The relationship between language and symbolic play was studied in a sample of children identified as referential in style (multiple noun utterances exceeded pronoun or no-noun utterances), as compared with a sample identified as expressive in style (pronoun utterances or no-noun utterances exceeded multiple noun utterances). Children were assigned to language styles based on the examples of multiword speech reported by their parents in the language interview. A total of 30 children between l9 and 21 months (l5 boys and l5 girls) were observed for 45 minutes in a laboratory playroom setting. Administered tasks were aimed at assessing the child's ability to combine his or her actions into sequences. Results indicated that the referential children, given appropriate objects, spontaneously demonstrated a number and variety of schemes in conventional order. The expressive children seemed to be at a loss when presented with an array of objects to use spontaneously. Evidence thus indicated that the linguistic style adopted by children in the early multiword period extends beyond language and is related to their approach to symbolic play tasks. (BJD)