Verb Tenses and Conjugation: Speech Therapy Guide
Mastering verb tenses and conjugation is an essential aspect of morphosyntax. It allows for the expression of time, aspect, and mood of actions. Conjugation difficulties are common in language disorders and can persist for a long time. This guide presents normal development and rehabilitation strategies.
⏰ Conjugation Resources
Verb games, time cards, progressive exercises
Access the tools →📋 Table of Contents
Development of Conjugation
| Age | Acquisitions |
|---|---|
| 2-3 years | Present, imperative, some verbs in the passé composé |
| 3-4 years | Generalized passé composé, near future (I am going to eat) |
| 4-5 years | Imperfect (for narration), overgeneralizations ("he has took") |
| 5-6 years | Simple future, emerging conditional |
| 6+ years | Consolidation, subjunctive, simple past (written) |
💡 Overgeneralizations are normal
Errors like "he has took" or "they were" are normal until 5-6 years old. They show that the child has understood the rules and applies them, even to exceptions. These errors gradually disappear.
Difficulties with Verb Tenses
Omissions: missing auxiliaries ("he left" instead of "he has left").
Inflection errors: incorrect endings ("we eatings").
Persistent overgeneralizations: beyond the normal age.
Confusion of tenses: mixing past/present/future.
Avoidance: exclusive use of the present.
Assessment
Tests of verbal form production, sentence completion, narration (analysis of tenses used), understanding of tenses (showing the image corresponding to "he will eat" vs "he has eaten").
Speech Therapy Intervention
Opposition of tenses: work by contrasts (yesterday/now/tomorrow).
Visual supports: timeline, time pictograms.
Frequent verbs first: to be, to have, to go, to do, to say, to come.
One tense at a time: master one tense before moving on to the next.
Meaningful contexts: narration, description of sequential images.
Our Downloadable Tools
🎲 Conjugation Games
Cards and boards to work on verbs playfully.
Download📅 Timeline
Visual support to situate past, present, future actions.
Download📷 Sequential Images
To work on tenses in the context of narration.
DownloadFrequently Asked Questions
No, it's normal. These overgeneralizations show that the child is applying the rules they have learned. They will gradually learn the exceptions. You can simply rephrase ("Yes, he has taken") without asking them to repeat.
Repeated exposure is key. Use irregular verbs frequently in your exchanges, rephrase errors, read stories. These verbs are learned through memorization, not by applying rules.
