Average Order of Acquisition of English Grammatical

Morphemes - 1

Order Morpheme Example(s)

1 Present progressive I driving

2-3 Prepositions in, on

4 Plural balls

5 Irregular past tense broke, fell, threw

6 Possessive Daddy's chair

7 Uncontractible copula This is hot

8 Articles a, the1

Order Morpheme Example(s)

9 Regular past tense She walked

10 3rd pres pres tense, reg He works

11 3rd pres pres tense, irreg She does

12 Uncontractible auxiliary The horse is winning

13 Contractible copula He's a clown

14 Contractible auxiliary She's drinking

2

Based on Brown (1973) and de Villiers & de Villiers (1978). Cited in Carroll, David W. 1999. Psychology of Language, third edition. Pacific Grove, California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, p. 284.

Average Order of Acquisition of English Grammatical

Morphemes - 2

1. went (unanalyzed; learned by rote)

2. goed (overregularized (or wented))

3. went (analyzed; recognized as exception)

3

Carroll, David W. 1999. Psychology of Language, third edition. Pacific Grove, California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, pp. 286-287.

Acquisition of Irregular Verb Forms

1. No doggie bite

2. Doggie no bite

3. Doggie doesn't bite (first unanalyzed; then analyzed)

4. Doggie does bite

4

Carroll, David W. 1999. Psychology of Language, third edition. Pacific Grove, California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, p. 288.

Stages of Negative Acquisition

Stages of Question Acquisition

1. Where I should put it? (2-2.5 yrs)

2. What will you do now? (3.5-4.0 yrs)

BUT: *Why you can't sit down?

3. Why won't you let me go? (4- 4.5 yrs)

5

Carroll, David W. 1999. Psychology of Language, third edition. Pacific Grove, California: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, pp. 289-290.