In this paper, one aspect of nonverbal behavior concomitant with verbalizations produced by mothers interacting with their young children is analyzed. The purpose is to examine the frequency and type of nonverbal cues accompanying verbalizations directed to the young child and to observe how these cues vary with the response of the child as well as with his or her linguistic sophistication. The paper is part of a larger study designed to specify the informational sources, clues to meaning, available to the child as he proceeds to learn language. The data examined in this paper are based on videotaped recordings of nine mother-child dyads. Three of the children were one-year-olds, three were two-year-olds, and three were three-year-olds. The gestures concomitant with one type of illocutionary act, the request for action, are focused on. The frequency and explicitness of the mother's concomitant gestures varied with the age and responsiveness of the child. It can be concluded from the study that the adult adopts certain nonverbal strategies, such as modeling and pointing, as an adjustment to the child's limited understanding of the meaning being conveyed in the utterances. (Author/CLK)