Expressive Language

Here's to the Future: Your Child's Grammar Is Becoming More Complex, and Now Includes the Future Tense

As your child approaches age five, his grammar is becoming more and more correct and complex. Irregular plurals and regular past tense are used, as are passive sentences (e.g. "The fish was fed this morning") and the words "if" and "so." Also, in addition to understanding the meaning of future-focused words like "tomorrow" and "next week," your child is using the future tense to express things that will happen in the future. You might hear him say, "What will we do at Grandma's house tomorrow?" or "It's hot in the summer, so we'll be able to go swimming a lot!" Keep on modeling proper, complex grammar and vocabulary, and your child will continue to move towards more adult speech.

Has your child achieved the following Expressive Language developmental milestones yet? If yes, check off all of the skill(s) he has already mastered to date.