Abstract
This study examined the comprehension of third person singular /s/ as a number agreement marker in children speaking Mainstream American English (MAE). Sixty-two MAE-speaking children aged 3-6 years were presented with a comprehension task where they had to focus on the verb as a clue to number agreement. Overall, results showed that only the 5- and 6-year olds were sensitive to third person singular /s/ as an index of subject number in comprehension, despite their earlier command in production. The implications for development of agreement are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
