Research article summary (published 29 Sep 1994):

The development of infinitives from three to five.

Full Abstract

This study investigated the form of infinitival sentences produced by young children and their knowledge of the control properties of this sentence form. Twenty-five children between the ages of 3;7 and 5;4 participated in a story completion task designed to elicit infinitive sentences and in an act-out comprehension task. Although the infinitive form was productive for even the youngest children in this study, development of this form was not complete even for the five-year-olds, nor did any child demonstrate adult knowledge of control. In addition, two competing claims regarding order of acquisition (that of Limber, 1973, and Hyams, 1985) were evaluated.

Author information

Author/s: Eisenberg, S L (SL); Cairns, H S (HS);

Affiliation: Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Journal of child language (J Child Lang), published in ENGLAND. (Language: eng)

Reference: 1994-Oct; vol 21 (issue 3) : pp 713-34

Dates: Created 1995/03/15; Completed 1995/03/15; Revised 2004/11/17;

PMID: 7852479, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Age Factors Child Child Development Child Language Child, Preschool Female

Humans Language Language Development Male Verbal Behavior Verbal Learning

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