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Agreement without understanding? The case of third person singular /s/

Valerie E. Johnson

University of Connecticut, valerie.e.johnson{at}uconn.edu

Jill G. de Villiers

Smith College

Harry N. Seymour

University of Massachusetts

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.

Key Words: Agreement • comprehension • Mainstream American English • morphological development • third person /s/

First Language, Vol. 25, No. 3, 317-330 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0142723705053120
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