What is it about?

The sentence structure for negative sentences is a challenge in English. From a logical standpoint, if we say 'Chloe eats squid', why don't we negate the sentence by saying 'Chloe not eats squid'? English grammar requires us to negate a main verb like 'eat' using 'doesn't', as in 'Chloe doesn't eat squid'. The form 'doesn't' is difficult because it is an amalgamation of the auxiliary verb 'do' which is simply serving as a host for the 's' and the negative marker 'n't'. Children take some time to sort this out. This paper investigates how 5-year old children with specific language impairment produce negative sentences, and documents the alternative structures they produce until they settle on negative sentences that use 'doesn't'.

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Why is it important?

This is the first study of how children with specific language impairment produce negative sentences. Although children with SLI take a long time to become adult-like and use 'doesn't' for their negative sentences (in 'Chloe doesn't eat squid'), their developmental path is the same as typically-developing children. This research shows that acquiring the form 'doesn't' is the key to becoming adult-like and shedding the non-adult alternative negative sentences. It could be useful to target this form and its internal make up (do+s+n't) when working with children with SLI.

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This page is a summary of: Negative sentences in children with specific language impairment, First Language, April 2016, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0142723716640187.
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