Reading success is closely related to paradigmatic and syntagmatic language responses. It is believed that a child who makes paradigmatic associations communicates and thinks in the language of the teacher while a child who makes syntagmatic responses is hampered in the learning situation. To determine how good (normal) and poor (retarded) readers performed on a task that involved remembering contrived paradigmatic and syntagmatic language patterns, 90 subjects were selected and assigned to two treatment groups. The first treatment group was presented with five lists of ten words each consisting of five pairs of paradigmatic language patterns. The second treatment group was presented with five lists of ten words each consisting of five pairs of syntagmatic language patterns. After ten seconds of study time, subjects were asked to circle the words just studied on a test list. No significant difference between language patterns was found. From this it would seem that (1) it is not possible to apply generalizations about verbal language patterns and reading success to the same language patterns presented in printed form, and that (2) another kind of organization rather than paradigmatic or syntagmatic associations must be imposed to facilitate better remembering for poor readers. (HOD)