Cover not available

Article published In: Perspectives on Chinese Language Acquisition
Edited by Henghua Su
[International Journal of Chinese Linguistics 12:2] 2025
► pp. 189–216

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
EPUB logo with download linkDownload EPUB
authorization required

Mandarin-speaking two-year-olds’ comprehension of complement control

A perspective from preferential looking

ORCiD logo with link | Tsinghua University
 | Michigan State University
 | Université du Québec à Montréal
Published online: 6 October 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/ijchl.24006.yan
Abstract
The present study investigates early acquisition of complement control by Mandarin-speaking children. We tested thirty-two Mandarin-speaking 2-month-olds in a comprehension experiment adopting the Intermodal Preferential Looking Paradigm and assessed their ability to choose the right controller of the empty subject PRO. Speech stimuli included four sentence types: subject control xiang ‘want’ sentences, covert object control rang ‘let’ sentences, overt object control jiao ‘ask’ sentences and benefactive coverb gei ‘for’ sentences. It was found that when comprehending test sentences with two potential antecedents, children’s target looking was significantly above chance by looking more to the subject picture in subject control xiang trials and non-control gei trials, and that a marginal significant difference was identified for the two minimal pairs (subject control xiang vs. covert object control rang, non-control gei vs. overt object jiao). The results also point to a stronger sensitivity to subject control than to object control. These results show that Mandarin-speaking children who have just entered their second year in life are already sensitive to control, suggesting their emerging knowledge of some basic syntactic properties of complement control.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Previous studies of acquisition
  • 3.Properties of complement control in Mandarin and acquisition issues
  • 4.Methods
    • 4.1Subjects
    • 4.2Test stimuli
    • 4.3Design
    • 4.4Procedure
    • 4.5Coding and analysis
  • 5.Results
  • 6.Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (87)
References
Adler, A. (2006). Syntax and Discourse in the Acquisition of Adjunct Control. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. MIT.
Ballem, K., & Plunkett, K. (2005). Phonological specificity in children at 1;2. Journal of Child Language, 321, 159–73. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Becker, M. (2006). There began to be a learnability puzzle. Linguistic Inquiry, 37(3), 441–456. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bloom, L., Lightbown, P., & Hood, L. (1975). Structure and variation in child language. Monographs for the Society for Research in Child Development, 401, 1–97. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Bloom, L., Lahey, M., Hood, L., Lifter, K., & Fiess, K. (1980). Complex sentences: acquisition of syntactic connectives and the semantic relations they encode. Journal of Child Language, 71, 235–261. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Broihier, K., & Wexler, K. (1995). Children’s acquisition of temporal adjuncts. MIT Working Papers in Linguistics, 261, 193–220.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cairns, H. S., McDaniel, D., Hsu, J. R., & Rapp, M. (1994). A longitudinal study of principles of control and pronominal reference in child English. Language, 70(2), 260–288. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Candan, A., Küntay, A. C., Yeh, Y. C., Cheung, H., Wagner, L., & Naigles, L. R. (2012). Language and age effects in children’s processing of word order. Cognitive Development, 27(3), 205–221. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cao, D. (2018). Zailun hanyu shifou you xianding he feixianding qufen [Revisiting the finite vs. Non-finite distinction in Mandarin Chinese]. Contemporary Linguistics, 20(1), 19–39. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
de Carvalho, A., Babineau, M., Trueswell, J. C., Waxman, S. R., & Christophe, A. (2019). Studying the real-time interpretation of novel noun and verb meanings in young children. Frontiers in Psychology, 101, 274. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chomsky, C. (1969). The Acquisition of Syntax in Children from 5 to 10. MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Chomsky, N. (1981). Lectures on Government and Binding. Foris.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Crain, S., & Pietroski, P. (2002). Why language acquisition is a snap. The Linguistic Review, 191, 163–183. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Deng, X., & Yip, V. (2018). A multimedia corpus of child Mandarin: The Tong Corpus. Journal of Chinese Linguistics, 46(1), 69–92. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Eisenberg, S. L., & Cairns, H. S. (1994). The development of infinitives from three to five. Journal of Child Language. 211, 713–734. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Emond, E., & Shi, R. (2025). The knowledge of binding principles in early child grammar: Experimental evidence from 30-month-old toddlers. Language Acquisition, 32(3), 268–296. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fernald, A., Pinto, J. P., Swingley, D., Weinberg, A., & McRoberts, G. W. (1998). Rapid gains in speed of verbal processing by infants in the 2nd year. Psychological Science, 9(3), 228–231. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gair, J. W., Lust, B., Sumangala, L., & Rodrigo, M. (1998). Acquisition of null subjects and control in some Sinhala adverbial clauses. In J. W. Gair (Ed.), Studies in South Asian Linguistics: Sinhala and Other South Asian Languages (pp. 271–285). Oxford University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gerard, J., & Lidz, J. (2018). Before and after the acquisition of adjunct control. In A. B. Bertolini & M. J. Kaplan (Eds.), Proceedings of the 42nd Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development (pp. 266–279). Somerville: Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gerard, J., Lidz, J., Zuckerman, S., & Pinto, M. (2017). Similarity-based interference and the acquisition of adjunct control. Frontiers in Psychology, 81, 1822. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2018). The acquisition of adjunct control is colored by the task. Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics, 3(1), 75. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Golinkoff, R., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Cauley, K., & Gordon, L. (1987). The eyes have it: Lexical and syntactic comprehension in a new paradigm. Journal of Child Language, 141, 23–45. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Golinkoff, R., Ma, W., Song, L. & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2013). Twenty-five years using the intermodal preferential looking paradigm to study language acquisition: What have we learned? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8(3), 316–339. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Goodluck, H. (1981). Children’s grammar of complement-subject interpretation. In S. L. Tavakolian (Ed.), Language Acquisition and Linguistic Theory (pp. 139–166). MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1986). Children’s interpretations of pronouns and null NP’s: An alternative view. In B. Lust (Ed.), Studies in the Acquisition of Anaphora, Vol. 2: Applying the Constraints (pp. 247–269). Reidel.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2001). The nominal analysis of children’s interpretations of adjunct PRO clauses. Language, 77(3), 494–509. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Goodluck, H., Terzi, A., & Chocano, D. G. (2001). The acquisition of control crosslinguistically: structural and lexical factors in learning to license PRO. Journal of Child Language, 28(1), 153–172. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Goro, T. (2004). On the distribution of to-infinitives in early child English. In A. Brugos, L. Micciulla, & C. E. Smith (Eds.), Proceedings of the 20th Annual Boston University Conference on Child Language Development (pp. 199–210). Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Guasti, M. T. (2016). Language Acquisition: The Growth of Grammar. The MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
He, A. X., & Lidz, J. (2017). Verb Learning in 14- and 18-Month-Old English-Learning Infants. Language Learning and Development, 13(3), 335–356. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
van Heugten, M. & Shi, R. (2009). French-learning toddlers use gender information on determiners during word recognition. Developmental Science, 12(3), 419–425. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. (1996). The Origin of Grammar: Evidence from Early Language Comprehension. MIT Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hu, B. (2010). Kongzhuyu PRO he xiandai hanyu kongzhi jiegou (On the null subject PRO and Chinese control construction). Essays on Linguistics, 421, 290–307.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hu, J., Pan, H., & Xu, L. (2001). Is there a finite vs. nonfinite distinction in Chinese. Linguistics, 391, 1117–1148. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hsu, J. R. (1981). The Development of Structural Principles Related to Complement Subject Interpretation. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. The City University of New York.
Hsu, J. R., Cairns, H. S., & Fiengo, R. W. (1985). The development of grammars underlying children’s interpretation of complex sentences. Cognition, 201, 25–48. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hsu, J. R., Cairns, H. S., Eisenberg, S. L., & Gloria, S. (1989). Control and co-reference in early child language. Journal of Child Language, 161, 599–622. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Huang, C. T. J. (1987). Remarks on empty categories in Chinese. Linguistic Inquiry, 18(2), 321–337. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1984). On the distribution and reference of empty pronouns. Linguistic Inquiry, 151, 531–574. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1989). Pro-drop in Chinese: a generalized control theory. In O. Jaeggli, & K. Safir (Eds.), The null Subject Parameter (pp. 185–214). Kluwer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Janke, V. (2016). Pragmatic leads and null subjects: When children consult leads and when they do not. In J. Scott, & D. Waughtal (Eds.), Proceedings of the 40th Annual Boston University Conference on Language Development (pp. 184–204). Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Janke, V., & Bailey, L. R. (2017). Effects of discourse on control. Journal of Linguistics, 541, 533–565. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Janke, V., & Perovic, A. (2017). Contrasting complement control, temporal adjunct control and controlled verbal gerund subjects in ASD: The role of contextual cues in reference assignment. Frontiers in Psychology, 81, 448. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Janke, V. (2018a). Who is the agent? The influence of pragmatic leads on children’s reference assignment in non-obligatory control. Journal of Child Language, 45(2), 448–478. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2018b). Discourse effects on older children’s interpretations of complement control and temporal adjunct control. Language Acquisition, 25(4), 366–391. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kedar, Y., Casasola, M., & Lust, B. (2006). Getting there faster: 18- and 24-month-old infant’s use of function words to determiner reference. Child Development, 771, 325–338. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kirby, S. (2009). Semantic Scaffolding in First Language Acquisition: The Acquisition of Raising-to-Object and Object Control. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Landau, I. (2000). Elements of Control: Structure and Meaning in Infinitival Constructions. Kluwer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Landau, I., & Thornton, R. (2011). Early child control. Lingua, 1211, 920–941. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Landau, I. (2013). Control in Generative Grammar: A Research Companion. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2015). A Two-Tiered Theory of Control. MIT Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Legendre, G., Barri.re, I., Goyet, L., & Nazzi, T. (2010). Comprehension of infrequent subject-verb agreement forms: Evidence from French-learning children. Child Development, 81(6), 1859–1875. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Li, Y.-H. A. (1985). Abstract Case in Chinese. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of South California.
(1990). Order and Constituency in Mandarin Chinese. Kluwer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Li, C., & Thompson, S. (1981). Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar. University of California Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lukyanenko, C., Conroy, A., & Lidz, J. (2014). Is she patting Katie? Constraints on pronominal reference in 30-month-olds. Language Learning and Development, 10(4), 328–344. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lust, B. (1999). Universal grammar: The strong continuity hypothesis in first language acquisition. In W. Ritchie & T. K. Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of Child Language Acquisition. Academic Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Maratsos, M. P. (1974). How preschool children understand missing complement subjects. Child Development, 45(3), 700–706. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Melançon, A. & Shi, R. (2015). Representations of abstract grammatical feature agreement in French-learning young children. Journal of Child Language, 421, 1379–1393. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
McDaniel, D., Cairns, H. S., & Hsu, J. R. (1990/1991). Control principles in the grammars of young children. Language Acquisition, 11, 297–335. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Naigles, L. (1990). Children use syntax to learn verb meanings. Journal of Child Language, 171, 357–374. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Norris, R. (2004). Acquisition of the T and C System in Clausal Complements. [Unpublished MSc thesis]. MIT.
Perkins, L., and Lidz, J. (2021). Eighteen-month-old infants represent nonlocal syntactic dependencies. PNAS, 118 (41), e2026469118.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Pinker, S. (1984). Language Learnability and Language Development. Harvard University Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Plunkett, Kim. (2005). Learning how to be flexible with words. Attention and Performance, 211, 233–248Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rosenbaum, P. S. (1967). The grammar of English Predicate Complement Constructions. MIT Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Santos, A. L., Concalves, A., & Hyams, N. (2015). Aspects of the acquisition of object control and ECM-type verbs in European Portuguese. Language Acquisition, 23(3), 199–233. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Seidl, A., Hollich, G., & Jusczyk, P. (2003). Early understanding of subject and object wh-questions. Infancy, 4(3), 423–436. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Sherman, J. C., & Lust, B. (1986). Syntactic and lexical constraints on the acquisition of control in complement sentences. In B. Lust (Ed.), Studies in the Acquisition of Anaphora, Vol. 1: Defining the Constraints (pp.279–308). Reidel. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1993). Children are in control. Cognition, 461, 1–51. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Swingley, D., & Aslin, R. N. (2002). Lexical Neighborhoods and the Word-Form Representations of 14-Month-Olds. Psychological Science, 13(5), 480–484. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tang, C.-C. J. (1990). Chinese Phrase Structure and the Extended X-Bar Theory. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Cornell University.
Tavakolian, S. L. (1977). Children’s comprehension of pronominal subjects and missing subjects in complicated sentences. University of Massachusetts Occasional Papers in Linguistics, 41, 37–83.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tsai, W.-T. D. (2008). Tense anchoring in Chinese. Lingua, 118(5), 675–686. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wagner, L., Swenson, L. D., & Naigles, L. R. (2009). Children’s early productivity with verbal morphology. Cognitive Development, 24(3), 223–239. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wang, D. (1999). Hanyu kongzhuyu de fenlei he suozhi (Classification and reference of null subjects in Mandarin Chinese). Journal of PLA Foreign Languages University, 22(4), 29–32.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wang, Q., Lillo-Martin, D., Best, C. T., & Levitt, A. (1992). Null subject versus null object: some evidence from the acquisition of Chinese and English. Language Acquisition, 2(3), 221–254. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wexler, K. (1992). Some issues in the growth of control. In R. K. Larson, S. Iatridou, U. Lahiri, & J. Higginbotham (Eds.), Control and Grammar (pp. 253–295). Kluwer. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Xu, L. (1985/1986). Towards a lexical-thematic theory of control. The Linguistic Review, 5(4), 345–376. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1986). Free empty category. Linguistic Inquiry, 17(1), 75–93.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(1994). Yu Kongyulei youguan de yixie hanyu yufa xianxiang (Phenomena in Chinese grammar related to empty categories) (in Chinese). Studies of the Chinese Language, 51, 321–329. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
(2003). Choice between the overt and the covert. Transactions of the Philological Society, 101(1), 81–107. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yang, C. (2014). Mandarin-Speaking Children’s Comprehension of Control. [Unpublished MA thesis]. Tsinghua University.
Yang, X., Shi, R., & Xu, K. (2018). Grammatical aspect in early child mandarin: evidence from a preferential looking experiment. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 47(6), 1301–1320. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yang, X., and Yang, C. (2015). Control in Mandarin-speaking children’s early naturalistic production. Lingua, 1631, 1–22. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhang, N. N. (1997). Syntactic Dependencies in Mandarin Chinese. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Toronto.
(2016). Identifying Chinese dependent clauses in the forms of subjects. Journal of East Asian Linguistics, 25(3), 275–311. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue