The work has been devoted to the study of inner means which make it possible for preschoolers to anticipate changes in objects (particularly the role of signs in thinking has been studied). Specificity of the experiment consisted in the fact that the transformation of an object in time was represented through its transformation in space - i. e. by means of a series of drawings depicting consecutive stages in the transformation of the object. The children were to reconstruct the process of transformation using either gestures or words. The latter is shown to be a more efficient means; however enforcing it on a child may drastically interfere with the activity of reconstruction. Special efforts on the part of the experimenter are needed to make the child to accept the suggested means which, in its turn, requires comprehension, on the part of the child, of the relatedness of the means to the task to be performed.