4 Years

By 4 years of age, your child should have mastered the following sounds: /p, b, t, d, m, n, w, h, f, k, g, ng, y/

Speaks clearly enough for strangers to understand

Speaks without repeating words or syllables

90-100% intelligibility by unknown listeners

Follows 3-step directions

Understands words for order such as, “first,” “next,” and “last”

Follows classrooms directions

Understands words for time such as, “today,” “yesterday,” and “tomorrow”

Tells stories

Answers “when?” questions

Can answer “how many?” questions when asked

Answers “what/if?” questions such as, “If it starts to rain, what would you do?”

Uses some plural words such as, “toys,” “birds,” and “buses”

Talks about what occurred during the day using about 4 sentences at a time

Uses many sentences each having 4 or more words

People outside of immediate family can typically understand child’s speech

Says rhyming words 

Talks about different activities at school or at friends’ houses

Can answer simple questions involving, “who,” “what,” “when,” and “where”

Uses pronouns including “I,” “we,” “they,” and so on