Prepositions
- Posted by spectrum
- On August 10, 2022
- 0
As your child develops their language skills, they start to learn to understand and use ‘prepositions’. Prepositions are the parts of a sentence that tell us where something is. For example, in, on, under.
The age that we might expect these prepositions to develop are different for each prepositions:
Typically, by the end 2 years of age: in, on and under
Typically, by the end 3 years of age: next to
Typically, by the end 4 years of age: behind and in front of
There are many strategies and activities you can use develop your child’s understanding and use of prepositions:
- Recasting: If your child uses non-specific words such as ‘here’ or ‘at’ instead of a preposition, try repeating your child’s phrase back with the preposition. For example, if your child says, “Put the ball here”, try saying “Put the ball under the table?”
- Hide and seek games: These are great games to expose your child to prepositions and encourage them to use age-appropriate prepositions in their phrases. Hide toys or objects around the room and encourage your child to find them. You can then use prepositions to tell your child where the toy was (e.g., “it was on the bench!”) or ask your child where they found it.
- Simon Says: Once your child understands age-appropriate prepositions but may not be using them consistently, you can try playing Simon Says with instructions that include these prepositions. For example, “Simon says bring me the ball that is next to the desk” or “Simon says put the sticker on the paper”.
If you have any concerns regarding your child’s use of prepositions, call our clinic today and we can organise a time for you to chat with one of our friendly and qualified Speech Pathologists.
Normative data from: Gotzke, C. & Sample Gosse, H. (2007). Parent Narrative: Language 37 – 60 Months. In L.M. Phillips (Ed.), Handbook of language and literacy development: A Roadmap from 0 – 60 Months. [online], pp. 1 – 8. London, ON: Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network