2 - 3 YEARS
A child can usually...
RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE
Following more complex two part commands, for example, "touch your nose and give me the apple"
Understand simple 'wh' questions, including "what," "where" and "who"
Points to a large number of noun and verb vocabulary images
Understands adjectives such as same/different, big/little, wet/dry and open/close
Understands spatial language concepts such as in/out, top/bottom, up/down, on/off and over/under
Understands quantity language concepts such as more/less, one/many, empty/full, lots/none
Sorts items into groups when requested, such as 'food' and 'clothes'
Understands functions of objects, such as the car drives
Recognises colours and understands genders
EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE
Produces two-four word sentences
Answers yes/no questions
Uses various words for names, actions, locations and descriptions
Asks many 'wh' questions, including "what," "where," and "who"
Names a large number of pictures and actions
Refers to things in the past using '-ed' past tense, for example, "she swimmed"
Produces present tense '-ing' when required, for example, "walking"
Produces words such as "the," "is" and "a"
Engages in conversation, but may not be able to stay on topic or turn-take effectively
Speech is 75-100% intelligible by strangers