Beginner I

Question sentences in American Sign Language

A vocal-auditory speaker asks a question with a certain vocal tone. On the other hand, a visual-manual speaker asks a question with a certain facial tone with or without the signed word "Q" or "question" (as illustrated below).

question Q

The signed question above is called a wiggling question marker or "wg-q" and its variants used in glossing.

Not all questions end with this signed word -- wiggling question. Facial grammar or non-manual tone can indicate a question.

Yes-No Question

Eyes raised

A yes-no question is usually accompanied with the raised brows, widened eyes and forward-tilted head. Sometimes, holding the last sign-word at the end of sentence also anticipates an answer. In some contexts, the yes-no questions also occur with the downward brows.

Wh-Questions

eyes furrowed

A wh-question is referred to when, what, why, who, how, and where questions. The brows are usually burrowed, accompanied with the wh-question sign in a wh-question sentence. Holding the last word/sign at the end of a sentence also may indicate a question (waiting for a response).

Rhetorical Questions

A rhetorical question is more of a statement using the wh-question type. It is not a true question, yet it is a way of pulling a listener's attention by asking a question and then answering. The signer does not expect the listener to respond.

Unlike the wh-question, the brows are raised when signing a rh-question sign. The rh-question signs also function as conjunctions.

Related posts

A question signals for yes/no question, wh-q question, and rhetorical question

Ad-free Patron

To remove ads or/and unlock premium content, subscribe today or learn more about the features.

New to sign language? "Where do I start?" or "How do I start learning sign language?" This ASL Rookie guide lists some selected links to the tutorials for ASL beginners to get started and keep rolling. It may be a useful review for intermediate-level learners and ASL students as well.

Some tutorial pages are a mix of free and premium versions. Access to premium content and links below are available in the PatronPlus subscription. More links/posts will be added from time to time.

Jump-starting

  1. How to fingerspell ABCs
  2. What is and what is not sign language?

Getting started

  1. Benefits of learning sign language
  2. Awareness quiz and Reflections
  3. Basic transcription symbols (glosses)

Language/Culture Fundamentals

  1. What is American Sign Language?
  2. Understanding variations
  3. Introducing audism
  4. Cultural appropriation

Learning first words

  1. Expressing greetings
  2. Introducing oneself and others
  3. Fingerspelling exercise
  4. Expressing goodbyes

ASL Basics

  1. Personal Pronouns
  2. Possessive Pronouns
  3. WH-questions
  4. Yes/no questions
  5. SVO sentence structure
  6. OSV sentence structure
  7. Numbers 1-10+
  8. Basic time: future, present, past

ASL Basics II

  1. Asking what the sign is for a word
  2. Spatial referencing
  3. Verb inflections
  4. Contrastive structure
  5. Listing and Ranking
  6. Classifier basics

Describing shapes

  1. Describing shapes + perspective
  2. Describing shapes + locations
  3. Describing shapes + sizes

Expressing needs and wants

  1. Making commands or requests

Talking about family

  1. Talking about family and pet
  2. Telling age
  3. Telling date

Making basic plans

  1. Review basic tenses
  2. Calendar: DAYS
  3. Calendar: MONTHS
  4. Transportation: basics

Shopping

  1. Telling prices in dollars and cents

Talking about activities

  1. Frequency of time: how often?

Are you able to carry everyday conversations in ASL? Are you a student in the intermediate levels and beyond, who wishes to boost up your signing skills? You've come to the selected tutorial series. (Some premium content are available to PatronPlus membership.)

Language and communication

Sentence types

Non-manual signals

Tenses

Numbers

Classifier classes

Describing

Stories, poems, performance arts, etc. in sign language.

Fables

Fables II

Poem Translations

Stories

Deaf Jokes

Parables

Performance and video arts

Techniques and Devices

This documentation project follows a child's language acquisition, literacy development, and phonological acquisition in sign language, specifically ASL, from newborn to age five in a natural native-ASL environment and visual culture.

Language development

Baby Signing

Toddler Signing

Preschooler and Kinder

From baby to preschooler