How Your Preschooler’s Grammar Develops With Time
Your child now at the age when there will be tremendous development in his language and speech. In fact, he will seem to become a confident and intelligible talker overnight! For his growth to continue, and be in the right direction, it is important that he understand the basic rules of grammar. After all, grammar is the foundation of any language and absolutely vital in order to be able to master a tongue.
We have listed for you the basic grammar milestones your child will cross at this age. Charting this will let you help boost his growth and chug hum along in his journey of language exploration!
1. Their Vocabulary Is Growing
Your child has now learnt as many as 3000-4000 words, and what’s more, their speech is also clearer! Kids are very curious at this age and have a hundred stories to narrate. They increasingly use words to express their needs and make their feelings known.
2. They Can Use Simple Sentences
Your child will start communicating in simple, short sentences such as “I am eating noodles” or “Mom, I’m hungry.” Three word sentences are his absolute favourite!
3. They Love Using Question Sentences
Questions will soon be all that you hear in the house! So curious are the kids that all their conversation focuses on questions like “What are you doing?” and “Where are you going?” Surprisingly, many kids this age can form questions perfectly, with just a little guidance.
4. They Can Use Some Personal Pronouns
Now that they understand their identity (the fact that they are an individual), they start speaking in the first person. This means that the pronouns I, you and me become a part of their speech.
5. They Understand Some Prepositions
While prepositions are usually a difficult concept for kids to master, some of these start appearing in their speech now. The most common first prepositions are in and on. No wonder, there’s always some action on in your kid’s life at this age!
6. Negative Sentences Are a Problem
The “No!” that was your child’s favourite word when he was a toddler can create some problems now. Many kids have a problem using the “don’t” construction which means they end up using double negatives. So, don’t be surprised if there’s a lot of “I don’t not want to eat that!” or “I no go to art class!”
7. They May Make Some Funny Errors in Verbs, Plurals and Tenses
These concepts are still foreign to your child but in trying to make sentences, they end up extending their vocabulary to the grammar rules they know – often to a funny effect! Be prepared for “I goed to the park” and “There were so many childs there!”
8. Sometimes, Their Word Usage Is Mixed Up
This is one development that can leave the household in splits! Your child is learning so many new words so fast that sometimes things get mixed up in his head. So your rotis may become a sandwich or the baby crib may become a carriage!
All you have to do at this stage is make sure your child gets daily language practice in a fun way – books, CDs, poems and music! Very soon, your little one will start speaking impeccably and then you will miss this cute baby talk that has you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside!
