Which developmental milestone is important for a teacher to track to distinguish between early sentence users and those at earlier stages?

Tracking the use of prepositions to convey spatial relationships is crucial for distinguishing between early sentence users and those at earlier stages of language development. By the time children begin to use prepositions effectively, they are typically moving beyond simple two-word combinations and starting to construct more complex sentences that express relationships between objects and concepts, which is indicative of advancing language skills.

Prepositions serve as essential building blocks in creating meaning within sentences, helping children articulate where things are in relation to one another. For example, a child who can say "The cat is on the table" is demonstrating an understanding of spatial relationships that requires a more developed grasp of language structure. This ability is a significant marker of their progress in language acquisition and sentence formation, differentiating them from children who may only be using isolated words or very basic combinations of words without the nuanced structure that prepositional phrases provide.

In contrast, other options may reflect aspects of language development, but they do not specifically highlight the same developmental transition or complexity associated with sentence construction and the use of language in social contexts.