I am taking a class in ASL and am confused about the grammar of the sentences, how they are constructed.
Some sentences I am practicing with are:
His uncle is smart.
The boy is kind.
His father is my friend.
Our nephew Jim is a cook.
His grandmother and grandfather are our family friends.
The girl likes America.
Their brother is my nephew.
My aunt teaches her daughter.
Our parents like to dance.
The student enjoys swimming.
Incoming search terms:
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2 comments… read them below or add one
These are pretty simple sentences and would use the topic+comment ASL structure. This is similar to the subject+verb+object form of English.
You would sign them each this way:
HIS (aimed to whoever you are talking about or to the point you placed the person in your conversation) UNCLE, SMART
BOY, KIND (you may want to refer to a boy by pointing to the boy in the room or pointing to the point you placed him at in your conversation)
HIS FATHER, MY FRIEND
OUR NEPHEW JIM, COOK
HIS GRANDPARENTS, OUR FAMILY FRIENDS
GIRL, LIKE AMERICA
THEIR BROTHER, MY NEPHEW
MY AUNT TEACH WHO?, HER DAUGHTER (this could be turned into a rhetorical question, where you would answer it with the rest of your sentence.)
OUR PARENTS, LIKE DANCE
STUDENT, ENJOY SWIMMING
There are two ways to sign these sentences…. either you can nod your head throughout the sentence which is used instead of “is”…. or you can use the topic+comment facial expression which is to raise your eyebrows for everything before the comma (like a question) and nod your head for everything after the comma.
And when I talk about referring to someone in the room or to the point you place them at I mean this: either you point to a person who is in the room or, when you are talking, you would refer to someone and point to a place to your left or right and keep referring to them in that space. That way, when you say things like HIS the person who you are talking to knows who you are talking about. You can’t sign HIS without having it directed toward someone.
Happy signing!
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