Written by: Sonia Strueby, M.A., CCC-SLP, Founder of Enrichment Therapy & Learning Center
Originally Published: July 29, 2019 | Updated: August 31, 2026
Action words, or verbs, are essential for children to talk about what’s happening around them. Nouns (people, places, and things) matter too, but on their own they can actually limit what a child is able to communicate. Naming a bunch of farm animals is fun during play, books, or songs, but do those words alone help a child get their actual wants and needs met day to day? That’s where action words for language development come in.
Why Do Action Words Matter So Much?
Take the word “go.” A child might say “go” and point outside to mean they want to play. They might say “go” to ask a parent to push a toy car across the floor. They might even say “go” when they need the bathroom. A vocabulary with both nouns and verbs is what lets a child start combining words meaningfully, like “go play,” “go car,” or “go potty.” Verbs are what turn a list of labels into functional, flexible communication.
3 Evidence-Based Strategies for Promoting Action Words
Strategy 1: Expansion of Verbs
Expansion means taking what your child says and adding one or two words to grow both their vocabulary and phrase length. To target action words specifically, add a verb to your child’s utterance.
- Child: “More bubbles.” Adult: “Blow more bubbles.”
- Child: “Milk.” Adult: “Drink your milk.”
- Child: “Baby.” Adult: “The baby sits.”
Strategy 2: Variety of Verbs
It’s common to fall into repetitive phrases when teaching child-specific language, like always using “I want” when requesting an item. To expose your child to a wider range of action words, mix up the verbs in those go-to phrases.
- Child: “I want snack.” Adult: “I need a snack.”
- Child: “I want airplane.” Adult: “I play with the airplane.”
- Child: “I want potty.” Adult: “I have to go potty.”
Strategy 3: Grammatical Language
When talking with young children, it’s common to use “telegraphic speech,” saying only the words that carry meaning and skipping grammatical markers, like “baby eat” instead of “the baby is eating,” or “kick ball” instead of “kick the ball.” However, using full grammatical language actually supports a child’s learning of verbs, so try not to leave out verb tense markers, articles, or helping verbs. “Toy talk,” narrating what your child’s toys are doing by name, is a natural, easy way to build this habit.
- Child: “Dog food.” Adult: “The dog is eating food.”
- Child: “Balloon up.” Adult: “The balloon goes up.”
- Child: “Give sock.” Adult: “Give me the sock.”
What Does Research Say About Early Verb Use?
This isn’t just intuition, it’s backed by research. A study published in the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research found a link between how much verb input parents provide early on and children’s later expressive verb vocabulary, including in children with autism spectrum disorder. Related research on parent-implemented strategies has also found that varying language input can accelerate a child’s grammatical growth over time. In short, the way you talk to your child in everyday moments genuinely shapes their language development.
Where Can I Get More Help?
Download our Verb Instruction Strategies handout for a quick reference you can keep on hand while practicing these strategies at home. If you have questions about your child’s vocabulary or language development, contact our team at ETLC, we’re happy to help.
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