Expressive Language: Putting Words Together

By 18–24 months, many children expand their language by beginning to put two words together, such as “more juice” or “hug dog.” These short phrases show that your child is starting to combine ideas and build early sentences.

At this stage, children can begin combining different types of words in their phrases, including nouns with action verbs (doggy hug, daddy throw), nouns with locations (shoe on, cup in), and nouns with adjectives (red hat, wet blanket). Using a variety of word combinations helps them practice building meaning and expressing more complex ideas.

You can help your child expand the words they already use by adding on to what they say.

If they say “car,” you can add “red car” or “fast car.” When playing with toys, if they say “ball,” you can say “bounce ball” or “big ball.” If they say “go,” you can expand to “Mommy go” or “dog go.”

Likewise during daily routines, if your child says “juice,” try “more juice.” If they say “shoe,” you can say “shoe on.”

Here are some more examples:

• Car → Daddy’s car (noun + noun)

• Baby → baby’s eating (noun + action verb)

• Hat → hat on (noun + location)

• Dog → run doggy (action verb + noun)

• Book → book in (noun + location)

• Shoe → stinky shoe (adjective + noun)

Consistently modeling these simple expansions helps your child combine words and build early sentences.