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3-4 Years

A mother smiles while marking her young daughter's height on a door frame at home as a cat walks past.

3-4 Years

Sentences and Stories

At this age, your child is now understood most of the time by familiar adults and able to communicate more clearly. Your child is using four-to-five-word sentences and can carry on simple conversations.

The Michigan Language Milestones for Deaf/Hard of Hearing are written to highlight typical language development for children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH), regardless of language and communication modality. However, it is recognized that English and American Sign Language (ASL) are different languages with unique features. Therefore, milestones specific to ASL are in bold and those specific to English are italicized. Any use of “word” refers to spoken or signed words.

Michigan Language Milestones for DHH: 3-4 Years [PDF]

  • Receptive Skills

    • Names an object when given the function (e.g., what do you see with).
    • Understands quality, texture, and more words of quantity (e.g., nice, rough, smooth, some, full, empty, shortest).
    • Understands opposites (e.g., hot/cold, wet/dry, day/night, same/different).
    • Responds to what do you do when you are ____ (e.g., cold/hungry/sleepy) questions.
    • Answers how and why questions.
    • Understands most of what is communicated to them (approximately 1,500-2,000 words).
    • Understands part/whole relationships (e.g., arm/body).
    • Follows two-to-four-step unrelated commands (e.g., sit down and eat your lunch).
    • Recognizes when language doesn't make sense (e.g., there's an elephant on your head).
    • Answers final word analogies (e.g., ice is cold and fire is ___).
    • Understands more prepositions (e.g., inside, on top, bottom, up, under, down).
    • Understands -er and -est.
    • Shows understanding of others' feelings and needs.

  • Expressive Skills

    • Describes actions in pictures (e.g., dog running, boy eating).
    • Identifies items that do not belong in a group.
    • Asks when, how much, and how many questions.
    • Uses four-to-six-word sentences.
    • Uses simple verbs to connect the subject and object (e.g., he likes ice cream).
    • Uses number incorporation pronouns (e.g., TWO-OF-US, THREE-OF-US).
    • Uses verb modification (e.g., STROLLING, WALKING QUICKLY).
    • Uses classifiers to describe objects (e.g., size, shape, manner, place, direction, degree, and intensity).
    • Uses topicalization (e.g., POPCORN, ME LIKE).
    • Fingerspells their name on request.
    • Uses more complex handshapes (e.g., W, D, P, 3, V, H, X, R, M, N, T, 8).
    • Uses movement correctly for noun-verb pairs (e.g., FLY/AIRPLANE, SIT/CHAIR).
    • Combines sentences with “and,” “but,” or “because.”
    • Uses modals (e.g., could, would, should, must, won't, might).
    • Uses -ed to tell about past actions (e.g., played, looked, cooked).
    • Uses articles “a” and “the”.
    • Compares and describes.
    • Uses 800-1,600 words.
    • Carries on a simple conversation staying on topic through four or five turns.
    • Relays a message.
    • Communicates clearly and is easily understood by family and familiar adults.
    • Asks for and makes conversation repairs or clarifications.

  • Pre-Literacy Skills

    • Identifies some uppercase and lowercase letters.
    • Attends to a story.
    • Responds to and interacts with stories read aloud to a group.
    • Retells familiar stories.
    • Holds books right-side-up and turns pages left to right.
    • Draws or copies two lines that cross (+).
    • Draws pictures you can recognize.
    • Draws pictures of people that have at least three parts (e.g., head, eyes, nose, arms, legs).
    • Prints a few letters or numbers.
    • Recognizes logos and signs (e.g., McDonald's, Walmart, stop sign).
    • Tells a story for an adult to write.