Language: By the End of 3, 4, and 5 Years

What sort of language development should preschool children have developed by age 3, 4, or 5? What's developmentally appropriate? While every child develops at her own pace, here are some typical language milestones during the preschool years, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

By the end of 3 years (36 months):

• Follows a two- or three-part command
• Recognizes and identifies almost all common objects and pictures
• Understands most sentences
• Understands placement in space ("on," "in," "under")
• Uses 4- to 5-word sentences
• Can say name, age, and sex
• Uses pronouns (I, you, me, we, they) and some plurals (cars, dogs, cats)
• Strangers can understand most of her words

By the end of 4 years (48 months):

• Has mastered some basic rules of grammar
• Speaks in sentences of five to six words
• Speaks clearly enough for strangers to understand
• Tells stories

By the end of 5 years (60 months):

• Recalls part of a story
• Speaks sentences of more than five words
• Uses future tense
• Tells longer stories
• Says name and address