A study investigated the use of negative polarity items (NPIs) in child language, and in particular, how children acquire the restrictions on these items. Data are drawn from studies of NPIs in the spontaneous speech of Dutch- and English-speaking children. Results show the first NPIs to appear in Dutch and English are widely different expressions; one of the first used by Dutch children is a verb, "hoeven," while in English it is a quantifier, "any." However, there are remarkable similarities in the way in which these expressions appear in the children's speech, both correctly and incorrectly. It is argued that these cross-linguistic similarities in NPI use stem from the development of negation, which interrelates with the acquisition of NPIs. Contains 17 references. (Author/MSE)