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Indefinite pronouns are words you use every day even if you didn’t know they had such a fancy name. These are words such as all, each, every, and none. There are a bunch of them, but this lesson covers most of the ones you need to know. The post LearnSigns 35: Indefinite Pronouns appeared first on LearnSigns.

Sitting at a roundabout in Mexico teaching sign language. How fun! Vocabulary learned in this lesson: Car Truck Bus Train Plane Boat Ship Taxi If you like the outdoor locations, let me know. I have a few more weeks in the big city of Merida, Mexico and can try to think of other vocabulary lists […] The post LearnSigns 34: Vehicles appeared first on LearnSigns.

When I was thinking through a list of animals I came up with a huge list. I will probably have to do 3 different lessons on animals. This one is a list of farm animals. There could have been a few more, but I will save those and find another list they can fit in. […] The post LearnSigns 33: Farm Animals appeared first on LearnSigns.

To celebrate the release of my new ebook, Learning to Sign, I have put together a list of vocabulary that has to do with books. Learning to Sign is currently available at Amazon. I hope to have the Nook version available within the next couple of days. Vocabulary learned in this lesson: Book Bible Library […] The post LearnSigns 32: Books appeared first on LearnSigns.

While this episode is about cleaning your house, it is also about taking care of some information I need to tell you about an upcoming book. First the vocabulary. New words learned in this lesson: Clean /Nice / Wash Wash Plate Cup Wash Clothes / Washing Machine Sweep Vacuum Garbage / Trash Concerning the new […] The post LearnSigns 31: House Keeping appeared first on LearnSigns.

These are common colors in American Sign Language. Not all the colors known to man are included because not all the colors have a sign. But the basic ones do and you will learn them in this video. Colors learned in this lesson: Color Blue Green Yellow Purple Red Pink Gold Silver Black Brown Tan […] The post LearnSigns 30: Colors appeared first on LearnSigns.

Fruits, as well as food in general, can be one of those groups of signs which vary widely across the US. In this lesson I give you the signs for common fruits that seem to be somewhat consistent in the way they are signed. However, there are a few fruits that I mention a couple […] The post LearnSigns 29: Fruits appeared first on LearnSigns.

After I did the whole video calling these superlatives, I did my homework and found out they are called degrees of comparison. Superlatives and comparatives are the two degrees. The comparative compares one item to another, or a group of items. It tells you which one has more of a quality or property in the […] The post LearnSigns 28: Superlatives appeared first on LearnSigns.

This lesson is about how to give directions. The concept of how to give directions seems to be difficult for many people. Don’t let it discourage you. Remember that the key to giving directions is to give them from your perspective. It is called the signers perspective. Each step should be given as if you […] The post LearnSigns 27: Giving Directions appeared first on LearnSigns.

In the last lesson we talked about how to sign various prepositions. In this lesson we talk about how to use those signs properly. You can get the list of vocabulary from the other lesson. The main focus of this lesson is the word OF. It is used as an example word on how to […] The post LearnSigns 26: Preposition Usage appeared first on LearnSigns.

This is a list of common prepositions. There is a big difference in just knowing the signs for the words and using the right sign for the meaning when it comes to prepositions. This lesson focuses on the signs while the next one is focused on the usage of those signs. Vocabulary learned in this […] The post LearnSigns 25: Prepositions appeared first on LearnSigns.

In the last lesson we talked about different professions. In that we covered doctors and nurses. This follow-up lesson talks about the different things you need to know when visiting the doctor’s office. Obviously this doesn’t cover everything, but these are several important ones. If there are any specific doctor office type words you would […] The post LearnSigns 24: Doctor’s Office appeared first on LearnSigns.

A short list of jobs or professions. Many can be done with the sign for the verb a person does and then add the person ending to the sign. Vocabulary taught in this lesson: Job, Work Doctor Nurse President Boss / Coach Judge Police Lawyer Soldier (Army / Military) Teacher Preacher Mechanic / Plumber Interpreter […] The post LearnSigns 23: Professions appeared first on LearnSigns.

I recently returned from a trip to Ethiopia. I was visiting deaf churches and deaf schools. I spent almost 3 weeks in the country visiting some old friends and making new ones. These photos are just a small selection of the people I met and the places I visited. The main language they speak in […] The post LearnSigns 22: Ethiopia Photos appeared first on LearnSigns.

This is a list of adjectives. Vocabulary in this lesson: Silly Foolish Wise Smart Sharp (as in a knife) Hard Soft Slow Fast, Quick Ugly Pretty Beautiful Young Old Awake, Surprise, Amaze, Astonish Asleep Other words talked about: Play Run Have, Possess Thank you for continuing to watch the videos. I have gotten some great […] The post LearnSigns 21: Adjectives appeared first on LearnSigns.

This is another list of feelings. You can see lesson 10 for the first list. Words taught in this lesson: Emotion Expression Upset Eager Jealous Lazy Tired Lonely Guilty Embarrassed Confused Other words discussed: King Lord Alone If you would like to watch the video with the captioning, click the Closed Captioning [CC] button in […] The post LearnSigns 20: More Feelings appeared first on LearnSigns.

This is a list of major holidays and their signs. As with non-everyday words, there is not a standard way to do most of these signs. Your deaf friends will know this version of these signs even if this is not the way they do them. Have them teach you the preferred way for your […] The post LearnSigns 19: Holidays appeared first on LearnSigns.

Handling verbs in past, present and future is much easier in sign language than in most spoken languages. Most of the time, context will dictate the tense of a verb. If the person is talking about his vacation to the mountains last week then all his verbs are in the past tense. When you tell […] The post LearnSigns 18: Verb Tenses appeared first on LearnSigns.

Here is a list of foods you might need for your big Thanksgiving meal this week! Of course, one of the most effective ways to get the food you want is to point. But since your mother taught you not to point and she will also be at the meal with you, it is best […] The post LearnSigns 17: Thanksgiving Foods appeared first on LearnSigns.

Along with the scattered verbs you have learned in previous lessons, here is a lesson with some of the more common verbs. As you will learn, many verbs can be guessed at by doing the action that accompanies the verb. This won’t work in all cases, but many times it does. And if the word […] The post LearnSigns 16: Basic Verbs appeared first on LearnSigns.

A simple lesson dealing with vocabulary from the home. Home House Door Window Chair Table Bed Shower Bathe Bathroom Light The chart to write out the 5 elements is downloadable as a PDF. The video above is captioned for those needing captioning. Be sure to click on the [CC] logo on the video player to […] The post LearnSigns 15: House appeared first on LearnSigns.

Personal pronouns are the ones that talk about me, you and them. They are handled in a systematic and simple way in sign language. You can still express as much with just a few gestures as you can in English, but you don’t have to worry about the case of the pronoun (whether the right […] The post LearnSigns 14: Personal Pronouns appeared first on LearnSigns.

Join me in my back yard this time to learn some nature signs. My current office/video studio is a corner of my unfinished basement. Last week I started doing some work to build walls so that I don’t freeze to death this winter while trying to make videos for the website. I enjoyed being outside […] The post LearnSigns 013: Nature appeared first on LearnSigns.

These are words that deal with basic church signs. These are not signs talking about different religious groups. I plan to do a separate lesson on that later. These are just basic signs that most churches would use in their services that may not be covered in general sign language classes. Be aware that these […] The post LearnSigns 012: Church Signs appeared first on LearnSigns.

There are 5 elements to most signs. They are: shape, location, movement, orientation and non-manual elements. When you are learning new signs, especially when you don’t have a book or video to refer to, you need to write down these 5 aspects for the signs you are trying to learn. Of these 5 elements, the […] The post LearnSigns 011: Notating Signs appeared first on LearnSigns.

These are signs dealing with feelings or emotions. Feelings Feel Happy Sad Mad Angry Like Don’t like Hate Awful Want Don’t want Love I love you Cry Touch Excited Afraid, Scared Sorry Good Bad The video above is captioned for those needing captioning. Be sure to click on the [CC] logo on the video player […] The post LearnSigns 010: Feelings appeared first on LearnSigns.

These are words related to learning and education; therefore, I entitled the lesson School. However, it isn’t as much about the place as it is about the activities done in school while learning. Here is the main vocabulary covered in this lesson: School Learn Study Understand Misunderstand Confused Think, Thought Know Remember Forget Mean, Meaning, […] The post LearnSigns 009: School appeared first on LearnSigns.

Learning about time. Time What time is it? Day Week Month Year Morning Noon Afternoon Night All day All night Now Today Tomorrow Yesterday Future Past/Before Please click the Closed Captioned [CC] button in the video player if you need captions. The post LearnSigns 008: Time appeared first on LearnSigns.

This is a list of words which have common letter combinations. I pulled some words from a longer list of words you can use to practice your spelling with. Try to notice common letter combinations and use them to your advantage for both spelling and reading spelling. The more words you practice the easier different […] The post LearnSigns 007: Spelling Practice appeared first on LearnSigns.

Common questions words and phrases used in ASL. Ask/Pray Ask a question Who What Why What for When Where How How much How many Which Because Answer You can view the closed captions by clicking the Closed Caption [CC] logo on the video player above. The post LearnSigns 006: Question Words appeared first on LearnSigns.

In this lesson we learn about people in a family. Remember that the masculine signs are at the top of the head and the feminine signs are at the bottom. Vocabulary learned in this lesson: Family Mother Father Boy Girl Brother Sister Baby Son Daughter Grandmother Grandfather Aunt Uncle Cousin The video above is captioned […] The post LearnSigns 005: Family appeared first on LearnSigns.

Vocabulary Taught in This Lesson: Hello My name is… My sign name is… What’s your name? How are you? Fine Nice to meet you Where are you from? Please Thank you Excuse me/Pardon me Sorry Yes No Bye You can view the closed captions if needed by clicking on the Closed Caption [CC] logo on […] The post LearnSigns 004: Greetings appeared first on LearnSigns.

Numbers seem innocent enough, but be careful that you do them properly or you might end up saying 6 when you meant to say 3. Sign language numbers are fun in that you can count all the way up to 999 on one hand. Watch this simple lesson so you can see how you too […] The post LearnSigns 003: Numbers appeared first on LearnSigns.

Fingerspelling is an important part of Sign Language. Not only is it important, but it is something that many people struggle with doing well. This lesson contains some tips for fingerspelling properly which will also help you read fingerspelling better. Fingerspelling Rules: Keep your palm facing the person you are speaking with Keep your hand […] The post LearnSigns 002: Fingerspelling appeared first on LearnSigns.