Grammar Rules 3: Pronoun Agreement

This is the last part in the "Grammar Rules" Post Series- Part 3 of 3!

A quick recap from the previous two posts: a child's grammar, especially starting from first grade, is a great indicator of language development. Of course, it is completely normal for kids to make grammar errors once in a while. However,several grammar errors - especially if there are patterns in the errors, which do not seem to improve over time, are worth looking into.

Grammar can tell us the following information : is your child keying into details in others' speech? (receptive language). Can your child then reproduce what they know, keeping that attention to detail when using sentences? (expressive language). And finally, is your child able to say particular sounds (especially the /s/ sound) effectively? (articulation).

Therefore, correcting grammar can actually boost language and articulation as a whole - which is probably why it is often a part of so many speech and language goals.

So, in this last part, part 3, of the grammar rules series, we are going to be looking at grammar markers that indicate a child's language level, and how to boost them.

The third markers, for part 3, are pronouns. Specifically - pronoun agreement. Especially whether pronouns match the other pronouns in a sentence, and whether they match the verbs in the sentence.

For example - does your child say "She likes his own flowers?" or "she likes HER own flowers"? (Her must agree with she)

Another example - does your child say "They is nice" or "They ARE nice" ("They" - a plural pronoun - must agree with "are" - a plural verb).

It's pretty normal for there to be errors in the above areas until, say, Kindergarten. But after that, more accuracy is better.

But -this does not mean you have to become a grammar general, and start correcting every error. Instead, if you notice errors in pronouns, just model those extra emphatically in daily language.

For example, if your child says "He did it by hisself" a lot - agree with your child! Then subtly emphasize the correct way to say it, WITHOUT telling your child he / she is wrong. "You are totally right! He did it all by HIMself. All by HIMself."

Or if your child says "they runs around" - you can agree. "You are right. They RUNNN are around. They run around."

You do not need to explicitly teach any agreement "rules." Your child instinctively catches onto those, the more they hear them emphasized, over and over again.

However, if you want a little more structure, there is the option of just finding some find worksheets that target pronoun agreement- especially if your child is older (1st - 2nd grade). Check our Smarter Speech's TPT worksheet on editing - especially focusing on pronoun agreement - if this seems like the route for you.

Happy Talking!

Disclaimer : Smarter Speech is a pediatric speech therapy / speech-language pathology practice for toddlers and children providing in-home and teletherapy services in and around Mountain View, CA and Los Gatos, CA. Smarter Speech Blog aims to provide free speech and language tips for parents educators and therapists. However, this post is not providing speech-language pathology services. This is general information, not speech -language pathology or speech therapy. This article does not assume or create a client – SLP relationship. The author is not liable for any losses or damages due to actions or failure to act based on the content in this article. If you need assistance with a child’s speech or language needs, please contact a speech-language pathologist in your area.