Toddlers’ Verb Lexicon Diversity and Grammatical Outcomes
Abstract
Purpose: The goals of this study were to quantify longitudinal expectations for verb lexicon growth and to determine whether verb lexicon measures were better predictors of later grammatical outcomes than noun lexicon measures. Method: Longitudinal parent-report measures from the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory (Fenson et al., 2007) from ages 21 to 30 months from an archival database were used to model growth in common noun and verb lexicon size for 45 typically developing toddlers. Communicative Development Inventory growth coefficients and 24-month measures of lexical diversity from spontaneous language samples were used to predict 30-month grammatical outcomes on the Index of Productive Syntax (Scarborough, 1990). Results: Average verb growth was characterized by 50.57 verbs at 24 months, with linear growth of 8.29 verbs per month and deceleration overall. Children with small verb lexicons or slow linear growth at 24 months accelerated during this developmental period. Verb lexicon measures were better predictors of grammatical outcomes than noun lexicon measures, accounting for 47.8% of the variance in Index of Productive Syntax scores. Lexical verb diversity in spontaneous speech emerged as the single best predictor. Conclusion: Measures of verb lexicon size and diversity should be included as part of early language assessment to guide clinical decision making with young children at risk for language impairment.
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Assuming the 10th percentile as a threshold for at-risk status, a spoken vocabulary with fewer than 2 verbs at 24 months, 10 verbs at 27 months, and 46 verbs at 30 months can be considered as predictors.
“Assuming the 10th percentile as a threshold for at-risk status, a spoken vocabulary with fewer than 2 verbs at 24 months, 10 verbs at 27 months, and 46 verbs at 30 months can be considered as predictors.”
From Developmental Language Disorder: Early Predictors, Age for the Diagnosis, and Diagnostic Tools. A Scoping Review (2021) · cites this paper as [85]
The number of words produced by children at 24 months predicts syntactic and morphosyntactic development at 30 months.
“Hadley et al. [85] showed that the number of words produced by children at 24 months predicts syntactic and morphosyntactic development at 30 months.”
From Developmental Language Disorder: Early Predictors, Age for the Diagnosis, and Diagnostic Tools. A Scoping Review (2021) · cites this paper as [85]
There are correlations between the MB-CDI and words in spontaneous speech (total number of different words, names, verbs) at 24 months.
“Indeed, the authors reported correlations between the MB-CDI and words in spontaneous speech (total number of different words, names, verbs) at 24 months.”
From Developmental Language Disorder: Early Predictors, Age for the Diagnosis, and Diagnostic Tools. A Scoping Review (2021) · cites this paper as [85]
Verbs and names seemed to be equally valid predictors.
“Indeed, verbs and names seemed to be equally valid predictors.”
From Developmental Language Disorder: Early Predictors, Age for the Diagnosis, and Diagnostic Tools. A Scoping Review (2021) · cites this paper as [85]
Verb production alone did not predict syntactic complexity at 30 months.
“nonetheless, from the results reported by parents in the MB-CDI, the authors found that verb production alone did not predict syntactic complexity at 30 months.”
From Developmental Language Disorder: Early Predictors, Age for the Diagnosis, and Diagnostic Tools. A Scoping Review (2021) · cites this paper as [85]
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“In particular, spontaneous verb production at 24 months of age accounts for nearly half of the variance at 30 months of age on the Index of Pro-ductive Syntax (IPSyn), a measure of grammatical competence (Hadley et al., 2016).”
Is there a ‘universal’ core? Using semantic primes to select vocabulary across languages in AAC
Soto, G., & Tönsing, K. M. (2023) · Augmentative and Alternative Communication · doi:10.1080/07434618.2023.2243322 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
“It has been noted that activity verbs are central to early sentence production (Hadley et al., 2016) and their high number in the common core vocabulary seems to suggest that this is true across the four languages investigated (Choi & Gopnik, 1995; Rojas Nieto, 2003).”
BackgroundHow Toddlers Use Core and Fringe Vocabulary: What's in an Utterance?
Binger, C., Magallanes, P., Miguel, V. S., Harrington, N., & Hahs‐Vaughn, D. L. (2024) · American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology · doi:10.1044/2024_ajslp-23-00366 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Using Animated Action Scenes to Remotely Assess Sentence Diversity in Toddlers
Krok, W. C., Norton, E. S., Buchheit, M. K., Harriott, E. M., Wakschlag, L. S., & Hadley, P. A. (2022) · Topics in Language Disorders · doi:10.1097/tld.0000000000000280 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
“However, it can be challenging for clinicians to create sufficient opportunities for children to produce grammatical structures that occur less frequently (Hesketh, 2004; Rice et al., 1995), which is especially important for clinical assessment of grammatical structures affected by DLD.”
BackgroundInfluentialSelf-citationHow to Use the Index of Productive Syntax to Select Goals and Monitor Progress in Preschool Children
Roberts, J. A., Altenberg, E. P., Ferrugio, H. R., & Rosenberg, J. E. (2022) · Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools · doi:10.1044/2021_lshss-21-00096 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Sentence Diversity in Spanish–English Bilingual Toddlers
Anda, S. D., Cycyk, L. M., Durán, L., Biancarosa, G., & McIntyre, L. L. (2023) · American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology · doi:10.1044/2022_ajslp-22-00149 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Machine-Scored Syntax: Comparison of the CLAN Automatic Scoring Program to Manual Scoring
Roberts, J. A., Altenberg, E. P., & Hunter, M. (2020) · Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools · doi:10.1044/2019_lshss-19-00056 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Research on the methodology of LSA with preschool children: a scoping review
Lüdtke, U. M., Ehlert, H., Gaigulo, D., & Bornman, J. (2023) · Clinical Archives of Communication Disorders · doi:10.21849/cacd.2022.00738 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“…introduced new LSA measures [64], [65], [49], [54], [66], [67], [19], [47], 17 focused on the value of LSA measures (use, growth and diagnostic value) [68], [49], [69], [70], [71], [41], [72], [73], [74], [52], [9], [75], [10], [26], [60], [51], [76], and four on the use of automated LSA [77-80].”
BackgroundPérez‐Leroux, A. T., Álvarez-López, Y., Barreto, M., Cuza, A., Marinescu, I., Yang, J., & Colantoni, L. (2023) · Heritage Language Journal · doi:10.1163/15507076-bja10017 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Soto, G., Clarke, M., & Savaldi-Harussi, G. (2023) · Augmentative and Alternative Communication · doi:10.1080/07434618.2023.2237108 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“Using longitudinal parent report data and language samples of 45 children with typical development at 21, 24, 27, and 30 months of age, Hadley et al. (2016) identified that the size of children ’ s expressive verb lexicon was a better predictor of later grammatical abilities than their expressive…”
BackgroundResultHorvath, S., & Arunachalam, S. (2023) · Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders · doi:10.1186/s11689-023-09512-x · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“Although verbs may be particularly powerful predictors of later language skills [18, 19], whether eye gaze measures for receptive verb vocabulary can predict later language abilities is yet unstudied.”
BackgroundThe Protocol for the Analysis of Aided Language Samples in Spanish: A Tutorial
Soto, G. (2022) · Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups · doi:10.1044/2021_persp-21-00236 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“…jump ahead other previous skills, Luna ’ s team made the selection based on the functionality of the target and their potential impact on the acquisition of other linguistic targets (e.g., the use of verbs impacts length utterance and the acquisition of different word classes; Hadley et al., 2016).”
BackgroundKelley, L. E., & McCann, J. P. (2021) · Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools · doi:10.1044/2021_lshss-21-00038 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Liu, H., Tsao, F., Lin, C.-Y., Rost, G. C., & Guo, L.-Y. (2023) · Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research · doi:10.1044/2023_jslhr-22-00528 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Quinn, E. D., Kurin, K., Cook, A., & Kaiser, A. P. (2024) · American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology · doi:10.1044/2024_ajslp-23-00454 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Capelli, E., Grumi, S., Vercellino, L., & Provenzi, L. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1516587 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Expressive vocabulary word categories of children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing
Warner‐Czyz, A. D., Anderson, S. R., Graham, S., & Uhler, K. M. (2024) · The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education · doi:10.1093/deafed/enad066 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Academic English verbs across disciplines: A corpus study and its implications
Deng, Y., Liu, D., & Wu, S. (2022) · Ampersand · doi:10.1016/j.amper.2022.100093 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Nicholas, K., Grierson, T., Helen, P., Miller, C., & Horne, A. O. V. (2024) · Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research · doi:10.1044/2023_jslhr-23-00398 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Characteristics of Early Expressive Vocabulary in Mandarin-Speaking Children With Cochlear Implants
Luo, J., Xu, L., Wang, M., Xie, D., Li, J., Liu, X., He, S., Spencer, L. J., Rost, G. C., & Guo, L.-Y. (2022) · Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research · doi:10.1044/2022_jslhr-22-00183 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Luo, J., Xu, L., Wang, M., Li, J., He, S., Spencer, L. J., Liu, H.-M., & Guo, L.-Y. (2024) · Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research · doi:10.1044/2024_jslhr-24-00131 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Profiles of early expressive vocabulary in children with typical and atypical language development
Benavides, A. A., Márquez-Caraveo, M. E., Murata, C., & Pérez-Barrón, V. (2024) · Frontiers in Communication · doi:10.3389/fcomm.2024.1368076 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Yim, D., Yang, Y., Choi, J., Han, J., & Chae, M. (2021) · Eon'eo cheong'gag jang'ae yeon'gu/Communication sciences & disorders · doi:10.12963/csd.21818 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Early Communication Indicator: An analysis with three Portuguese toddlers
Ferreira, S. C. A., Cruz‐Santos, A., & Almeida, L. S. (2023) · Revista de Investigación en Logopedia · doi:10.5209/rlog.81142 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“Thus, a better approach is to integrate the different methods, both for assessment and for monitoring progress, incorporating the major strengths of each method (Bennetts et al., 2016; Crais, 2011; Federico et al., 2021; Hadley et al., 2016; Hegde & Pomaville, 2017).”
Tibus, E. D., Oyzon, V. Q., Bendulo, H. O., & Bande, R. A. (2021) · Journal of Educational and Human Resource Development (JEHRD) · doi:10.61569/6cg2qc57 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Hadley, P. A., Harrington, E. K., Krok, W. C., Preza, T., Harriott, E. M., Manning, B. L., Wakschlag, L. S., & Norton, E. S. (2025) · Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research · doi:10.1044/2024_jslhr-24-00558 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citationLindgren, J., & Tselekidou, F. (2025) · ZAS Papers in Linguistics · doi:10.21248/zaspil.66.2025.882 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Alharbi, N. H. (2025) · Child & Family Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1080/07317107.2025.2516667 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“Research on naturalistic language interventions suggests that children are more likely to produce complex language structures when engaged in meaningful, hands-on experiences (Hadley et al., 2016).”
InfluentialJones, K., Baker, E., Kemp, L., & Jones, C. (2025) · International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology · doi:10.1080/17549507.2025.2538610 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“This is because verbs have been shown to be sensitive in identifying and/or predicting language difficulties (Hadley et al., 2016).”
Kueser, J. B., Outzen, C., Arielle Borovsky, A., Deevy, P., & Leonard, L. B. (2026) · Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research · doi:10.1044/2026_jslhr-25-00121 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Colantoni, L., & Pérez‐Leroux, A. T. (2024) · Studies in bilingualism · doi:10.1075/sibil.67.14col · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Longitudinal Analyses of Early Verb Production in Autism Spectrum Disorder
LeGrand, K. J., Parish‐Morris, J., & Naigles, L. (2025) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-025-07080-8 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Language Acquisition and Language Delay
Fletcher, P. J. (2021) · doi:10.1002/9781119606987.ch8 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
The sense of a sentence can be an emotional ride
Brown, P. (2016) · Early Years Educator · doi:10.12968/eyed.2016.18.8.viii
Bayat, N., Ashtari, A., & Vahedi, M. (2022) · Applied Neuropsychology Child · doi:10.1080/21622965.2022.2039654
Strategies for Teaching Verbs to Children with and without Language Impairment
Prahl, A., & McDaniel, J. (2023) · Seminars in Speech and Language · doi:10.1055/s-0043-1773785
“Children with less diverse verb lexicons have limited experiences with these sentence production features and reduced learning opportunities for mastering varied sentence forms (Hadley et al., 2016).”
BackgroundDurston, L., Clarke, M., & Soto, G. (2024) · Augmentative and Alternative Communication · doi:10.1080/07434618.2024.2348996
“Verb use in English is also associated with the acquisition of other word classes, such as prepositions and adverbs (Hadley et al., 2016).”
Specific patterns of referential use in Mandarin-Italian bilingual children
Perugini, N. (2025) · ZAS Papers in Linguistics · doi:10.21248/zaspil.66.2025.900
“• the number of different verb types (NDV) (see Hadley et al., 2016).”
Horvath, S., & Arunachalam, S. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26652969
Horvath, S., & Arunachalam, S. (2024) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.26652966
Fillers in multilingual children acquiring the non-null-subject property of French
D’Aurizio, L., Stahnke, J., Gil, L. A., Colaço, I. S., & Müller, N. (2026) · Isogloss Open Journal of Romance Linguistics · doi:10.5565/rev/isogloss.530
Uhler, K. M., Shah, J. K., Gilley, P. M., Kaizer, A., Hunnicutt, C., Madrid, A. M., & Warner‐Czyz, A. D. (2026) · Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research · doi:10.1044/2025_jslhr-24-00719
“Children who do not use connecting words or verbs struggle with age-appropriate social communication (Hadley et al., 2016), which is essential for pragmatic skill development.”
Learning “jump,” “run”, and then “jump and run”
Jones, K., Baker, E., Kemp, L., & Jones, C. (2026) · Australian Review of Applied Linguistics · doi:10.1075/aral.25067.jon
Cygan, H. B., & Bryłka, M. (2026) · Nowa Audiofonologia · doi:10.17431/na/209943
Luo, J. F., Xu, L., Wang, M., Li, J., Spencer, L. J., Liu, H.-M., & Guo, L.-Y. (2026) · Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research · doi:10.1044/2026_jslhr-25-00709
Krok, W. C., Preza, T., Harrington, E. K., Manning, B. L., Wakschlag, L. S., Norton, E. S., & Hadley, P. A. (2026) · Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research · doi:10.1044/2026_jslhr-25-00408
“…to create opportunities for children to produce diverse verbs and 3P subjects because limited verb diversity and sentence diversity with 3P subjects between the ages of 2 and 3 years have been linked to poorer grammatical outcomes (Hadley, 2020; Hadley et al., 2016; McKenna & Hadley, 2014).”
Self-citationLin, Y., & Arunachalam, S. (2026) · Language Learning and Development · doi:10.1080/15475441.2026.2745141
- Authors
- Hadley, P. A., Rispoli, M., & Hsu, N.
- Affiliations
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
- Venue
- Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools
- Published
- 2016-01
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 44-58
- ISSN
- 0161-1461 (ISSN-L)
- 1558-9129
- OpenAlex
- W2256200756
- Cited by
- 71
- References
- 77
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 9.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Hearing Impairment and Communication
- Keywords
- verb lexicon, lexical diversity, toddlers, lexical growth, grammatical development, spontaneous speech, MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory
- MeSH terms
- Developmental Disabilities, Child Language, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Infant, Language Disorders, Language Tests, Linguistics, Male, Vocabulary
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