ASL Lesson 10: How to Ask Questions in Sign Language

It’s been almost literally forever, but I’ve got another sign language lesson for you today! And it only took 365 days! This lesson is all about how to ask questions in ASL.

When you’re first learning sign language, using questions can be kind of awkward. First, they nearly always appear at the end of a sentence, which is weird to English speakers.

Example: “Where did you eat last night?”

In ASL, you would sign: “Last night, you eat where?” (Or something similar)

So it can be kind of strange using them. But once you get the hang of it, you’ll be signing questions all over the place! Read on to learn more about how to ask questions in sign language!

How to Ask Questions in Sign Language

This video includes a lesson in how to sign these common question words:

• Who
• What
• Where
• Why
• When
• How
• What’s up

I also talk a little about how these question words are used. For example, “What’s up?” in sign language is often used as an informal greeting, just as it is in English. (“Hey! What’s up?) But it’s also used to ask for more information or for an explanation of a concept.

So you might see a sentence signed like this: “That book, what’s up?” – which means “What is that book about?” Or you might see this: “Before happen, what’s up?” – which means “Tell me about what happened earlier.” In English, “What’s up” is still considered slang, but it’s perfectly proper grammar in ASL!

Take a look at the video to see more about how to use question words in sign language!

Do you have any specific American Sign Language topics you’d like to learn more about? Give me some suggestions in the comments!

Don’t miss these other sign language resources!

Learn more about how to use American Sign Language in your homeschool on my Pinterest board!