouns to show position, location, time, direction, causation.

Time:
On (Sunday), In (the morning), before, after, until, since, during

Location:
beside, on top of, next to, under, below, inside, outside, behind

Direction:
towards, away, around, through, left, right,

Causation:
because of, versus, in spite of, despite, of

Question 7

Determiners/Articles:
D_______: the
I__________: a/an
D____________: this/that/these/those

Initiators/Introducers:
M_________ the determiner
eg.
Some of the men
Quite a big problem
A few of the children
Such a tricky problem

Intensifiers:
I_________ the adjective
eg.
A very hungry caterpillar.
The really angry hippo.
The awfully grumpy man.

Answer 7

Determiners/Articles:
Definite: the
Indefinite: a/an
Demonstrative: this/that/these/those

Initiators/Introducers:
Modifies the determiner
eg.
Some of the men
Quite a big problem
A few of the children
Such a tricky problem

Intensifiers:
Intensify the adjective
eg.
A very hungry caterpillar.
The really angry hippo.
The awfully grumpy man.

Question 8

Conjunctions:
Join w_____ and c________.

eg.
W________:
I wanted a bat and a ball.

C__________:
I wanted to swim and he wanted to build a sandcastle.

Answer 8

Conjunctions:
Join words and clauses.

eg.
Words:
I wanted a bat and a ball.

Clauses:
I wanted to swim and he wanted to build a sandcastle.

Question 9

Sentence Types:
D_____________- telling
SV/SVO/SVA/SVC
She cried.
The boy kicked the ball.
They arrived late.
You are a silly boy.

I____________- commanding
No Subject.
Come here! Hold this. Be quiet.

I____________- questions
*y___/n__: subject/auxiliary inversion
Your dad is funny.
Is your dad funny?
*wh-: s___/a___ inversion + wh word
Nanna is coming.
When is Nanna coming?
*T___: question after statement.
We can swim now, can’t we?
You like juice, don’t you?

N___________:
Include: no, not

Answer 9

Sentence Types:
Declarative- telling
SV/SVO/SVA/SVC

Imperatives- commanding
No Subject.
Come here! Hold this. Be quiet.

Interrogatives- questions
*yes/no: subject/auxiliary inversion
Your dad is funny.
Is your dad funny?
*wh-: sub/aux inversion + wh word
Nanna is coming.
When is Nanna coming?
*Tag: question after statement.
We can swim now, can’t we?
You like juice, don’t you?

Negatives:
Include: no, not