The project described in this report examines the development of Swedish-speaking children's syntax from the appearance of the first two-work sentences until all the basic syntactical rules are mastered. The procedures and techniques for the experiment are described and preliminary findings are discussed. Children practice language by repeating an utterance several times, first single words and later whole sentences. Imitation plays a great part in linguistic development. The most advanced children have parents who talk a great deal with (not to) their children and who listen to them, trying to understand what they say. These parents often "translate" (not correct) and develop what their children say in order to check that they are on line with each other. Such translations or"imitations with expansion" made by the parent seem to be of great importance to strenghthen the right structural patterns. (Author/VM)