As an English teacher, I taught my kids common conjunctions — AKA the FANBOYS of English: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So. Although there are signs for most of these, to my understanding, many are generally considered English conjunctions.
My mind was utterly blown when I learned about ASL conjunctions! Learning these eight concepts made my comprehension of American Sign Language skyrocket. It’s also helping me utilize “more ASL” grammar. I had to share!
Common ASL Conjunctions
Learn the conjunctions here:
- ASL Conjunctions Explained in ASL (with captions!) I highly recommend you take a peek at this! It matches what I’ve been taught by my Deaf professors in college.
- Sign with Courtney’s Week 8 Conjunctions (explained in English with captions).
Disclaimer: These are both hearing teachers of ASL; I will continue to look for similar videos from Deaf teachers and replace those videos when I find them. Comment below if you know of a fabulous resource!
Conjunctions: Quick Reference
3 F’s
- Frustrate (To be prevented from)
- Find/Found Out (I found out after that…)
- Finish (Then / completed)
2 H’s
- Hit (Unexpectedly / It turned out that…)
- Happened (It happened that…) — Use this when something happens at the same time as something else (click for clarification)
A few more conjunctions
- Wrong (2 versions)
- Twist Version: (I was wrong about / My plans were messed up by…)
- Normal Version: (Suddenly / without warning…)
- Think-Appear (I remembered / I recalled…)
Practicing Conjunctions
- Recognize Them: Start looking for these conjunctions in online ASL content, such as in The Daily Moth.
- Use: Next time you find yourself thinking of signing an English FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) word, try using an ASL conjunction instead!
I’m going to keep my eyes open for videos by Deaf teachers that utilize these signs as examples.
Which is your favorite conjunction? Post it in the comments!
Sarah Snow 
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