This study focuses on the acquisition of subject–verb agreement
in
Brazilian Portuguese. A quantitative analysis of the data produced by a
Brazilian child between the ages of 3;02.07 and 3;04.08 is presented.
The overall error rate is low. However, a further and more detailed
analysis reveals important contrasts both in the frequency of production
of different verb inflections (as regards the person/number variables
within the verb morphological system) and in the rate of subject–verb
agreement errors associated with them. Our findings not only suggest
that subject–verb agreement may be acquired piecemeal, but also that
the learning of particular verb inflections may itself be a gradual process.
Alternatives to the idea of rule-governed production – such as the
child's reproducing frozen subject–verb strings previously produced
by
adults and blending different frozen strings into novel combinations –
are discussed as processes which can shed some light on the pattern of
both erroneous and correct production shown by this child.