Effects of clause order and connective type on children’s and adults’ processing of complex sentences

doi:None

Title	Authors

Home

We tested children and adults' comprehension of complex sentences like "Before she takes a hot bath, she draws a picture". Sentences with four different connectives (after, before, because, if) in two clause orders (main-subordinate, subordinate-main) were tested with a forced-choice picture sequence task. Results support a semantic account: Children performed better with sentences in iconic clause order, where the order of events in the sentence reflects the order of events in the real world, and with before-sentences. Responses were slower with because- and if-sentences. Working memory did not play a role. Adults performed at ceiling and were faster with before-sentences.

OSF does not support the use of Internet Explorer. For optimal performance, please switch to another browser.

This website relies on cookies to help provide a better user experience. By clicking Accept or continuing to use the site, you agree. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and information on cookie use.

Start managing your projects on the OSF today.

Free and easy to use, the Open Science Framework supports the entire research lifecycle: planning, execution, reporting, archiving, and discovery.

Create an Account Learn More Hide this message

Main content

Home

Menu

Start managing your projects on the OSF today.

Main content

Links to this project

Home

Menu

Add new wiki page

Page permissions have changed

Wiki page deleted

Connected to the collaborative wiki

Connecting to the collaborative wiki

Collaborative wiki is unavailable

Browser unsupported

Start managing your projects on the OSF today.