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A distinction has been drawn between tag questions which occur within the same temporally defined turn and those in a second turn by the same speaker. A TAG CONSTRUCTION has been defined as a MATRIX CLAUSE (any syntax) and a < TAG FORM (reduced interrogative in elliptical constructions; or interrogative ê xpression in stereotypical constructions) produced WITHIN THE SAME TURN. \ The discoursal functions of tag constructions include requests for information, agreement, permission, compliance, responsiveness and attention. Although stereotypical tag constructions emerge earlier in development than elliptical tag constructions, from the beginning stereotypical tag constructions perform the same discoursal functions as the grammatically more complex elliptical constructions as well as additional ones. Tag constructions are less effective than canonical questions in obtaining turn transfers. This relative ineffectiveness may be due to either the post-positioned clearance signal or the fact that the listener feels less compelled to respond when the speaker seems to have an expectation as to what the response to the request should be.

Child partners were compared on their relative tendency to use the interrogative form in spontaneous dyadic verbal interactions. A given child's tendency to use the interrogative form more frequently than the other member of the dyad remained constant across partners. This relative stability in formulating utterances in interrogative form cannot be attributed to the child's producing more talk in general than the partner. The observed effect is explained as a type of conversational synchrony in which participants achieve a complementary balance rather than congruence. It was concluded that the interrogative form is a linguistic means for child peers to establish cooperation as well as controlling kinds of relationships during an ongoing interaction.

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