This report describes a study investigating the extent to which 2- and 3-year-olds, as they acquire language, continue to use infant nonverbal sharing behaviors (pointing, holding up, giving and partner play) or begin to use language to share in new ways. A group of 2- and 3-year-olds (12 of each) were observed in a playroom setting of three adjoining rooms containing a few toys. Each child participated in a 15-minute session with the mother, who was instructed to remain seated in a large room facing the two smaller rooms, responding to but not directing the child's behavior. Sharing behavior was measured through observation of three types of mother-child "participatory episodes," involving use of: (1) gestures, (2) words, and (3) smiling or nonverbal vocalization. The children exhibited nonverbal sharing behaviors while sharing in new, verbal ways. The older subjects shared less frequently than the younger with the nonverbal behaviors that required proximity to the mother (giving, partner play). Unlike the younger subjects, they were more likely to hold up objects to the mother while at a distance from her, and they participated in dialogues more than the younger, their type of language inviting greater mother participation. (BF)