[01] Tao Zeng, College of Foreign Languages, Hunan University, Changsha, China. [02] Taoyan Zhu, College of Foreign Languages, Hunan University, Changsha, China. [03] Xiaoya Li, College of Foreign Languages, Hunan University, Changsha, China. [04] Rui Zhu, College of Foreign Languages, Hunan University, Changsha, China.

Based on the comprehension and production of passives by normal children and children with SLI (Specific Language Impairment), this paper describes the acquisition features of passives by Mandarin-speaking children with SLI. Results show that: 1) The type of passives that both normal Mandarin-speaking children and children with SLI produced most was the patient subject sentence, namely, "Noun (Patient) + Verb + Complement". Children with SLI were not as good as TDA (Typically-Developing Age Matched children) both in the production and comprehension of passives. 2) One of the important linguistic features Mandarin SLI children hold is that syntactic movement in complex sentences is optional, not obligatory.

Specific Language Impairment (SLI), Passive Structures, Mandarin-Speaking Children

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