Tuesday, January 31, 2006

The trouble with pronouns

The trouble with pronouns is that they are really hard for a two year-old to learn. And they are hard to explain to a two year-old (I have a Masters in English, you would think that I could explain them to Madeleine)! Here are some examples of Madeleine's confusion with pronouns.

-She insists on calling Miriam "it" ex: I want to hold it.

-She thinks that "yours" means "mine." I am always asking if she wants yours or Miriam's. If I happen to give her something of Miriam's she says, "No I want yours."

-She calls everyone "he," and she calls all children "boys."

I think that the only way to really learn pronouns is to hear them being used. I know that eventually she will learn but in the meantime, I will remain very confused every time she says "I want yours."

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