Welcome to American Sign Language 101 class

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ASL Grammar Topic
Time Indicators Conceptual Signs
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In ASL the tense of the sentence is determined by
the Time Indicator (TI). Not all time signs are
used as time indicators. Time indicators are
used to refer us to a specific time in the past,
present or future.
ASL 102 SN 6 / Time Indicator
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Time indicator rules 1) Time indicators
begin phrases at the beginning of the topic
phrase or at the comment phrase. If TI appears
at the beginning of the topic phrase, TI sign
tends to be on hold before the topic signs. If
TI appears at the beginning of the comment
phrase, there is no hold on the TI
sign.Example
LAST WEEK TV ME BUY ME
TV LAST WEEK ME BUY ME
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Time indicator rules 2) General to specific
when two or more time indicators are combined
together the most general sign is given first,
then the next most general sign and lastly the
most specific sign.Example
LAST-WEEK MONDAY MORNING TIME 900 TV ME BUY ME
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Common Time Indicator Glosses
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Take turns with partner. Signing the following
topic phrase and add your own comment phrase
(topic phrase) (comment
phrase) 1. THURSDAY A.M. OLYMPIA
insert your own comments 2. DAILY BOOK
STORE 3. EVERY TWO WEEKS WEDNESDAY, P. M. 500
ROOM BE1110 4. YESTERDAY FOOD STORE 5. EVERY
MORNING COMMUTE TO SCHOOL 6. THREE-WEEKS AGO MY
DIRTY SOCKS 7. LAST YEAR MY CONDO DOWNTOWN 8.
EVERY FRIDAY FRENCH RESTAURANT 9. TOMORROW
GRANDMAS LUGGAGE 10. EVERY MORNING NEWSPAPER
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Take turns with partner. Signing the following
topic phrase and add your own comment
phrase 11. THREE-WEEKS FUTURE MY NEW
MOTORCYLE 12. LAST YEAR FANCY BLACK
BOOTS 13. EVERY FRIDAY GO-OUT BAR 14. NEXT
TUESDAY A. M. GOLD EARRINGS 15. SUNDAYS NOON MY
BROTHERS DAUGHTER 16. PAST MONTH THIRD WEEK
TUESDAY ROCK MUSIC BAND 17. TWO-DAYS-PAST
AFTERNOON 230 PURPLE ORANGE SHOE 18.
EVERY-NIGHT SINCE ME AGE-7 19. NEXT-WEEK
TEACHER 20. MONDAYS FRIDAYS ALL-DAY MY UNCLES
NEIGHBOR