The aim of this paper is to advance understanding of the theoretical basis for the difficulties many children who are deaf or hard of hearing face when learning spoken English grammar. The association between learning syntactical grammar and pre-verbal social interactions is explored and related to the effects of prelingual hearing loss. We explore these relationships by examining innate memory systems, language experience and brain organization, and developmental models about infant social experiences and expectancies. Similar to infants with normal hearing, infants who are deaf or hard of hearing with limited access to auditory input develop cued recall from repeated past events and learn to anticipate "what happens next" during social interactions. Later, during the early acquisition of grammar, infants with hearing loss, infants with normal hearing, or young children appear to develop certain similarities in cerebral specialization for grammatical encoding of either visual or auditory stimuli. We further argue that learning the structure and sequential order of English syntax is preceded by active social participation during infancy. The delays in reading and other academic areas have been extensively examined in relation to cognitive processing. The present paper is primarily an exploration of the relationship between language development, with a focus on syntactical grammar, and social participation of infants with their adult caregivers. We propose that a particular component of grammar (syntax) is related to an important aspect of social-emotional communication between caregivers and infants. The implications for caregivers and infants are discussed when one of the partners is deaf or hard of hearing. Practical guidelines and suggestions are offered to enhance communication with infants who are deaf or hard of hearing.