Wow, this is a big question. I'll touch on it quickly and then maybe come back to share more later. I believe that both of my children, my 6 year old first grader and my daughter who will turn three in March, are verbally gifted. Dd, the one closest in age to your daughter, also seems to be "socailly gifted," if there is such a thing. Much of her language revolves around relating to others, whereas when my son was that age, his language was very "technical." At two, I remember his telling me all about the proces of digestion: The food in your mouth is mixed with saliva, travels down your esophagus, etc." I also remember his using the word "actually" before he was 18 months old. He was into the big words, and he still loves to acquire new vocabulary. Dd has more subtle language gifts. She has been using words like similar, partially, and interestingly to qualify her ideas since about 2.25 years old. The rest of her vocabulary far surpasses that of most of my son's 6 year old playmates. But the most remarkable part of this all is the way she uses her words to express her emotions. Ds had none of that skill! A few weeks ago, as I was getting dressed for work, dd said, "Mommy, I love you when you are home with me, and I think about you when you're not." If I express dissatisfaction about something she has done, she not only apologizes but always tells me, "Next time, I will __________. Would you feel happier about that?" I have never had to discipline her beyond saying, "I don't like when you ______" or something to that effect because she always stops, thinks about it, apologizes and more. Overall, though, I would say she has been speaking like a regular persson (not a toddler or a child) since around the age of 2.