Verb diversity analysis in the spontaneous speech of Brazilian preschoolers.

BACKGROUND verb acquisition. AIM to verify quantitative and qualitative verb diversity in the spontaneous speech of Brazilian Portuguese-speaking preschoolers and verb acquisition from 2 to 4 years of age. METHOD participants were sixty preschoolers equally matched on gender and age, divided into three groups: GI (2-year-old children), GII (3-year-old children) and GIII (4-year-old children). Spontaneous speech samples obtained through playing interactions, in educational contexts, were collected, and verb productions were listed. RESULTS children used 167 different verbs. The quantitative analysis indicated significant statistical differences between all groups (p< .001), with gradual increase of verb usage from 2 to 4 years of age. However, no statistical difference (p= .956) was observed between genders. CONCLUSION preschoolers improved their use of verbs during the initial stages of language acquisition, irrespective of their gender.