Toddlers do the funniest things – and verbs help describe them

We know that having a toddler can sometimes leave you wondering, “What has just happened?!” They do the funniest things, which at the time might not be funny, but sometimes it's good to make use of the surprising things they do to support their skills in language.  

Before we go into this, if we quickly recap on verbs and how your toddler might be using them, it helps to see the value of encouraging auxiliary verbs in their language.  

As you probably remember from your school days, verbs are essentially 'doing' words which denote the part of a sentence that explains the action taking place. Your toddler might be saying things like, "I ride to park" or "I eat pasta." The verbs in these cases being 'ride' and 'eat'.  

Auxiliary verbs are little words that go before another verb to help us make full sentences. They don't have much meaning on their own, but they help us describe tenses and actions. 'Have', 'do', 'can', 'will' and 'be' are some of the ones they may be starting to use in sentences like, “I can run,” or, “I’ll be ready in a minute.” 

At this stage, they are still very much consumed in their own world and talking about what they are doing helps keep them interested. 

Let’s say, for example, your toddler enjoys putting their head in a bucket and walking around, or perhaps they’ve got themselves dressed and they've put on one welly and one sandal. 

You could choose to have a conversation about what is happening and get loads of verbs into your chat. 

Some examples of things you could say are: 

“You have put a lot of things in your bucket, I wonder whether more things will go in?” Ask your toddler to show you what is in their bucket and encourage them to say, “I have got...” or “I have found...” 

“Amazing, you have dressed yourself! Will you be comfortable in those clothes?” 

“I wonder whether you can find any shoes that will match?” 

Using conversation starters like these can encourage your toddler to use verbs in their answers and responses. 

When your toddler listens to how you form your sentences, they may try to use your words in their responses. For example, when you say things like, “Can you...?” They might reply, “I can,” or “It can’t.”  

By listening to you, they are gradually learning auxiliary verbs and how they are used in daily situations – without a grammar lesson in sight!

We’re not suggesting for one moment that you wait for these times to help support their use of these verbs, but these silly moments can lend themselves to having interesting conversations!