What does normal syntactic development involve around 2 1/2 years old?

Normal syntactic development around 2 1/2 years old typically involves the emergence of more complex sentence structures, and one of the key transitions that occurs during this time is the use of prepositions in sentences. By this age, children begin to understand spatial relationships and how to express them through language, using prepositions to indicate location, direction, and time. This indicates an understanding of syntax beyond single words or simple combinations, allowing children to convey more precise meanings.

Using prepositions is a significant milestone, as it reflects cognitive growth in the ability to form relationships between different elements in their environment and articulate those relationships through language. While children at this age may be combining words with gestures, adding verbs, and beginning to respond to questions, the specific use of prepositions signifies a deeper level of syntactical understanding and is a clear marker of normal language development during this stage.