American Sign Language: "keep"
KEEP:
[Use a single motion. The right hand moves to the left hand. The left hand is held slightly out from the body and remains mostly stationary.] However...if I'm telling someone to "keep it" I tend to move the whole sign in his or her direction as I whack the two "K" hands together. If I'm talking about myself keeping it then I do the sign close by my body.
Also see: LOAN-[lend_borrow]
Also see: take-CARE-of
Also see: what-KIND-of / type-of
Sample sentence: Do you keep a picture of your old boy friend? = OLD BOY FRIEND PICTURE YOU KEEP?
Note: A very common approach to referring to a former partner (such as a former boyfriend) is to spell "EX" prior to signing BOY FRIEND instead of using the sign OLD.
I couldn't imagine someone signing "MY OLD WIFE" to mean "ex-wife." So even though you can use "OLD" to refer to a previous boy or girl-friend I recommend that you don't use "OLD" for referring to former spouses.
When referring to a "former but no longer" lover -- of the two signs "OLD" or "EX" the safer choice would be to use "EX." My reason for including the sign OLD in this curriculum is to help point out that it does indeed occasionally express a meaning other than "long in age."
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Sign language lessons and resources. Dr. William Vicars © Lifeprint.com
