Similar evidence against “imitation” as the basis of the child’s speech production has been found in studies of the syntactic structures used by young children. One child, specifically asked to repeat what she heard, would listen to an adult say forms such as the owl who eats candy runs fast and then repeat them in the form owl eat candy and he run fast. It is clear that the child understands what the adult is saying. She just has her own way of expressing it.

There have been numerous studies of the development of syntax in children’s speech. We will look at the development of two structures that seem to be acquired in a regular way by most English-speaking children. In the formation of questions and the use of negatives, there appear to be three identifiable stages. The ages at which children go through these stages can vary quite a bit, but the general pattern seems to be that Stage 1 occurs between 18 and 26 months, Stage 2 between 22 and 30 months, and Stage 3 between 24 and 40 months. (The overlap in the periods during which children go through these stages is a natural effect of the different rates at which different children normally develop these and other structures.)