The American Sign Language Phrase Book (32 page)

The sign WRITE also stands for "pen," "pencil," and any other writing instrument.

In order to sign GIVE, reverse the movement of the GIVE ME sign.

Conditional statements such as "When you've eaten, you may go" or "If you're good, I'll tell you" are usually changed to questions. In the sentence shown below, the ABSENT sign is made with a questioning expression.